A few weeks ago, it was possible that the Vancouver Whitecaps would be in this position but to have it actually happen really stings.
The Whitecaps have only won two games since the Leagues Cup break: An away win over Austin FC and a home win over the San Jose Earthquakes. Both of those teams did not make the playoffs. They did win the Canadian Championship for the third straight season but they needed penalties and heroics from Isaac Boehmer after a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes to capture the Voyageurs Cup.
Vancouver stumbled into the playoffs with four losses and two draws after the September 14 win over San Jose. After that win, it seemed the Whitecaps would contend to finish top four or even top three in the Western Conference. But they fell drastically in the standings like how Wile E. Coyotes falls after he fails to catch the Road Runner for the billionth time.
As a result, the Whitecaps finished eighth in the Western Conference and 14th in the Supporters Shield standings. That is “mid” as the kids would say these days. It really is quite disappointing.
Whitecaps ousted by Motorcross
To make things even worse, Vancouver is supposed to host the wild-card match against the Portland Timbers on Wednesday. But instead, they have to go to Portland and play there even as the “home team.”
That is because BC Place is hosting the 2024 FIM World Supercross Championship on Saturday. Setting up for that takes a few days.
The Whitecaps had a stadium conflict back in February and had to play their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One first-leg matchup against Tigres at Starlight Stadium in Langford. That is home to Pacific FC in the CPL.
Unfortunately, Starlight Stadium and Willoughby Community Park in Langley (Home of the CPL’s Vancouver FC) were not seen as “suitable.”
Once again, that cued the demands for a soccer-specific stadium for the Whitecaps. At this point, that seems like a pipe dream.
Cascadia Clash
The Whitecaps and the Timbers rivalry goes back to 1975, the year Portland came into existence. They have met seven times in the postseason (Some might not even call the wildcard round as part of the MLS Cup playoffs.) and their only meeting in the MLS era was in the 2015 Western Conference Semi-Finals.
The ‘Caps drew the Timbers 0-0 at Providence Park in the first leg and it set the stage for a pivotal second leg at BC Place. In front of a raucous crowd, the Whitecaps looked to make history.
Unfortunately, their best chance was Kekuta Manneh hitting the post in the first half. The Timbers advanced thanks to goals from Fanendo Adi and Diego Chara. What was more of a gut punch was that Portland would go on to win the MLS Cup that year.
The 2024 Portland Timbers have been a very dynamic and fast-attacking team. Led by MLS MVP candidate Evander, forwards Antony and Jonathan Rodriguez and Canadian goalkeeper and ex-Whitecap Maxime Crépeau, the Timbers will look to advance in front of their home crowd.
Head Coach Phil Neville’s squad were tied for the fourth most goals in MLS (65) but conceded the tenth most. (56) Portland has gone 1-4-1 in the last six games of the regular season.
“I expect them to be a heavily offensive team like they are,” said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini on the Timbers during a virtual media availability on Monday. “When they have the ball, the guys up front are really good…Evander, Antony, Rodriguez, (Juan) Mosquera, they can all attack the space really well. They are also a team during the season that conceded a lot of chances. So that’s the reason why I think having more the ball is gonna be the key because if we leave the initiative to them, it’s gonna be really hard to just defend and counter.”
Building confidence on the road
There is no perfect time to get out of bad form than a win-or-go-home game. A loss would mean the season would end in disappointment. A win would keep the Whitecaps alive and bring a small amount of hope.
Plus beating the Timbers on their ground would give Whitecaps fans something to cheer about as there hasn’t been much to cheer about in the last few weeks. Vancouver has played better away from BC Place this season. They won seven games on the road in the regular season and that has tied an MLS era record.
The Whitecaps played in Portland back on June 22 and the Timbers beat them 2-0. Of course, Providence Park has one of the most hostile environments in MLS.
“I think it was first of all our defensive solidity was very good,” said Sartini on the Whitecaps away form this season. “We had players that can kill you in transition, like Fafa, (Picault) like, (Ryan) Gauld and Brian (White) have been really good, but even the midfielders joining the attack, we have wide players like Ali (Ahmed) and Sam (Adekugbe) that can do it too.”
Bad form also means low confidence but it is up to the Whitecaps themselves to restore their confidence and a win would do exactly that.
“The confidence now is not as high as before because we come from four defeats,” said Sartini. “The first time since I’ve been the coach of this team that we had four losses in a row. We need to regain that confidence. The only way to do it is to start extremely well being very focused at the beginning of the game and pay a lot of attention, especially in the first 15-20 minutes.
Projected Whitecaps lineup
Kickoff is at 7:30 pm.
