BURNABY, B.C. — Any advantage the Portland Timbers carried into their first-round playoff series against the Vancouver Whitecaps vanished almost as soon as they stepped upon the pitch at Swangard Stadium on Thursday.
The Whitecaps scored twice in the first 13 minutes and those goals stood up for a 2-0 win in the first leg of a two-game, total goals series.
The Timbers will need to score at least three goals on Sunday to advance to the semifinal round of the United States Soccer Federation Division 2 Pro League playoffs.
Sunday’s match kicks off at 6 p.m. at the University of Portland’s Merlo Field. Should the Timbers outscore the Whitecaps by two goals through 90 minutes on Sunday, the teams would play an additional 30 minutes. Should the score still be tied, a penalty-kick tiebreaker will determine the winner.
Timbers head coach Gavin Wilkinson blamed “stupid mistakes” for the early hole.
The Whitecaps scored 55 seconds into the match. Gershon Koffie took advantage of a loose ball after the Timbers missed a clearance on a Vancouver corner kick, and just that quickly the home team had a lead.
That lead doubled in the 13th minute with Martin Nash converting a penalty kick.
The penalty kick resulted from a foul by Portland’s Kalif Alhassan. But the first breakdown on the play was a foul outside the penalty area that set up a close-range free kick for the Whitecaps.
The result ended a 10-game unbeaten streak for the Timbers, and put in jeopardy the team’s hopes for earning a second-division championship before ascending to Major League Soccer in 2011.
As difficult as the 2-0 deficit will be for the Timbers to overcome, it could have been a deeper hole. The Whitecaps hit the post twice and Timbers goalkeeper Steve Cronin made several difficult saves.
Vancouver goalkeeper Jay Nolly made several big saves to earn his 17th shutout of the season.
Among his best were a kick save on a Bright Dike (Dee-Kay) shot and a reaction save to deny Kevin Goldthwaite from close range on a Portland corner kick.
Wilkinson said Vancouver adjusted its formation, putting an extra player in the midfield to clutter up things and make it more difficult for the Timbers to transition through midfield.
Wilkinson said he expected better from his players given the stakes on Thursday.
“Not one of our players played to their potential tonight,” Wilkinson said.
“Players are allowed to have a bad night,” Wilkinson said. “They just picked a horrendous night for it to happen.”
Wilkinson tried to be upbeat about the Sunday’s opportunity — the first in more than a month that the Timbers will play in front of their own fans.
“We do have a great group of guys,” Wilkinson said, adding that he expects the character of his players to shine through on Sunday.
Tickets for Sunday’s match are on sale through Ticketmaster for $15. A limited number will be available at the gate on Sunday.
