Vancouver Whitecaps 0 – 1 Portland Timbers

With a playoff spot on the line, many expected the Whitecaps to come up big, but when it was all said and done, Vancouver failed to come through, losing one nothing to the Timbers.

Though they ended up making the playoffs with Dallas losing to Seattle, Vancouver can’t be happy with their performances as of late, especially in this game against a Cascadia rival in front of their own fans.

Though their match against Real Salt Lake technically means nothing now with regards to the standings, they’ll look at it as a rebounding match to try and gain some confidence ahead of their match against the Galaxy.

The key to the ratings, as seems to be the logic on a scale of 1-10, is not to view it as a “grade”, as in a 6 would be a 60 or a C. The formula is that each player begins the game with a 5 and is the equilibrium from which their performance either improves or degrades moving in increments of .5.

Here is the breakdown of the starting XI:

Brad Knighton – 5.5
Was left with no chance on Jack Jewsbury’s long range effort, but otherwise Knighton played a solid game in goal. Made a nice save of Bright Dike’s headed effort that seemed destined for the corner of goal.

Young-Pyo Lee – 5.5
Had limited opportunities to get forward but lived up to his Player of the Year award with his defensive play, specifically defending a Portland counterattack late in the game with four Timbers players coming forward.

Jay DeMerit – 5.5
Didn’t give the Timbers too much space to work with and his marking was spot on as Portland really had no clear cut opportunities.

Andy O’Brien – 5.5
Controlled the game at the back well and kept Portland from exposing the Whitecaps defense with some good positioning.

Jordan Harvey – 5.5
Continues to play good defense and while his crosses were still a bit off the mark, when moving forward he kept possession well by keeping the ball on the ground. Also had a nice diving header to prevent a possible Portland chance.

Alain Rochat – 4.5
Defensively he was okay, but throughout his time on the pitch his repeated use of the long ball to try and pick out Camilo and Kenny Miller killed any offensive build-up the Whitecaps had amassed. Would have liked to see him close down Jewsbury a bit faster on the Timber’s goal.

Barry Robson – 4.5
Robson had one of his worst performances for Vancouver as he often looked sluggish and unfocussed throughout the course of the game. Particularly in the late stages he went down to easily under pressure and looked to win marginal fouls.

Gershon Koffie – 5.5
Held the ball up well and used his strength to keep possession but his teammates weren’t able to use his skills to their benefit which unfortunately lowered Koffie’s impact on the game.

Matt Watson – 5.5
Watson has been one of the few Whitecaps who has put out consistent performances. Had other midfielders and forwards put forth as much effort as he has, the outcome of the game may have been different.

Kenny Miller – 4.5
Failed to create any real chances and didn’t show much offensive ability mostly due to a lack of hustle. Wasn’t able to link up with Camilo either which factored into the dismal offensive output from the Whitecaps.

Camilo – 5
Had a good chance off a header in the first half, but that was it for the diminutive Brazilian. Oddly enough he seemed to be pegged as the Whitecaps’ target man, and it simply did not work as he was outmatched physically by the Timbers’ defense.

Substitutes

Dane Richards (’61) – 5
Was fairly ineffective, mostly because he wasn’t give the ball nearly enough and was thus unable to use his speed to attack the Timber’s left flank.

Darren Mattocks (’67) – 5
Had a headed opportunity shortly after coming on, but that was all for the rookie as the Whitecaps’ offense sputtered to the finish.

Omar Salgado (’77) – 5
Saw his first team action in months after suffering a foot injury, and while he appeared to be a bit rusty, he showed some signs of becoming a strong winger that he had already shown earlier in the season.