PORTLAND, Ore. – If there were any fears of a carry-over effect from Minnesota, Saturday’s result put them to rest.
Recording 23 shots, 553 passes, and 59.3 percent of the game’s possession, the Portland Timbers rekindled the form from their last performance at Providence Park – a 4-0 win two weeks ago against the LA Galaxy. While Saturday’s victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC was “only” a 3-1 result, the underlying form alleviated any concern of, after two losses in Minnesota, a prolonged swoon. Rising to first in the Cascadia Cup standings, Portland jumped back into the win column.
“Today, the performance was excellent,” head coach Giovanni Savarese said, after the match. “All around, especially in the second half, the guys were able to move the ball. They were patient. They didn’t get frustrated … Momentum, we knew when to take advantage of it.”
Addressing that momentum – keeping it from gathering further after the team’s disappointing week on the road – will be one aspect we remember from Saturday’s win, but the more prominent ones will be the bangers and the worldies, the bombs and the stunners we saw over the night’s first three goals.
If, on Saturday, you came to Providence Park for quality goals, you got your money’s worth.
Only golazos need apply
Well, perhaps not only golazos. Because as nice as Jeremy Ebobisse’s 90th-minute score was in terms of a team goal, it was somewhat straight forward compared to the three Sportscenter Top 10 candidates that came before.
Sebastián Blanco’s opener in the 28th minute is becoming a trademark of his – a long-range bomb from a distance approaching his memorable postseason goal last year in Kansas City.
Perhaps he needed a little help from Vancouver goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau for the ball to find nylon, but the degree of difficulty alone is worth our admiration. The Whitecaps paid the price for laying off Portland’s most dangerous threat from distance.
Theo Bair’s goal, however, may have been even more remarkable, if more random; or, perhaps not so random, since Montreal’s Orji Okonkwo scored a similar goal against the Timbers earlier this year. Both goals left onlookers asking what Portland could have done to stop them.
