The Portland Timbers begin their final push for the postseason tonight against the Miami FC Blues at PGE Park at 7 p.m. live on FSN. Listen to a live audio broadcast at portlandtimbers.com or view a live video webcast at USL Live.
Click here for tonight's match notes.
Starting lineups:
POR:
MIA:
Match Preview:
Just four points from the final playoff spot, the Portland Timbers begin their final push for a USL First Division postseason berth tonight against Miami. Tonight's match ends a 12-day break for Portland also kicks off a stretch of four games in eight days, including games on the road at Rochester and Montreal.
The Timbers and Blues are in a two-way tie for ninth place at 28 points. The two clubs sit four points behind the Atlanta Silverbacks who currently hold the final playoff spot in seventh place. A win tonight lifts either the Timbers or Blues into a tie with the Minnesota Thunder in eighth place.
The Timbers are without defender and team captain
Cameron Knowles
for tonight's match due to a one-game, league-imposed suspension for yellow card accumulation. He received his fifth caution of the season in the Timbers' last match on Aug. 22 in Vancouver. The one-game suspension breaks his run of 57 consecutive league appearances with the Timbers.
Tonight marks the third and final regular-season match between the Timbers and Blues in 2008. With a 0-1-1 record in two previous matches against Miami this season, Portland is seeking its first win over the Blues and its first goal. Miami handed a short-sided Timbers squad a 2-0 loss in their last meeting on May 26 at PGE Park - forward Takayuki Suzuki was sent off with this second yellow card of the game right before halftime. The two sides played to a 0-0 draw in Miami on May 18. All-time, the Timbers are 2-3-1 against the Blues.
Including tonight's match, all five of Portland's remaining matches are against teams battling for playoff positioning in the final weeks of the season. The Timbers travel to face the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday and then the Montreal Impact on Monday. The team returns home to play host to the Charleston Battery in its regular-season home finale before ending the 2008 regular season on the road against the Carolina RailHawks.
