CD Olimpia vs. Portland Timbers
2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League
October 21 | 10 pm ET | Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino
TV: Fox Soccer Plus
The Portland Timbers may stand on tenuous ground in their quest to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs with one game remaining in the regular season. But they’re in darn good shape in their goal to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League heading into their final Group 5 game Tuesday evening against Honduran side Olimpia in Tegucigalpa. The Timbers have won their first three games in CCL play, including a 4-2 win over Olimpia on Sept. 16 in Portland, meaning a win would send them through to the knockout stages. But the Timbers can also advance with a draw or even a one-goal loss given Olimpia doesn’t make up the two-goal head-to-head differential or away goals tiebreaker.
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HONDURAS AWAY: The atmosphere at Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino is likely to be lively, but Timbers supporters will have a small but passionate presence in the stands. A story on the team website details the story of Timbers fan and Oregon native Dan Upp, who works in the US Embassy in Honduras and has been busy recruiting support for the game ever since the CCL draw was released.
They’ll have to cheer loud, however, as Timbers head coach Caleb Porter told MLSsoccer.com on Monday that Olimpia has handed out 20,000 free tickets for the game.
FIELD TRIP: The way Timbers coach Caleb Porter sees it, his team started the season together, and they’ll finish it together. Rather than splitting the group up – as they did for their away match against Alpha in Guyana – to leave behind players to prepare strictly for their upcoming league match, Porter traveled nearly his entire roster.
“It gives us good training numbers, and also from a chemistry standpoint everybody is here,” Porter told MLSsoccer.com in a phone conversation Monday from Honduras. “Whether they’re playing or on the bench or not dressing at all, they’re here and invested in playing a part.”
He said to expect the more first-choice players to start than in the previous three CCL games, while also leaving “five or six” to rest up for Saturday’s MLS season finale against FC Dallas (5:30 pm ET; MLS Live).
OLIMPIA CONFIDENT: The Honduran champions may face a daunting task to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010-11, but head coach Hector Vargas said he likes his team’s chances. After their 4-2 loss in Portland, Vargas told the media after the game that the Timbers will face a hostile crowd and difficult weather conditions.
“Portland played well here, but we do know one thing that in Honduras the weather will be very different,” Vargas said. “And that’s something I find interesting, the possibility that it will be a very different kind of match.”
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PLAYERS TO WATCH:
RODNEY WALLACE, PORTLAND – The Timbers winger is playing his best soccer of the season coming into the game, having scored a goal in Portland’s 3-0 win Oct. 8 over San Jose and then firing off five shots as one of Portland’s most dangerous players in their scoreless draw Friday against Real Salt Lake.
ROMELL QUIOTO, OLIMPIA – The 23-year-old forward not only scored a goal in Olimpia’s 4-2 loss in Portland but is also coming off an impressive 45-minute shift in the second half in Honduras’ 1-1 draw Oct. 14 against the US national team.
