The Buzz:
The Vancouver Whitecaps will meet the Montreal Impact in the first all-Canadian United Soccer Leagues’ First Division championship after upsetting the first place Portland Timbers 5-4 in a two-game, total goals semifinal series.
Hey, hey Haber!
The seventh-place Whitecaps took a one-goal edge into the Rose City on Sunday after Marcus Haber’s 2-1 game-winner at Swangard Stadium on Thursday. Haber converted Ansu Toure’s cross in the fourth minute at PGE Park and drew a foul that led to Martin Nash’s game-tying 61st minute free kick. Timber Brian Faber had nearly identical goals in the 10th and 44th minutes.
Jumpin’ James:
Marlon James, who replaced Charles Gbeke early in the second half, netted a loose ball after Nash’s 72nd minute corner kick for a one-goal lead.
Keep waiting:
Alex Nimo gave the Timbers Army some hope in the 84th minute when he made it 3-3 on a blast into the upper right corner from inside the penalty arc. The tie was good enough for the 2008 champion Caps to advance on the total goals rule.
Marcus's musings:
"It was extremely loud, it was tough to hear your own voice at times, the team did very well to harness that energy," Haber said. "It was hard work at the back and (Luca Bellisomo and Sean Pejic) won a lot of balls for us and were fairly composed towards the end of the game."
Thor thoughts:
"In the playoffs you just do things differenlty , tactically differently, more focused on the defensive shape," said head coach Teitur Thordarson. "Last year we had basically one player scoring for us, Eddie Sebrango (now with the Impact). Now we have three strikers scoring constantly (Gbeke, Haber and James)."
Next:
The Caps stunned the Timbers, who went from worst in 2008 to first in 2009 and earned an opening round bye. The Impact eliminated 2008 runner-up Puerto Rico Islanders in the other semifinal series with a pair of 2-1 wins. The Caps host the first leg Oct. 10. The series will be decided Oct. 17 or 18 in Montreal.
History:
The Whitecaps outscored Montreal 3-0 in two May games to eliminate the defending champion from the Canadian qualifier for the CONCACAF Champions League. In June, the Impact registered a pair of 2-1 league wins over Vancouver. The teams' most recent meeting was Sept. 9, a 1-0 Impact win at Montreal. Vancouver eliminated Montreal in the semifinals twice en route to triumphs in the 2006 and 2008 finals, which were single-game affairs.
