Whitecaps vs. Timbers 2nd Leg Preview

As the Whitecap's return to Portland where they have been embarassed by their expansion cousins already twice this year, the sense is that things are going according to plan.

With the 2-0 lead after the first game (road goals count for nothing in the ussf d2), it seems like the Timbers have quite a heavy burden to bear as they return home. Home is a funny word in this sort of a situation. While the game will be played in Portland it wont be played in the Timbers normal home.

Vancouver will likely benifit from the change of venue as the Game will be played at Merlo Field (5000 Capacity) at The University of Portland, instead of PGE Park (15 000 capacity) which is currently being renovated. The new digs for the playoffs mean that Zurab Tsiskaridze might have a bit of an easier time playing the bounce on long balls that he seemed to be victimized by in the first game of the season at PGE. Not that Big Z was the only guy but he definitely stuck out in my memory personally as I can recall yelling at my computer screen on more then one ocasion. Another thing that should play in Vancouver's favour is Portland's best defender Mamadou Danso will be away on international duty with Gambia.

Expect a much stronger presence from Bright Dike, and Ryan Pore. Neither can be happy with the performance they each turned in for the last game. With Wes Knight suffering a separated shoulder and not even making the trip to P-Town expect to see more Ethan Gage starting and maybe even Mouloud Akloul getting on the pitch. It was interesting to see how the pace of the game changed last match as team leader Martin Nash, was substituted out for Davide Chiumiento. While Chiumiento does alot of thinigs brilliantly he definitely doesn't flourish in the defensive aspects of the game, which was something Portland Coach Gavin Wilkinson called him out on in the last game of the season, calling him a simply a luxuary player. The game definitely changed from the second that Nash left the field and it will be interesting to see when this change takes place today.

All that being said expect the Timbers Army to be loud and crazy, and expect a great game. Thursday's game was he most entertaining game the 'Caps played all year and it would be hard to imagine that Portland are going to sit back at let Vancouver walk all over them. Brace Yourselves.