By Canadian Press

Whitecaps visit Timbers needing a point to clinch first in MLS West

Oct 20, 2017 | 1:15 PM

The Vancouver Whitecaps have made a habit of grinding out points away from home this year. They’ll need one more gritty effort to guarantee an easier playoff road.

The Whitecaps visit the Portland Timbers on the final afternoon of Major League Soccer’s regular-season Sunday knowing a draw or better against their bitter rivals will secure top spot in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history.

“As a manager and as players, you want to play in the games that mean something,” said head coach Carl Robinson. “There’s going to be emotion.”

After blowing a chance to clinch at B.C. Place Stadium in last weekend’s disappointing 1-1 tie with the San Jose Earthquakes, a result that would have also locked up a bye to the West semifinals, Vancouver (15-11-7) sits two points up on Portland (14-11-8) and the Seattle Sounders (13-9-11).

While a win or a draw secures first in the conference, a Whitecaps’ loss at Providence Park would see the Timbers earn the No. 1 seed and push Vancouver down to second or third depending on what the Sounders do at home against the lowly Colorado Rapids.

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“They want something that we have right now,” Vancouver striker Fredy Montero said of Portland. “We’re going to fight, we’re going to battle.”

That scrappy mentality has served the Whitecaps well away from home, where they own the conference’s best record at 6-8-2.

Using a deep squad with a number of interchangeable parts, Vancouver’s impressive road performances have included a first-ever win at FC Dallas, a victory at Orlando City SC after a brutal travel day, and the snapping of Sporting Kansas City’s 24-game unbeaten run at home.

“We know we can win the game in the first minute or the 90th,” Montero said. “Sometimes we win games playing (ugly). They are not pretty games, but we win.”

The downside heading into the weekend is that the Whitecaps have lost both meetings with Portland this season by 2-1 scorelines, and haven’t picked up a result at Providence Park since earning three ties there during the 2015 campaign.

The Timbers are 10-2-4 at home this season, and have won five straight in front of their fans dating back to the middle of July.

“Portland clearly are favourites,” said Robinson. “They can be the favourites. Orlando were favourites when we went in there, K.C. were favourites when we went in there.

“We’re better as an underdog.”

Finishing first would be quite an achievement after the Whitecaps missed the playoffs by eight points in 2016. But the real reward is getting one of the conference’s top-2 spots and avoiding a dreaded single-elimination knockout round match in middle of next week on short rest against the No. 6 seed.

“You want to avoid the knockout game, make no doubt about it,” said Robinson. “But the teams that have won the last two MLS Cups (the Timbers and Sounders) have gone into the knockout round, gained momentum, and managed to go all the way.”

Sunday’s opponents have had a number of memorable clashes in recent years.

Portland beat Vancouver in the conference semifinals on the way to winning the franchise’s first championship in 2015, while the Whitecaps got a small measure of revenge in last season’s finale by beating the Timbers to help deny them a playoff spot.

The game will also decide the Cascadia Cup — a regional tournament, created by supporters of the Timbers, Sounders and Whitecaps that counts results of the nine MLS matches played between the clubs.

Portland can jump over Seattle in the standings with a victory to claim its fourth title, something that Vancouver, which won last year but is out of the running in 2017, doesn’t want to see on its watch.

“There’s lots to play for,” said Robinson. “It probably couldn’t have been scripted any better.”

The Whitecaps look set to hand goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic a second straight start ahead of veteran David Ousted, while midfielder Christian Bolanos returns from suspension.

Robinson said the decision to leave Ousted and right back Jordan Harvey on the bench last weekend against San Jose wasn’t an easy one.

“If you ever get a chance to read (former Manchester United manager) Alex Ferguson’s book, he says sentiment goes out the window,” said Robinson. “It’s not personal.

“Players have different tactical attributes, and I’ll pick the best players suited for the game.”

On the other side, Vancouver will have to be wary of Portland’s potent attack that has a West-leading 58 goals this season and centres around star midfielder Diego Valeri, who has scored 21 times.

“We know what they have,” said Whitecaps rookie right back Jake Nerwinski. “We know what we’re up against.”

Robinson, meanwhile, knows what he has and is confident his players can get the job done one more time against the odds.

“The boys have been phenomenal for 33 games,” said Robinson. “Let’s hope it finishes with 34.”

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press