TIGARD, Ore. – Following Wednesday night’s draw with Costa Rican side CD Saprissa that eliminated them from the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, the Portland Timbers will have to refocus quickly for MLS Decision Day on Sunday, as the defending MLS Cup champion travel north to face off against the Vancouver Whitecaps (4 p.m. ET, TSN1 in Canada, MLS LIVE) with a playoff spot on the line.
Currently sitting in a tie for sixth place in the MLS Western Conference, the Timbers are still in control of their own destiny, able to ensure a playoff berth with a win against their Cascadian rivals.
Moving on from Wednesday’s disappointment against Saprissa, however, will not be easy. After the match, veteran midfielder Ned Grabavoy acknowledged the importance of a quick turnaround for the Timbers.
“This is a really difficult one,” Grabavoy said, “but it is certainly easy to get up for the next one because it is just as important as this. We will get it together, we will sleep on it, we will get rested and get back out there, and hopefully we will take care of business this weekend.”
Although he will be retiring after the 2016 season, Grabavoy has been a regular for the Timbers this season, making 22 appearances for the club in league play this year. And with potential injury concerns for several of the Timbers’ regular starters, he could again see action this weekend.
“We have good leaders,” said Grabavoy. “We have good guys to lean on. We are professionals: we have to show up tomorrow. No matter how upset we are, we have to put it aside. Some guys will train, some guys will [regenerate], and we will focus on this weekend because we have a ton to play for. And if we play like we played [Wednesday] then you have to hope that it goes your way up there [in Vancouver].”
Timbers’ left back Vytautas Andriuskevicius, who made the MLS Team of the Week for his play in the Timbers’ 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids last weekend, took a much more direct approach to refocusing on Sunday.
“That is it,” Andriuskevicius said Wednesday. “What happened with CONCACAF is already in the past. We don’t care about that anymore and tomorrow is a new day. We will do our recovery and we are already thinking about Sunday’s game.”
