VANCOUVER — A miserable year for the Vancouver Whitecaps finished with a silver lining.

Giles Barnes scored twice in the first half Sunday as Vancouver defeated the Portland Timbers 4-1 on the final day of the regular season to deny the defending MLS Cup champions a spot in this year's playoffs.

The Whitecaps were eliminated from post-season contention at the beginning of October, and were knocked out of the Western Conference semifinals by the Timbers on the same B.C. Place Stadium pitch 12 months ago. They got a measure of revenge against their rivals thanks to a display of skill, passion and desire that failed to materialize for most of 2016.

"This performance absolutely drives me mad," said Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson. "I know we have the players to do it, but we haven't done it on a consistent basis. Why? I don't know. I'm going to get to bottom of it because I don't want to be sitting here next year saying the same things to you like a broken record.

"We finished on a high today, but I'm not fooled."

Pedro Morales and Nicolas Mezquida had the other goals for Vancouver (10-15-9), which won for just the second time in Major League Soccer since July.

"I kind of knew we had that in us, but obviously it's too late," said Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted. "I'm delighted to give the fans a last victory and show we are better than we performed.

"It hurt a lot last year getting knocked out, especially at home. This was a little pay back."

With all 20 MLS teams in action Sunday, Portland (12-14-8) needed a victory to book a spot in the playoffs, or a lot of help with a tie or a loss.

But in the end, the Timbers, who got a late consolation penalty from Diego Valeri, will only have themselves to blame after finishing the campaign without a road win (0-11-6). Portland was one of four teams vying for the final three post-season spots in the West at the start of the day, and were without defender Liam Ridgewell and midfielder Diego Chara because of yellow card accumulation against Vancouver.

"We had some guys that had really poor performances," said head coach Caleb Porter, whose team was also bounced from the CONCACAF Champions League mid-week. "You can't win when you get that. We got that across the board.

"It just felt like we bled goals."

Acquired from the Houston Dynamo at the end of July, Barnes scored his first for the Whitecaps in the 13th minute, blasting a shot into the top corner past Timbers 'keeper Jake Gleeson.

Portland had a great chance to equalize in 20th, but Lucas Melano somehow missed the target from two yards out after Fernando Adi's initial shot glanced off the post.

Barnes, who had four goals with Houston before the trade, added his second seemingly out of nothing in the 32nd after slicing through a porous Portland defence and slotting another past a helpless Gleeson.

"I think you've seen dribs and drabs of what I'm capable of, but not consistently," said Barnes.

Morales then stretched the lead to 3-0 in the 54th minute by bending an effort past Gleeson for his ninth goal of a frustrating season before tearing his shirt off — a celebration that earned him a yellow card.

"I thought he was fantastic today," said Ousted, who went nose-to-nose with the Vancouver captain in a heated training session earlier in the week. "That goal was brilliant."

Named MLS newcomer of the year in 2014 after finishing with 10 goals and 12 assists, Morales has had a difficult last two years and could have been playing his final game for the Whitecaps.

"Pedro gets his goal and puts in a very good performance, a really solid performance," said Robinson. "He scored a fantastic goal."

With the crowd still buzzing, Mezquida capped the barrage a minute later with his fourth before Valeri got a consolation goal, his 14th, from the penalty spot in the 72nd.

"I can't fault any of my players today," said Robinson. "I thought we played with an energy and an enthusiasm and a will and a desire, but we haven't done that too many times this year, which is why we are where we are."

Notes: With Sunday's win, the Whitecaps also claimed the Cascadia Cup. Vancouver competes for the regional supporters' trophy with the Timbers and Seattle Sounders, and needed a three-goal margin of victory to overtake Portland in the head-to-head standings. ... The Whitecaps will face fellow MLS side New York Red Bulls in the Champions League quarter-finals in late February and early March.

---

Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter