by Graham Tooke, @chelskitooke
Starting XI
Ousted made an important block on Adi.
Ousted 8.0
The Dane kept his side in the tie with his super reflexes most notably pushing Diego Valeri’s well placed free kick round the post late on. He also saved his defense’s blushes diving out at the feet of Adi. With the rest of the team struggling in the second half Ousted kept his nerve to keep the clean sheet.
Harvey 5.5
Defensively it wasn’t a game he’ll look back at with much confidence as he struggled to close down Melano on the left side. The young Timbers DP continually delivered dangerous crosses into the box that the Vancouver central defenders had to contend with. His first half was slightly buoyed by his ability to overlap adding a bit of danger in the final third, but the second half had Harvey mostly bunkered in his own half.
Waston 6.5
Most have given the centre back pairing high praise for keeping a clean sheet in a hostile environment. But too often in the second half they got caught trying to play the offside trap and in the first failed to deal with low crosses into the box that fortunately didn’t find a lurking Fanendo Adi. He did help himself with a timely clearance with Valeri closing in.
Parker 6.5
See Waston. They both dealt with long balls over the top but need to show calmer heads at BC Place if they hope to make it through to the Conference Final.
Beitashour 6.0
He had to deal with Diego Valeri doubling up with Rodney Wallace down the right side a few times in the first half. The pair managed to put in a couple of dangerous crosses that could easily have punished the ‘Caps. He made a couple of fine interceptions after a troubling 10 minute period where he was beat for pace.
Laba 6.5
Provided a solid shield in front of the back four alongside Teibert but the distribution on the break wasn’t up to scratch and allowed Portland increased possession. The second half should have seen Vancouver take it to a Portland side who went 120 minutes plus on Thursday night, but worryingly it was the away side who looked the more fatigued.
Teibert 6.5
Tracked Valeri all game but the odd time Nagbe got in behind it could and probably should have caused Vancouver more trouble, luckily Adi wasn’t quite on. Managing to keep Valeri and Nagbe quiet in the first half shows his tireless effort unfortunately he really has no ability in attack and means the ‘Caps always seem to have six men sitting back at the half way line leaving Rivero to do It alone.
I expect to be talking much higher of Manneh after the return leg at BC Place next Sunday.
Manneh 3.0
Just awful from Manneh. This should have been a perfect opportunity for the speedster to destroy an exhausted Timbers side, instead he choked up possession and only once did we see him scare Villafana and put in a cross from the byline that found Gershon Koffie in the area. But other than that his passing was lazy and he didn’t really help Harvey defensively. Rightly hooked at 77 minutes for Morales but many would have liked to have seen him yanked much earlier.
Koffie 7.5
Made way for Rosales in the second half but he offered himself up well in an attacking role he was likely to be limited in. His first half was full of enterprising runs that saw him freed up in the area, unfortunately his shooting was more at the level of a Darren Mattocks. Despite tiring in the second he was still one of the brighter performers.
Techera 5.0
Such an odd day for Techera who is normally so bright. He never seemed to be able to get on the ball but maybe that was more to do with his teammates failing to give him the ball, played the entire game but not once was he noticed, hopefully we see a completely different Techera next Sunday.
The biggest positive was the lively away support tucked away in the corner of Providence Park.
Rivero 4.5
He’s always given plaudits for his non-stop work rate but I felt he spent more time complaining to the referee than chasing down the Timbers centre backs. He had an early shot blocked by Borchers and it seemed it would be sooner rather than later that he’d get on the scoresheet. That was until he ballooned a gilt edged chance in front of goal. From then on the confidence fell apart and rarely offered himself up as an outlet consistently losing out to Borchers and Ridgewell.
Substitutes
Rosales 7.0 (63′)
His neat touches immediately helped the ‘Caps out. After long spells watching the Timbers on the ball the Argentine brought some much needed flair through the middle.
Morales 6.5 (77′)
Pedro certainly offered himself up as an outlet that had severely been missing for much of the second half, but couldn’t find that key pass for a crucial away goal.
Mattocks N/A (88′)
