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TSN Soccer Analyst

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The Vancouver Whitecaps came away from Portland with a point on Saturday after drawing with the Portland Timbers 0-0. Here are five things that stood out for me:

1. Two similar yet different approaches to the game.

While both the Timbers and the Whitecaps lined up in 4-2-3-1 formations, their approaches to creating goalscoring opportunities differed - in large part because of their personnel.

The Timbers lack a credible goalscoring punch up front at the moment, as Fanendo Adi is out of favour and started the game on the bench, and Maxi Urruti has yet to really justify his hefty pay packet in MLS. While the Timbers dominated possession for large parts of the game, they never really threatened David Ousted in goal for Vancouver.

The Whitecaps, by contrast, looked to hit Portland on the counter, with Octavio Rivero the lone attacking threat up front. With Darren Mattocks shackled all night by Portland's Alvas Powell, it was difficult for Rivero to get much in the way of a sight at goal.

2. The absence of Matias Laba really hurt Vancouver.

If anyone was in doubt about the importance of Laba to the Vancouver Whitecaps, his value was very evident on Saturday night.

The 4-3-1-2 formation that Vancouver utilized to great effect in their 1-0 win away to Real Salt Lake a few weeks back would have been ideal to counter the strengths of the Timbers, as well as to cause the home side more problems defensively. A flat midfield three of Laba, Russell Teibert and Gershon Koffie would have worked nicely for the Whitecaps - especially in the second half after the introduction of Portland's Diego Valeri. It also would have allowed Carl Robinson to push Mattocks up top alongside Rivero, which would have caused problems for Portland's otherwise comfortable back four.

Laba's absence was covered up by professional performances from both Teibert and Koffie, but it would have been nice to see what the three players could have done to hurt Portland by freeing up an extra striker to support Rivero. As it was, the Whitecaps rarely looked like finding a winning goal. A big part of that was the absence of the Laba "security blanket" - that warm, cozy feeling that the Whitecaps get when their midfield destroyer is patrolling the area in front of their back four.

3. Kendall Waston went another game without picking up a yellow card.

The big Costa Rican certainly didn't pull out of any challenges on Saturday night, and his ability to avoid picking up a yellow card for the third consecutive game means that he gets one of his previous cards chalked off his disciplinary record. Waston now has just three yellow cards beside his name for the season, backing him away from the edge of a one-match suspension.

Once again, Waston dominated the skies, winning everything in the air and generally looking calm and composed defensively. His partner at the back, Pa-Modou Kah, conceded a first half penalty for a handball in the penalty area, but Darlington Nagbe's attempt struck the post and rebounded to safety. Aside from that, Waston and Kah were rarely stretched by an anemic Timbers offence.

Waston is quickly growing into one of Vancouver's most valuable assets, and credit must go to the Whitecaps recruitment policy for unearthing yet another gem.

4. Do the Whitecaps defer all of their offensive creation to Pedro Morales?

There was an instance in the second half where Gershon Koffie made a tackle on the halfway line and looked poised to drive forward and attack the Timbers' back four. Yet Pedro Morales swooped in, took the ball and promptly played an errant pass into touch, killing the move.

Perhaps it was just one moment in a 90-minute battle, but I can't help but get the sense that too often Vancouver's players defer their offensive ability to Morales, knowing full well how good a passer of the football the Chilean can be.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing - getting the ball to the Whitecaps' best players more often can only lead to good things - but it quickly becomes predictable. Opposing coaches will begin to realize (if they haven't already) that keeping Morales off the ball - or at least minimizing his role - will severely limit Vancouver's ability to create chances for the likes of Rivero.

Some Whitecaps fans are being very critical of Morales for what they perceive to be yet another sub-par road performance, but I'm not with them. I would, however, like to see Morales share the creative workload with his teammates; he has enough talented ones around him to cause any team in MLS problems.

5. Sometimes you have to accept that a point on the road is a very good result.

Not many teams will go to Portland and come away feeling pretty good about themselves; it isn't an easy place to get a result.

The fact that Vancouver kept another clean sheet - that's now four in five road games - is cause for celebration. That they did so having replaced both fullbacks - Ethan Sampson replaced the injured Steven Beitashour while Jordan Harvey (who had an excellent game) was preferred to Sam Adekugbe - is even more impressive.

Goals win games, but clean sheets win championships. More of the same defensively from Vancouver - coupled with some variation in their offensive production - and the Whitecaps can be considered a real threat in MLS.