Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps: Remedies for Constipation?

Contemplating approach play with unseen obstacles

For all the moments of respectability, it is still totally fair to call the Whitecaps Cascadia’s fifth wheel. And yet with Vancouver one thin point behind Portland in the standings, that’ll be cold comfort if the Timbers can’t get ‘er done. Now, the numbers:

Vancouver Whitecaps
Record/Basics: 7-9-4, 25 points; 5-2-3 home, 2-7-1 away; 22 gf, 33 ga, -11 differential
Last 10: WLWWLWTWLT (5-3-2, 2-2-1 on road; in all, a pretty vigorous work-out)
Oppo: v FCD, @ CLT, @ SKC, @ RSL, @ SEA, @ FCD, v NE, v LAFC, v MIN, @ CIN

What We Know About Them
When it comes to Vancouver, I suspect most people know a couple names – e.g., Ryan Gauld, Lucas Cavallini, Maxime Crepeau...who now plays for LAFC – plus some deeper cuts like Cristian Dajome, Russell “Terrier” Teibert and Jake Nerwinski. They’ve freshened the line-up with some familiar names – e.g., Cody Cropper (out for terrifying injury), Tristan Blackmon, Florian Jungwirth – while swinging for some bigger signings like Pedro Vite (who is not, so far, a 90 minute player) and, their flashiest, newest signing, Andres Cubas. They’ve also developed a habit for going on late runs over the past couple seasons and, on their recent record - i.e., 15 points from 30, with six games on the road, and against solid competition (all but two of the last 10 teams they played are over the playoff line, the rest are near it) – one could argue they’re on one again.

Their stats leaders include the usual suspects: Cavallini (6g, 3a), Gauld (3g/3a, who’s still having a bit of an off-season), Dajome (2g/3a, real threat off dribble), and Ryan Raposo (2g/2a).

Notes on Recent Form
They’ve won some big ones lately – e.g., a home win over LAFC and away to Dallas (related, they seem to have Dallas’s number, along with SKC’s) – and, after a disastrous start, many of their positive road results have come in recent weeks. On the video/scouting side, it’s possible I caught them at their worst in all the tape I reviewed: injuries/various absences forced them to make due with a heavily-rotated squad at FC Cincinnati, which led to disjointed play and early defensive breakdowns (and yet they managed), and they fell into a gentle slumber in a 1-3 loss at home to Minnesota after losing some key players at half-time (e.g., Cubas, who looks really good, fwiw, and Godinho) and the visitors turning up the pressure.

Vancouver Whitecaps 2-3 Portland Timbers: No, Thank You. No, Really.

Happy to have it, disturbed I needed it.

Sweet Jesus. Feels like you need a chart with an interpretive guide with an addendum to read that one. On the plus side, the Portland Timbers picked up their second handful of three points in 2022 with a 3-2 win at the Vancouver Whitecaps. On the down side, Vancouver looks as shitty as their record - i.e., 1-4-1, but for the San Jose Earthquakes, etc. To nudge the cold, hard facts back toward a positive direction, Portland grabbed those three points on the road, never a bad thing. But let’s dig deeper

First and foremost, I’d argue Portland looked the better team throughout - can I get a “thank God” on that, HA-llelujah! - and I’d be stunned if the numbers don’t back that up. Checking………okeh, let’s take a step back and define “better,” because maybe there’s a language barrier here, or maybe I’m just not vibing with the data-dorks at MLSSoccer.com, but they’re saying most of differently, so maybe it’s time to take another step back to look at all this from a greater distance.

What went right for the Whitecaps today?

I thought Ryan Gauld looked all right, or he looked like what I remembered at least - e.g., hyper-active (in a good way), eager to combine and make things happen. He kept Timbers defenders and midfielders chasing all over the place, drew one penalty and came close to drawing a couple others - something I can’t stress that enough given Silvio Petrescu’s beer-googled evening of refereeing (i.e., the VAR was busy). I also thought Russell Teibert played a strong game, too, and in the same kind of omni-present way. Finally, above and beyond terrorizing Josecarlos Van Rankin for most of the night, Cristian Dajome scored a peach of a goal off a collective mental slip by Portland’s left side. Still, I’m not sure I’d call what I watched a two-goal performance by Vancouver; they scored their second goal on their second penalty kick - and on a call I wouldn't have made, fwiw - and it’s hard not to score one when you get two free cracks from 12 yards out. Petrescu/the Timbers D handed them some padding, in other words. Now, about the Timbers' performance...

It left me more happy than frustrated, for one, but it’s complicated from there. Marvin Loria found space down the left for as long as he played and, sure, give the man credit for the cutting inside to create the penalty kick that put Portland ahead (and on one helluva kick by Dairon Asprilla), but I’d also argue Loria killed more plays than he helped along over the course. And I think that makes Loria the perfect talisman for this win. Only a couple Timbers played a solid 90 (or less, depending) - fwiw, I’d put Bill Tuiloma, Diego Chara, Cristhian Paredes and, at long last, Aljaz Ivacic in that group - but just about every player had a moment or two when he did something a little better than. For instance, Asprilla didn't have a bad night - e.g., he stretched the field nicely and did some stout hold-up work - but it didn't add up to much besides a lot of running around. Until, that is, his moment when it arrived (aka, the penalty kick). He capped it off with a lovely gesture to a grieving Zac McGraw…just, all the emojis, guys, except maybe the poo and the fruit teenagers use as innuendos, and those moments exonerated whatever flaws marred Asprilla’s (et. al.’s) game and that gets to how the Timbers got a good result against a team that, so far, looks like it’s going to through some things instead of go anywhere in 2022.