Portland Registers 6-3 Edge In Shots On Goal, Late Effort Strikes Post At Providence Park
Soccer News: The Portland Timbers conceded just three shots on goal, while earning 60 percent of the possession and seeing a late effort strike the right post in a scoreless draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs in front of a sellout crowd of 21,144 fans at Providence Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Timbers, making their second appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs in the last three seasons, head to Vancouver for the second leg of the two-game, aggregate-goal series on Sunday, Nov. 8, at BC Place.
Playing their third match in an eight-day span, including the regular-season finale (Oct. 25) and a penalty-kick shootout win against Sporting Kansas City on Thursday in the Western Conference Knockout Round, Portland registered an 11-10 advantage in shots and a 6-3 edge on goal. On short rest, the Timbers recorded the majority of the possession against the conference No. 2 seed Whitecaps FC side that last played on Oct. 25. Keeping Vancouver off the scoreboard in the first half, Portland was the aggressor in the final 45 minutes, outshooting Whitecaps FC 7-2 in the second half.
Forward Fanendo Adi tried to poke a sliding effort past Whitecaps FC goalkeeper David Ousted in the 54th minute that was blocked, while midfielder Diego Valeri saw a bending free kick plucked out of the upper right corner in the 72nd minute.
Late in the match, substitute forward Maximiliano Urruti, who tallied the game-tying goal in the 118th minute against Sporting Kansas City on Thursday, saw a right-footed effort beat Ousted and strike the outside of the right post in the 89th minute.
“I thought their effort was outstanding,” said Caleb Porter Timbers head coach. “We played a game on Thursday, 120 minutes, to go through what we went through physically and emotionally and to turn around and play like we played today, put ourselves in a position to win the game. We got a couple chances, those didn’t fall, but we were outstanding defensively. Obviously we were the team that was on the ball more. I’m real proud of the guys for that. In saying that, Vancouver they showed tonight why they were the best defensive team in the league. Their goalkeeper Ousted was outstanding, [Kendall] Waston’s a beast and they are a good team. So I thought even though there wasn’t a goal, if you know the game, it was a really good game to watch. It puts us in a good spot. Obviously not as good as if we would have won 1-0, but they didn’t get the away goal. So if we score one goal, they have to score two. If we score two goals, they have to score three. It will make for a very interesting second leg. We’ve won seven games on the road and we’ve been very hot on the road recently and we’ve scored goals on the road. It puts us in a good position to go and play for the win.”
Importantly, Portland did well to handcuff Vancouver’s attack and not concede an away goal, while earning its first shutout in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Goalkeeper Jake Gleeson made three saves in his first career postseason start and Whitecaps FC did not attempt a shot over the final 20 minutes of the match.
The Timbers head to Vancouver for the second leg having lost just once at BC Place in MLS regular-season play since 2011. Portland has compiled a 3-1-4 overall regular-season record in Vancouver and finished the 2015 season tied for the most road wins (7) in the league.
