What an incredible Sunday evening it was for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Not only was it a Major League Soccer match, it was a Cascadia Derby against the Portland Timbers. In a very thrilling, high scoring affair, the Whitecaps secured a 4-3 victory over the Timbers at Providence Park, which ended a twenty-two match unbeaten streak at home for the Timbers. The victory sends Vancouver’s unbeaten streak to six games and for the first time since joining MLS, Vancouver has won back-to-back road games. As if that was not enough, it was Vancouver’s first ever victory over Portland in Major League Soccer. The victory improves their record to 5-2-5 and twenty points, which is fourth in the Western Conference.
The star of the match for Vancouver was Mr. Everything, Pedro Morales. The Chilean scored two goals, both penalty kicks, and tallied two assists to power the Whitecaps to victory. Morales’s two goals give him the team lead with five and his two assists also give him five on the year, which is the team lead and tied for second in MLS behind Obafemi Martins and Diego Valeri who have six each. Morales certainly deserves the credit for ensuring a huge win, but, there were also other contributors as well who deserve adulations as well.
Sebastian Fernandez, Kekuta Manneh and Erik Hurtado proved to be a lethal combination as their ball handling skills, passing, and speed were too much for the Timbers back line to contain. These three constantly were quick on the counter attack and the pressure that they put on the defense of Portland became the Achilles heel for the Timbers. Possession by the Whitecaps made all the difference in the match as it made the Timbers exhaust their defense to the point that they conceded a whopping four times.
The Whitecaps offence seems to be grabbing all the headlines today, but there was some excitement on the other end of the pitch too. Whitecaps keeper David Ousted was put to the test quite often and in accepting these tests came up with some spectacular saves. Ousted conceded a goal in the third minute of the match and only minutes later was asked to make a couple of incredible saves that kept the match equal at one goal apiece. Towards the end of the match, Portland brought everyone forward and with a barrage of shots, were able to score two more goals off Ousted. Don’t be fooled though; Ousted came up big throughout the evening and deserves his just do.
Joining Morales on the score sheet were Erik Hurtado and Jordan Harvey who each had a goal. Hurtado’s strike gives him three for the season, while Harvey’s low drive was his second. Morales, the man of the match, assisted on both goals and completed an incredible night for Vancouver.
There is no time for celebration as Vancouver must focus on June 7th, which will be a match at PPL Park, home of the Philadelphia Union. The Union are coming off an impressive victory over Chivas USA. Philadelphia sits eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 3-7-5 record and fourteen points. Look for another tough match for the Whitecaps, but, they are running on all cylinders at the moment and look to be a force in the Western Conference.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @lwosEric. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at sports injury alert.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
Image Credit:
