Timbers return to victory vs. Whitecaps

By Galo Legarda, El Hispanic News

Portland, OR — The Portland Timbers defeated their Cascadia Cup rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Saturday night by the final score of 2-1 at Jeld-Wen Field. The Portland Timbers dominated most of the game and had more chances to score than Vancouver.

At the 27th minute, the Timbers had a really close opportunity to score when Franck Songo’o lofted a ball in from the left flank to Bright Dike. Dike connected with the head and the ball hit the left post of Vancouver goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

At the 41st minute the Timbers made one of the best plays in this season so far. In a series of consecutive passes, Dike, Eric Alexander, Jack Jewsbury, and Darlington Nagbe made it look too easy as Nagbe placed the ball in the back of the Net. Jewsbury gave Nagbe a through pass to the heart of the 18-yard box and Nagbe had all the time in the world to choose where to send the ball for the 1–0 lead.

Vancouver would tie the game in stoppage time in the first half. In a corner kick play, Jay DeMerit got the rebound and made a shot that ended up in the feet of Kenny Miller, who took the shot and beat Timbers’ goalie Donovan Ricketts.

The Timbers would take the lead again at the 55th minute with a magnificent free kick from Franck Songo’o. The 30-yard shot sent the ball over the wall and made it to the back of the net on the right side of Cannon.

“I just said I had to take it over the wall and to the target, and if I score, it’s fine,” Songo’o said after the game.

Steven Smith made an incredible save from the goal line after a shot from Camilo Sanvezzo. This shot could have resulted in a disappointing tie for the Timbers at home.

Interim coach Gavin Wilkinson seemed relaxed and satisfied with the victory.

“It’s a lot better than losing,” he said. “I think the boys did well; they worked hard and they put a solid effort. I think the group effort tonight — you can see the camaraderie in the group; you can see what it meant to them to win this game.”

Timbers’ center back Hanyer Mosquera mentioned that this victory means a lot to the team.
“We needed this victory to regain confidence,” he said. “We have been playing good but not getting the results. Thanks to God we made a great effort and were able to get a [positive] result.”

Next up the Timbers will host the Colorado Rapids on Friday, Aug. 31, at 7:30 p.m.

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