Healthy or not, at home or on the road, scoring goals — and even seeming dangerous on the attack — is a rare occurrence for the Portland Timbers right now. The team has one goal in its last three matches, outscored 9-3 in its last five contests.
Portland’s struggle to produce with the ball was a problem once again on Saturday as the Timbers fell 1-0 on the road to the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place.
The first half was all Whitecaps. Portland was outshot 6-0, unable to produce anything of substance on the attack beyond a handful of solid runs by Juan Mosquera along the right side.
Aljaz Ivacic was crucial to the Timbers’ chances throughout the match, making multiple key saves in quick succession early on. Ivacic saved a rocket of a shot by Pedro Vite in the fourth minute, leaping to smack the ball up and away. In the seventh minute, a header by Mathias Laborda was also saved by the quick-thinking Ivacic.
Both teams felt each other out and struggled in the middle of the field for 15 minutes, that was until Laborda got in the action again with a header that sailed high in the 23rd minute.
In the 25th minute, Vancouver lost one of its most important players to injury. Andres Cubas collided with towering Timbers striker Tega Ikoba, landing awkwardly on his right shoulder and leaving the match a few minutes later, replaced by Sebastian Berhalter.
Portland (1-4-2, 5 points) avoided disaster in the 30th minute as a would-be goal from Ranko Veselinovic was called off with Veselinovic in an offside position.
In the 39th minute, Tristan Blackmon earned a yellow card for the Whitecaps (2-2-3, 9 points) after taking out Mosquera on the counterattack. It had the potential for Portland’s best attacking moment to that point, hence the yellow card.
The Timbers brought on top-dollar signing Evander — returned from a hip injury — for Diego Gutierrez at the half. Jaroslaw Niezgoda also came on for Portland at the break, replacing Ikoba.
Timbers defender Dario Zuparic earned a yellow card in the 48th minute, a physical presence for Portland along its back line as it tried to hold off Vancouver.
The Whitecaps appeared to break the seal in the 51st minute on a header by Veselinovic that found the goal, but a stiff arm by Veselinovic in the back of Zuparic negated the goal after review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
In the 52nd minute, with Vancouver still pressing hard, Santiago Moreno earned a yellow card for the Timbers on a poor challenge. The ensuing free kick from Berhalter was wide, but only by a foot or so.
Portland’s first real attacking moment came in the 60th minute, a feed in from Evander to the feet of Moreno, whose shot was blocked well by Whitecaps defenders.
New striker signing Franck Boli, fresh off a clutch goal in Portland’s 1-1 draw at FC Dallas, came on for Dairon Asprilla in the 65th minute.
Ivacic made another great save in the 72nd minute on the powerful shot from Gressel, but the match would fall out of Portland’s grasp moments later.
Vancouver finally scored in the 74th minute after plenty of action in the opposing end. A ball in from Gressel found a wide-open Brian White, who put it home to put Vancouver up 1-0. Portland missed its marks, got turned around, and gave up a goal that its keeper had no chance to save.
In the 77th minute, David Ayala made his season debut for Portland, replacing a struggling Moreno. Portland brought on Nathan Fogaça in the 81st minute to replace Mosquera, the third striker in the team’s closing lineup as it desperately sought a tying goal.
But Portland — despite a dangerous moment from Justin Rasmussen that included a quick cross to Mosquera — could not claw back to earn a point. The Timbers finished having been outshot 13-2 by the Whitecaps in one of their worst offensive performances of the season.
The Timbers’ next match is at home against the Western Conference-leading Seattle Sounders (5-1-1, 16 points). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. next Saturday at Providence Park, with a live broadcast available on the Apple TV app with a subscription to MLS Season Pass.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke
