March 31, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC News Release
VANCOUVER, BC – It was a scorcher of a match in Vancouver on Saturday as Vancouver Whitecaps FC managed to edge fellow Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers 3-2 in front of a packed-out BC Place.
In this highly-anticipated Cascadia clash, Whitecaps FC started brightly. Ryan Gauld opened the scoring inside two minutes. Good work from Ali Ahmed down the left allowed Gauld to fire off a shot inside the box. While his first was saved by Maxime Crépeau, the Portland keeper could do nothing to deny the Scot a second bite of the cherry to take the lead.
Gauld nearly got his second in quick succession, after Alessandro Schöpf found him in the box with a driven cross. Gauld managed to divert it towards goal but his effort took a deflection and bounced off the bar, getting cleared before it could cross the line.
Whitecaps FC continued to build on their early dominance through clever attacking plays, one of which gave them their second inside half-an-hour. Schöpf was at the heart of it once again, flying down the right side before driving another cross in the box. The cross would get deflected, but that allowed it to roll perfectly for Fafà Picault to hit it first time and arrow it past Crépeau to double the lead, 2-0.
Portland tried to claw one back in the last 15 minutes of the half, but were denied by a resolute Whitecaps FC defence, who held on until the halftime whistle.
Whitecaps FC continued to defend their lead at the start of the second half, withstanding the early Portland pressure. The Timbers eventually found their breakthrough in the 52nd minute, however, through Evander. The Brazilian was found in open space by Cristhian Paredes, and made no mistake by thrashing it into the top left corner.
The ‘Caps nearly found a third just past the hour mark, after clever work from Gauld on the right. The Scot closed down Kamal Miller, won back possession and chipped it in for Levonte Johnson. The substitute managed to slip past Crépeau, but the angle was too narrow to get a proper shot in, getting cleared off the line.
Pedro Vite had a chance minutes later, curling a shot wide from inside the box after a scramble from a cross. Portland did not lie down despite that ‘Caps pressure, and would equalize with less than a quarter of the match to go. Evander’s cross from the left found the head of Felipe Mora, who sprung to the ball to nod Portland back on level terms.
Whitecaps FC would have the…
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