Saturday’s Pacific Northwest rivalry match was rough and full of fouls for both teams with six yellows issued and 30 total fouls. Referee Radu Petrescu pulled out his yellow card four times in the first half, including two in the first 10 minutes. On a night full of hard tackles and thrown elbows, each team squeaked out a goal to finish in a 1-1 draw. A point each keeps Portland second and Vancouver fifth in the Western Conference. It also bumps the Whitecaps to first and drops the Timbers to last in Cascadia Cup standings.
With much of the first half energy devoted to tackles and fouls little was left for attacking. Portland got a shot on goal in the very first minute when Frederic Piquionne forced David Ousted to make a save. However, there wasn’t much in at as the shot went straight to the Vancouver keeper’s chest. The first yellow card of the night was awarded to 19 year old Alvas Powell in the fifth minute of his MLS starting debut. While streaking up the wing Powell found himself being routed out of bounds by Whitecaps defender/midfielder Brad Rusin. Instead of passing out of pressure Powell flailed his left arm into Rusin’s face three times, catching Rusin with his elbow on the third strike. Simon Borg says it should have been called red, but I think the yellow is enough. Especially when trying to shield the player off the ball in the 5th minute of a rivalry game.
Ten minutes later Brad Rusin was involved with in another yellow card foul, but this time he was the recipient. Rusin flew into Portland’s Diego Valeri and went down harder than the man he flattened. The Whitecap’s midfielder had to be stretchered off the field and unfortunately may not return for a while. This foul was far harder than that of Alvas Powell earlier in match and I think Rusin could have seen red. He had no chance to reach the header and led into Valeri with his knee.
The second half was a different story with far more successful attacking play from both sides and just two yellows given out. Porter must have fired up the Timbers because they came out searching for a goal. Four minutes after kickoff, Ryan Johnson found the back of the net. Diego Valeri sent in a perfect cross while Johnson split the Vancouver center backs and flicked the ball past keeper David Ousted right in front of a raucous Timbers Army.
The ever singing supporters were silenced in the 69th when Camilo Sanvezzo picked out Jordan Harvey off a corner kick. Donovan Ricketts got to the shot, but could only knock it up into the top of the net. Set Pieces have been a nightmare for the Timbers over the past month and largely the reason they’ve given up so many points.
Portland now moves on to the semifinal-round of the US Open Cup where they will face Real Salt Lake in Sandy, Utah. This is the farthest the Timbers have ever made it in the tournament and arguably the most important match they have ever played. It will also be a preview of the Western Conference leaders’ match at Jeld-Wen Field later this month.
