Whitecaps entertain Portland while eyeing third straight win

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The atmosphere won’t be lacking Sunday afternoon at BC Place as the Vancouver Whitecaps take on Cascadia rival Portland Timbers. (3:30)

A large number of Timbers supporters are expected for the match, and Vancouver’s Jordan Harvey is looking forward to that type of environment.

“We know they’ll have their fans that are super loud. I think it helps our fans get up for it, so everyone’s looking forward to it. We have to get off to a good start, and carry that momentum through the 90 minutes.”

As for what’s happening on the pitch, things might look a little different on both sides, as The Whitecaps and Timbers deal with injuries, suspensions, and Gold Cup duty.

The biggest absence for Vancouver will be Kendall Waston, while former Whitecap Darren Mattocks, Alvas Powell, and Darlington Nagbe won’t be making appearances for the Timbers. Two Portland forwards, Victor Arboleda and Fanendo Adi are serving red card suspensions.

None of that really matters to Harvey, however.

“I feel like we’ve had some opponents where this question (being shorthanded) has come up, and I think our club has handled it really well. We’ve approached every game with a gameplan, and really attacked.”

The Whitecaps are focused on three points, and a third straight victory. There’s positives to build on following a 1-0 road victory over the Galaxy in LA on July 19th.

“Most of the guys were willing to be on the ball (against LA) and it was a massive turn-up for us.” Vancouver’s Tony Tchani said earlier in the week.

“We created space. It wasn’t just about one, two, or three guys. It was about the whole team.”

The Whitecaps have three games in hand on Portland, and sit fourth in the West, tied with Portland in points – The Timbers are fifth. Vancouver does trail in the ‘other’ table however. That would be the Cascadia Cup standings, where the Whitecaps are one point behind Portland and Seattle entering Sunday’s play.

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