Crepeau backstops Whitecaps to win over Timbers

Maxime Crepeau had plenty of action Friday night – and he did not disappoint.

Crepeau made five saves as the Vancouver Whitecaps blanked the Portland Timbers 1-0 at B.C. Place Stadium. The saves total was a bit misleading, although Crepeau, a 24-year-old Greenfield Park, Que., native, stopped mostly difficult shots. He was under siege for much of the night as the Whitecaps (3-5-3) scored early and hung on for their second straight win, moving into playoff contention in the process.

Fredy Montero scored the game’s only goal in the ninth minutes as he took a pass from Russell Teibert in the Timbers box and roofed a shot inside the near post.

Portland (3-6-1) was credited with 27 shots in all – with five on target, 15 off target and another seven blocked by Vancouver defenders. By comparison, the Caps only recorded 12 shots altogether.

But Crepeau was not complaining about Portland’s barrage.

"Tonight, the heat lamp was a little bit more on our side. It was back and forth.

"It's easier for me to be focused when we have action. If you are having one action every 35 minutes, you really need to keep up mentally for that ball. If the ball is coming in waves and waves, you are right in there."

Crepeau earned his third shutout of the season while logging his 10th start. Not bad considering that he played in lower tiers before earning his first permanent Major League Soccer spot this season. 

Vancouver’s starting goalkeeper job was up for grabs as the start of the campaign after the Whitecaps jettisoned both of their stoppers after missing the playoffs in 2018. But Crepeau, who was acquired in a trade in December from the Montreal Impact for $50,000 in targeted allocation money and a third-round 2020 SuperDraft pick, has relegated American veteran Zac MacMath to a backup role.

The Caps paid a much higher price for MacMath, sending pesky midfielder Nicolas Mezquida and $100,000 in TAM to the Colorado Rapids.

Despite being part of Canada’s men’s national program, Crepeau was a relative unknown. But he has a strong pedigree. In 2018, he recorded a USL single-season record with 15 clean sheets while on loan to Ottawa Fury FC. He won the circuit’s goalkeeper of the year award, posting 82 saves with a 72.6 save percentage with a 1.00 goals-against average.

Now, Crepeau has the Whitecaps dreaming of more success.

"We are happy,” he said. “It was an important win. We want to keep going with three wins in a row (after the next meeting) against Atlanta (on Wednesday).”

Meanwhile, the Timbers headed home unhappy, largely because of Crepeau.

“(Give) credit to their goalkeeper (and) to their team” said Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese. “They defended well. They sacrificed. But I thought also, we were really unlucky today. We did a lot of good things. We created a lot of chances. We moved the ball well. We dominated -- especially in the second half. Yes, they did have counters. But we dealt very well with the counters."

The Timbers earned 12 corner-kicks as a result of their steady pressure – but could not capitalize.

"We had many corners, many shots, a lot of possessions," said Savarese. "But, unfortunately, that doesn't win you games. Unfortunately, what we missed today was the goals."

 

Whitecaps' frustrated by loss to shorthanded Timbers

David Ousted had no problem agreeing with the description of his team’s performance.

The Vancouver goalkeeper was deeply puzzled after the  Whitecaps bowed 2-1 to a shorthanded Portland Timbers squad on Sunday at B.C. Place Stadium.

“Frustrating is a good word for it,” said Ousted . “We weren’t good enough. Simple as that.”

On this particular Sunday, the Whitecaps should have been the better team just based on numbers. The Timbers were missing 12 players due to injuries, suspensions and Gold Cup duties.

Portland only dressed 16 players instead of the usual 18 and called up two from its USL affiliate. But the Timbers never trailed as rookie Jeremy Ebobisse scored his first Major League Soccer goal and assisted on the winner in his inaugural start.

Before Sunday, the Timbers (8-8-6) had gone six games without a win 0-3-3. The Whitecaps (8-8-3) had won two straight, including a 1-0 win over the Galaxy in Los Angeles last Wednesday.
Ousted was at a loss to explain why the Caps did not display the same desire that they did in L.A. – a placed where they rarely win – especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“We lacked energy,” said Ousted. “We lacked a little bit of spark – which I don’t understand, especially in a Cascadia Cup (match). It’s frustrating, especially in front of our fans, not to perform better in a period where I think we’ve been playing well.”
(The Cascadia Cup is a fan-created, in-season competition involving Vancouver, Portland and Seattle.)
Sebastian Blanco scored the winner in the 49th minute as he fired home a heel-pass from Ebobisse after originally giving him the ball. The scoring play resulted from a counter-attack that originated in Portland’s zone after Vancouver striker Fredy Montero was shoved down but no call was made – and some angry Whitecaps were slow to get back.
The goal spoiled Vancouver’s comeback hopes after Andrew Jacobson had created a 1-1 tie moments before half-time as he footed in Tim Parker’s header off a corner-kick. Ebobisse, drafted fourth overall by Portland this year, nudged in Dairon Asprilla’s shot 14 minutes into the game as the Whitecaps failed to clear a Timbers’ corner-kick properly.

“First half, we played very well, exceptionally well, got the equalizer just before half-time and I think, probably, it was a fair reflection of the first half,” said Robinson. “I thought we were the better team. Second half, it was always going to come down to a mistake, a wonder goal or something like that. When you give a good team like Portland the lead five minutes into the second half, it’s very difficult. So I will give them credit today, because they managed to hang on.

“Their ’keeper (Jake Gleeson) came up with one or two big saves as well. But it hurts.”

Gleeson robbed second-half substitute Brek Shea as he one-timed a volley from close range in the 80th minute and then made a sensational diving save on a Parker header five minutes later. But for most of the game, Vancouver’s passing was off as attempts inexplicably went to Portland players after they applied little pressure. As a result, the Whitecaps generated little offensively.

The loss spoiled a strong effort by Jacobson who, in addition to scoring, made several strong defensive plays. He filled in admirably at central defender while captain Kendall Waston was rested after playing for Costa Rica at the Gold Cup. While Robinson liked Jacobson’s effort, he was not pleased with the overall defensive showing by any means.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed defensively all around for the two goals (against), because I think they are very avoidable,” said Robinson.

And, like Ousted, the coach was puzzled.

“You play on Wednesday and you do every little duty correctly – individually and collectively – and then you play four days later and it seems it’s not your day,” said Robinson.

Five yellow cards – three to Portland and a pair to the Whitecaps – were handed out, but the game lacked the emotion and intensity often witnessed when these teams meet. Until after the game, that is.

Timbers coach Caleb Porter thrust his fist in the air and hugged his assistant coaches, ecstatic with the Timbers’ first win since June 10. After shaking hands with Robinson, Porter also took exception to something that he claimed the Whitecaps coach had said, and the two had to be separated.

Robinson was not about to reveal what he said as he couched his comments with praise for Portland’s coaching crew. It was obvious that Porter’s frustration had ended – at least for now.

But with next Saturday’s contest in Dallas serving as the first of three straight difficult road games, Robinson’s obvious frustration could last a while longer.