Vancouver Whitecaps ran rampant in a 5–0 victory over Portland Timbers in the Western Conference Wild Card match in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The comprehensive win for Vanni Sartini's team sets them up with a Round One Best of Three Series against LAFC. Vancouver should've been the hosts for the Wild Card match but a scheduling conflict at BC Place meant the match was played at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.
The visitors found the breakthrough after a bit of a pinball sequence from a corner kick. Several Portland and Vancouver players battled for the ball in the air before it dropped to Tristan Blackmon, who's shot was initially saved by Portland's James Pantemis.
The ball fell to Vancouver playmaker Ryan Gauld who made no mistake from close range as his shot bounced off Timbers defender Claudio Bravo and into the side netting. The goal was coming for the Whitecaps as they were asking questions of the Portland defense that conceded 56 goals during the regular season.
Minutes later, the Timbers found themselves in a hole after a brilliant piece of individual skill from Mathias Laborda. The Whitecaps defender got on the end of a cross in the Portland penalty area before flicking the ball up and over Bravo to square a pass across the face of goal for Brian White. It was a simple strike in the end for White who doubled Vancouver's lead with a tap-in finish.
The Whitecaps weren't done scoring in the first half, though. Gauld was in the right place at the right time once again to capitalize on a Portland error, pressing Pantemis and stealing the ball off him after a poor back pass from a Timbers defender. Gauld won possession and sent a pass back to the top of the penalty area.
Gauld received a lobbed pass from fellow Scotland international Stuart Armstrong and took a touch before chipping Pantemis—who did manage to get a glove to the shot—but it wasn't enough to keep out an unreal effort from the attacking midfielder.
Armstrong was involved in the final third once again early on in the second half. Fabrice 'Fafa' Picault sent in an inviting cross that the 32-year-old headed home from close range to make it 4–0 in favor of the hosts as he scored his second goal for the club.
The Scotland connection was on point once again as Armstrong connected with Gauld to secure the latter's hat trick. The Timbers defense didn't track Gauld's run into their penalty area and a simple pass from Armstrong sent Gauld through on goal.
Gauld then chipped Pantemis for the second time with a delicate finish into the bottom far corner to make it 5–0, wrapping up the scoring for the night.
Ryan Gauld is One of the Most Underrated Playmakers in MLS
The likes of Luciano 'Lucho' Acosta, Lionel Messi, Riqui Puig and Evander are often lauded as the best creative players in MLS—which is true. However, Gauld is often left out of those discussions despite being a very productive player in a team that isn't really blessed with tons of attacking talent.
Over the last two seasons, Gauld has tallied an impressive 27 assists in 62 appearances while also scoring 21 goals.
Gauld was everything you want in an attacking midfielder against the Timbers. He was finding the right spaces in the final third for both of his goals and helped defend from the front by coordinating the Vancouver press.
Each of his three goals showed just how much quality he possess in the final third. He acted as a poacher for his first goal, moved into the right space for his volleyed strike and scored a goal many strikers dream of for his third goal.
Playing Away From Home Suited the Whitecaps
While Whitecaps fans were devastated to not see their team play a huge postseason match at home at BC Place, it actually suited Vancouver to play away from home given their more direct playing style.
The Whitecaps managed just 47.5% possession throughout the 34 matches played during the regular season. Vancouver is able to play well without having much of the ball due their two clinical figures up front in White and Gauld.
While Portland struggled to make the right decisions in the final third, the Whitecaps knew exactly what they were meant to do with the ball when racing forward on the break or when they committed more players forward.
Portland has a Talented Squad but May Need a Different Coach
With players like Jonathan Rodríguez, Evander and Antony, there is no real reason Portland should be finishing in a Wild Card spot. That isn't even taking into account the team's dreadful performance in a must-win game at home.
Portland finished the 2023 season in 10th place with 43 points, just one point outside of a Western Conference playoff spot. In 2024 under new head coach Phil Neville, Portland collected 47 points to finish in ninth place. It was a marginal improvement in both the table and points collected but the Timbers looked very disjointed in a huge playoff match against a Cascadia rival.
When the Timbers got to the final third, players either took too long to make a decision or just made the wrong decision overall. They were all over the shop defensively, which was a problem for most of the regular season, too.
While Neville was just appointed during the last offseason, if the Timbers wish to get the most out of their talented group of players, then Neville just might not be the right guy on the touchline at Providence Park.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ryan Gauld Hat Trick Sends Whitecaps to Round One: Takeaways From MLS Western Conference Wild Card Match.
