When it comes to noteworthy matches in the Portland Timbers USL and NASL eras, the first home matches against the Seattle Sounders are usually thought of first. But Portland shares an interesting debut match history with its other Cascadian foe, the Vancouver Whitecaps.
On June 7, 1975, Vancouver traveled to the Rose City for the first time in the history of the nascent rivalry. The match occurred just three weeks after the Timbers had traveled north of the border and defeated the Whitecaps in the debut match of the series, by a 2-0 scoreline.
The Caps took a one-goal lead into halftime after a goal by Brian Gant, who would eventually play for the Timbers for six seasons and is also the uncle of Thorns FC forward Christine Sinclair. Almost immediately after the start to the second half, defender Graham Day tied the score with a header from just in front of the goal.
Portland’s lead did not hold up, however, as Glen Johnson delivered a long range strike just 17 minutes from time. The first signing in Whitecaps history, Johnson was elected to the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007. Johnson’s blast was answered six minutes later when Tony Betts put a header past Vancouver’s Greg Weber. A scoreless last ten minutes sent the match into extra time.
After five minutes of overtime, Brian Godfrey sent the crowd of 11,335 into delirium when he placed a 35-yard free kick into the top left corner of the goal. After the match the 35-year-old team captain, who spent 18 seasons in English professional leagues prior to coming to Portland, told the Oregonian that “it’s one of the best goals I’ve ever scored.” In addition to Godfrey’s goal, the game is also remembered as being the first Timbers match to have more than 10,000 fans.
Twenty-six years and six days after Godfrey’s goal, the Whitecaps and Timbers again met in Portland, this time in the first match between the clubs in the A-League/USL era. And again, a late goal secured points for the hosts.
Portland was playing just four days after being knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by the Utah Blitzz. Despite the cup loss, the Timbers were on a four-game league winning streak heading into the match.
A scoreless first half made way for a second half that started the same way as the majority of the first 45 minutes. Neither team threatened the goal until the 73rd minute of the match when substitute Terry St. Louis gave the visitors the lead when he nutmegged an onrushing Matt Napoleon.
With less than a minute to play in the match, the Timbers finally broke through when Vadim Tolstolutsky turned a headed clearance into a golazzo. Tolstolutsky one-timed a volley from outside the penalty area past Didar Sandhu to send the match into overtime.
Unlike 1975, however, neither team broke through in the 20-minute overtime and the match finished in a 1-1 draw. Tolstolutsky’s goal was the first time in USL era that the Timbers scored a game-tying or game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time.
