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Vancouver Whitecaps FC

24,693 Watch 'Caps Win First Cascadia Clash of the Season

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 last laugh, though, as they snatched the win in the last minutes of the match through Ryan Raposo.

Sam Adekugbe crossed a dangerous ball into the box, wreaking havoc for the Timbers defence. After bouncing around, Picault managed to back-heel it across goal for Raposo to tap-in.

Miller almost stole a point for Portland at the death, but his header off an Evander cross just fizzed past the post. That would be the last chance of the game before the referee blew his final whistle, giving Whitecaps FC all three points on the night.

Whitecaps FC are back at home next Saturday, April 6 as they face Canadian rivals Toronto FC on Vaisakhi Night, featuring a performance from world-renowned bhangara artist Jazzy B. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.

MATCH DETAILS

VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Fafá Picault

Attendance: 24,693

Referee: Allen Chapman

Scoring Summary

2' - VAN - Ryan Gauld

29' - VAN - Fafá Picault

52' - POR - Evander (Cristhian Paredes)

78' - POR - Felipe Mora (Evander)

87' - VAN - Ryan Raposo (Fafá Picault)

Statistics

Possession: VAN 43% - POR 57%

Shots: VAN 13 - POR 11

Shots on Goal: VAN 6 - POR 4

Saves: VAN 2 - POR 3

Fouls: VAN 13 - POR 6

Offsides: VAN 3 - POR 1

Corners: VAN 1 - POR 0

Cautions

51' - VAN - Andrés Cubas

90' - VAN - Sam Adekugbe

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

1.Yohei Takaoka; 2.Mathías Laborda (15.Bjørn Inge Utvik 71'), 4.Ranko Veselinović, 6.Tristan Blackmon; 8.Alessandro Schöpf (7.Ryan Raposo 81'), 20.Andrés Cubas, 45.Pedro Vite (16.Sebastian Berhalter 81'), 22.Ali Ahmed (3.Sam Adekugbe 80'); 11.Fafà Picault, 19.Damir Kreilach (28.Levonte Johnson 64'), 25.Ryan Gauld ©

Substitutes not used

32.Isaac Boehmer, 12.Belal Halbouni, 13.Ralph Priso, 23.Javain Brown

Portland Timbers

16.Maxime Crépeau; 29.Juan Mosquera, 18.Zac McGraw (13.Dario Zuparic 45'), 4.Kamal Miller, 15.Eric Miller (99.Nathan Fogaça 94'); 22.Cristhian Paredes (19.Eryk Williamson 64'), 21.Diego Chara; 30.Santiago Moreno (27.Dairon Asprilla 83'), 10.Evander, 11.Antony (9.Felipe Mora 64'); 14.Jonathan Rodríguez

Substitutes not used

41.James Pantemis, 2.Miguel Araujo, 24.David Ayala

- whitecapsfc.com -

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