It was a result even the Vancouver Whitecaps hadn’t dared to dream of.
With their season on the line, the ‘Caps posted an emphatic 5-0 victory over the Portland Timbers in a wild-card matchup Wednesday — and earned a spot in Major League Soccer’s playoffs in the process.
“I think we were all confident of coming here and being able to win, but I don’t think many of us were expecting a result like that,” said captain Ryan Gauld. “Just a really good performance overall and good to get the five goals.”
Vancouver will now face the Western Conference’s top seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series starting Sunday.
The ‘Caps came into Wednesday’s game sitting in eighth place after going winless in their last seven MLS matches and with losses in four straight.
The win proved the club is better than their recent form, said Gauld, who …