PORTLAND, OR – After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, Vancouver Whitecaps FC came back to claim a crucial 3-2 away win against their Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers at Providence Park, vaulting themselves into a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Portland would get the first chance of the match as Sebastián Blanco got on the end of a loose ball in the area off a Timbers corner and rattled an effort off the crossbar.
In the 15th minute, the Timbers took advantage of their early pressure as Yimmi Chara curled his shot into the bottom corner to give the home side the lead.
The Timbers would double their lead just before halftime as Chara sent Dairon Asprilla in on goal, with the Colombian firing the ball past ‘Caps goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, giving Portland a 2-0 advantage going into the break.
After the halftime interval, the ‘Caps looked the livelier of the two teams, creating chances and putting the Timbers on the back foot.
The Blue and White’s persistence would pay off in the 63rd minute as Deiber Caicedo dribbled the ball from inside his own half all the way to the Timbers penalty area and fired home his fifth goal of the season to give the ‘Caps some life.
Just 13 minutes later, the ‘Caps would find their equalizer as substitute Bruno Gaspar whipped in a perfect ball onto the head of fellow substitute Brian White, who thumped in his 11th goal of the season to draw the score even at 2-2.
The ‘Caps would complete the comeback in memorable fashion as Cristian Dájome won and converted a spot kick for his ninth goal of the season, putting the ‘Caps in front 3-2.
With Portland putting on the pressure in the final minutes, the ‘Caps would hold on to the lead to jump into a playoff spot and seventh place in the Western Conference.
The win marked acting head coach Vanni Sartini’s first away win as an MLS head coach.
The ‘Caps will now shift their focus to their final match of the road trip this Saturday, October 23 against fellow Western Conference side San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT. Fans can catch the match live on TSN1 and CKNW 980, with the radio pre-game show starting at 6 p.m. PT.
MATCH DETAILS
GE Appliances VWFC Player of Quality: Déiber Caicedo
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Scoring Summary
15' – POR – Yimmi Chará (Cristhian Paredes)
42' – POR – Dairon Asprilla (Yimmi Chará)
63' – VAN – Déiber Caicedo (Janio Bikel)
75' – VAN – Brian White (Bruno Gaspar, Déiber Caicedo)
82' – VAN – Cristian Dájome (penalty kick)
Statistics
Possession: POR 49% – VAN 51%
Shots: POR 12 – VAN 11
Shots on Goal: POR 3 – VAN 4
Saves: POR 1 – VAN 1
Fouls: POR 16 – VAN 10
Offsides: POR 0 – VAN 1
Corners: POR 7 – VAN 5
Cautions
90'+2 – VAN – Brian White
90'+2 – POR – Cristhian Paredes
Portland Timbers12.Steve Clark; 2.Josecarlos Van Rankin (85.Zachery McGraw, 86'), 33.Larrys Mabiala, 2.Dario Župarić, 28.Pablo Bonilla (44.Marvin Loría 86'); 20.George Fochive, 22.Cristhian Paredes; 27.Dairon Asprilla 10.Sebastián Blanco (30.Santiago Moreno 63'), 23.Yimmi Chará (8.Diego Valeri 75'); 9.Felipe Mora (11.Jaroslaw Niezgoda 75')
Substitutes not used31.Aljaž Ivačič, 26.Hunter Sulte, 40.Renzo Zambrano 98.Blake Bodily
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
16.Maxime Crépeau; 28.Jake Nerwinski, 26.Florian Jungwirth, 3.Cristian Gutiérrez; 2.Marcus Godinho (6.Bruno Gaspar 61'), 31.Russell Teibert (17.Leonard Owusu 73'), 19.Janio Bikel, 23.Javain Brown (11.Cristian Dájome HT); 25.Ryan Gauld (4.Ranko Veselinović 88'); 9.Lucas Cavallini (24.Brian White 61'), 7.Déiber Caicedo
Substitutes not used
1.Thomas Hasal, 27.Ryan Raposo, 32.Patrick Metcalfe, 55.Michael Baldisimo
