Quarterfinal First Leg – Vancouver Whitecaps v. Portland Timbers

By: mao | October 5th, 2010

Portland Timbers will make their second visit to Burnaby, British Columbia in six days for the first leg of the USSF Division II Quarterfinal round against Vancouver Whitecaps. After a 2-2 draw on Saturday left the clubs in fourth and fifth place on the league’s playoff table, Portland and Vancouver will meet for the second consecutive season in the playoffs. In 2009 the Whitecaps eliminated the Timbers in the semi-final round by winning the first leg in Burnaby and drawing the second, despite finishing a full sixteen points and six positions below Portland in the regular season. In 2010 the teams were much closer in point totals, though Portland did not lose to Vancouver, winning twice and drawing twice.

Having just played at Swangard Stadium, the Timbers will be very familiar with the environs. In fact the quarterfinal first leg will mark the fifth game in Burnaby over the past two seasons, not to mention the other four meetings in Portland over the same time period. Yet both teams have changed significantly, even since their meeting in July. Those changes were evident in Saturday’s draw with both sides fielding notably different line-ups. Khalif Alhassan and Ibad Muhamadu have changed the complexion of the Timbers attack while the Whitecaps have totally overhauled their club ahead of their MLS move with the likes of Cody Arnoux and Davide Chiumiento highlighting nearly a dozen new signings.

Saturday’s preview was a very physical game in the early going, a scenario that is very likely to be repeated come Thursday. Both sides rued missed opportunities to put the game away and neither will want to return to Oregon with a draw. Because USSF rules do not include away goals, pure aggregate scoring will determine who advances to face either Rochester or Puerto Rico in the semi-final round. Obviously the Timbers will feel they have an advantage in hosting the second game, though that made no difference last year as Portland were unable to overcome the loss in the first leg. The chances of a slow war of attrition are very low as both sides know they will need to score in order to advance.

Regardless of the result on Thursday, both sides will come to Portland on Sunday for a special playoff game at the University of Portland’s Merlo Field. The unknown of playing a competitive game away from PGE Park should push Gavin Wilkinson to go for the win in Burnaby and hope for the best back in Portland at the weekend.