Frederic Piquionne's Martinique Tops Will Johnson's Canada in Gold Cup Opener

It was an interesting Sunday for Timbers' players Will Johnson and Frederic Piquionne. While the two regularly starting Timbers men are used to playing side by side up here in Portland, they faced off against each other in the CONCACAF Gold Cup opener yesterday when Canada (Will Johnson's national side) took on the island of Martinique (Frederic Piquionne's side).

The reality is that the game was largely a humdrum affair played out mostly by each sides' goalkeepers making great saves followed by some terrific attacking gaffes, mostly by Martinique. Frederic Piquionne, for his part, seemed to create a few chances. In the 20th minute, he managed to get a ball through to Parsemain. Unfortunately, the latter striker's attempt was spoiled by Canada's keeper.

Will Johnson played a mere 51 minutes of the match after he was subbed out for Simeon Jackson. His overall contributions were relatively muted, however. He did manage to pick up a yellow card in the 35th minute though!

Overall, it was largely a forgetful game, but both Timbers men started and that's reason enough for us to be interested.

Will Johnson and his Canadian side will next play Mexico this Thursday in Seattle at CenturyLink Field. Meanwhile Frederic Piquionne and Martinique will take on Panama, also in Seattle as part of a double header.

Rodney Wallace, the only other Timbers man in the Gold Cup will face off against Cuba as part of the Costa Rican squad right here in Portland tomorrow evening. The U.S. Men's National Team will play against Belize as well.

What did you think of Will Johnson's and Frederic Piquionne's performance in the Gold Cup?