Brian White scored a late goal as the Vancouver Whitecaps drew with the Portland Timbers in a 1-1 encounter at BC Place.
White came off the bench at the hour mark after spending the past month out with a hamstring injury.
The draw extended the Whitecaps’ undefeated streak to seven matches across all competitions.
But without a dominant performance from Yohei Takaoka in net in the first half, the Whitecaps may not have had the chance to fight back.
To say the first 20 minutes were one-way traffic for Portland would be a gross understatement of their dominance. The visitors were a constant threat, particularly on their left.
“We were not disciplined in the first half,” Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen said. “We were also sloppy to begin with, gave them a lot of corner kicks and momentum that was difficult for us to handle.”
Giuseppe Bovalina, with only his second start of the season, was continually losing his man in Antony. Time and time again, the right wingback was caught either flat-footed or turned outward too early, leaving space for Antony to cut inside and catch Bovalina awkwardly.
Takaoka was the busiest man of the first quarter, with five saves during that period.
Kamal Miller, playing as a left-back, broke the deadlock in the 39th minute. Kenji Cabrera’s headed clearance only made it as far as the Canadian international. Miller took the shot hard, sending it flying through traffic and into the far top corner.
“It was a beautiful goal,” Sørensen admitted. “[But] a little unfortunate to concede at that point as I thought we were finally getting into the game.”
It was a deserved lead at the half for Portland.
The infusion of Ali Ahmed to begin the second half gave the Whitecaps an attacking prowess that had been missing in the first. White came on at the 60th minute, having spent the better part of the past month on the recovery table, a welcome sight back on the pitch.
Yet for all the better, more progressive movement, the Whitecaps still could not manage to get a shot on target. That did not come until the 84th minute.
That chance opened the gate. Only four minutes later, White’s 15th goal in MLS this season salvaged a point on the night.
Sebastian Berhalter’s corner was flicked on by Mathías Laborda. White moved into a dangerous position inside the six-yard box and got a toe on the end of Laborda’s redirection.
The Whitecaps pressed their advantage, looking for the winning goal, but two clear opportunities in stoppage time—a near miss by White and a crossbar by Emmanuel Sabbi—did not find their way into the net.
Both teams had to settle for a single point, and the Cascadia Cup remained unrewarded.
The growth of Halbouni
Belal Halbouni has started the last six matches across all competitions. This coincided with an injury to Ranko Veselinović, a player who is irreplaceable in the backline for the Whitecaps.
Yet, Halbouni has taken the opportunity that has been given to him and made the most of it.
“He’s been doing very well…also been growing from game to game, gets more confidence, gets more acquainted with his teammates and players he plays next to. I think he’s been doing excellent,” Sørensen said.
During that period, the Whitecaps have conceded only four goals and have had three clean sheets.
We’ve not conceded many goals in this period. And he’s definitely been a great part of that. He covers the backspace very well with his speed. And also with the ball, he’s so good at playing some passes that starts off our attack.”
And that passing ability was on display tonight. Halbouni completed the most passes of anyone on the pitch (68) and had a 100 per cent passing accuracy.
Up next
Matches are coming quickly for the Whitecaps. They face the Seattle Sounders this Saturday, Sept. 27, at Lumen Field. Then they come home for the Canadian Championship final on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Kickoff for the Seattle match is at 7:30 p.m.
