In a game that was rife with awkward passes, plenty of dives, and some absolutely bizarre referee calls, the Portland Timbers managed to overcome it all to get a 2-2 draw on the road. Well you never can fully predict just what will happen in a Cascadia Cup match, I think this one by far takes the cake for most bizarre due to a number of reasons.
Twice the Timbers were forced to come from behind in order to equalize. Vancouver opened the scoring sheet off a free kick taken by Camilo Senvazzo in the 24th minute. Then in the second half, a clear handball by Vancouver's defender earned the Timbers a PK, which Will Johnson confidently converted. 2 minutes later, however, Gershon Koffie brought the Whitecaps back up a goal, mostly due to sloppy defending on the Timbers' part. Finally, in a moment of heroics, Jose Adolfo Valencia confidently slotted one home himself in the 84th minute to equalize.
The news surrounding the game, however, will undoubtedly circle the referee's bizarre calls. Futty Danso's red card, in particular, will probably be scrutinized to some degree. Vancouver's willingness to dive will probably also be discussed. Camillo, especially, is somebody the league should watch for. Unless he was playing with butter on his feet, there's no way he falls half as much as he did.
Overall, the Timbers will certainly take this draw and call it a win. For all their own mishaps tonight, you absolutely can't say that the the team gave up.
What did you think of the Timbers' performance and result tonight?
[Note: I'll update the picture when our database uploads some from this game.]