Earthquakes-Timbers Preview
After rallying to beat San Jose over the weekend, the Portland Timbers now have a chance to move into playoff position at the expense of the reeling Earthquakes.
The Timbers look to move into fifth place and extend the visiting Earthquakes' winless stretch to 12 matches Wednesday night.
Rodney Wallace scored twice in a 3-minute span of the second half to help Portland (10-9-12) overcome a 1-0 deficit and post its first victory in five tries at San Jose, 2-1 on Saturday. The result left the Timbers one point behind fifth-place Vancouver for the Western Conference's final playoff spot.
"We've stuck together all year," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said. "We've suffered together all year and that's why we're going to succeed together. Because our backs have been against the wall several times, and every time you think we're down we get up and respond."
Portland showed its mettle in the first game since captain Will Johnson suffered a season-ending broken leg and while playing without talented midfielder Diego Valeri, who served a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
Though a victory Wednesday would put some heat on the Whitecaps to catch the Timbers, a draw also moves Portland into fifth place. The teams would have the same number of points and victories, but the Timbers hold the next tiebreaker with a better goal differential.
Portland should feel even more confident with the expected return of Valeri, who is tied for the team lead with nine goals in MLS play.
"I like our team's chances when our backs are against the wall, which our backs are going to be against the wall the last three games," said Porter, whose club set a franchise record with 56 goals this season. "And that's great because that will bring out our best."
Though the Timbers haven't always been at their best at home versus San Jose (6-13-11), going 2-0-3. The Timbers' Alvas Powell had a goal with an assist and Valeri added two assists as the teams played to a 3-3 draw in Portland on Sept. 7.
While Saturday's result helped Portland continue its playoff push, the defeat eliminated the Earthquakes from postseason contention. San Jose has scored 12 goals while going 0-5-6 since a 1-0 home victory over Seattle on Aug. 2.
It's the Earthquakes' longest winless drought since enduring a club-record 0-6-7 slide in 2011.
"They say you make your own luck and we try our hardest every night but we just can't seem to get our heads above water," San Jose defender Jason Hernandez. "It's very frustrating."
It's going to be even more difficult for the Earthquakes to end their slide without Chris Wondolowski, who will not play after being added to the U.S. roster for Friday night's exhibition game against Ecuador. Wondolowski has recorded three of his team-high 14 goals against the Timbers.
San Jose is 1-7-6 on the road in league action, and 0-4-5 since a 2-1 victory at FC Dallas on May 31.