MLS Portland 2 - 1 Vancouver

The Vancouver Whitecaps said all the right things week, vowing not to take the struggling Portland Timbers lightly, discipline issues were behind them and it was time to play a cohesive brand of soccer.

Two of those never came to fruition.

The Whitecaps, for the first time in 2012, have lost three regular season games in a row. Saturday’s effort before a raucous crowd at JELD-WEN Field in Portland produced a sloppy 2-1 loss to the host Timbers. The Whitecaps are now just 3-8-3 on the road, while the win gave the Timbers a total of six this season, all of which have come on home turf.

Franck Songo’o scored the winner, as he beat Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon on a free kick from well outside the 18-yard box in the 55th minute.

Cannon got a piece of the Songo'o shot, but the ball trickled through his hands and to the back of the net.

The veteran goalkeeper took the blame.

“It was pretty straight forward,” said Cannon.

“Honestly, it just kind of came. And I’ll have to look at the hand position again. I probably was a bit too casual on it and I don’t know if I took my eye off it or my grip wasn’t good. But it’s just part of being a goalie.”

As is tradition with Portland soccer fans, plumes of green smoke lifted into the air from behind Cannon’s net. Green and white flags waved in the background. Songo’o and his teammates celebrated near midfield.

The Whitecaps are now 0-2-2 in Cascadia Cup matches this season.

The loss again prohibits their chances of also gaining ground in the Western Conference standings. A few weeks ago, the Whitecaps were looking squarely at an opportunity to catch second-place Real Salt Lake.

Holding precariously onto the fifth and final playoff spot in the West, the Whitecaps, stuck on 37 points, are now looking back, uncomfortably, at a surging sixth-place FC Dallas team that can move to within two points of Vancouver, with a win over the L.A. Galaxy on Sunday.

“Well, obviously a disappointing result for us. Also a disappointing performance,” said head coach Martin Rennie.

“I don’t think we played anywhere near our best today.”

The result also snuffed out Kenny Miller’s first goal in a Whitecaps uniform.

The 32-year-old striker and Scottish international, who officially joined the Whitecaps on July 16 and has been afforded more than a month to improve his fitness levels and knowledge of Rennie’s system, showed frustration and angst throughout Saturday’s match, particularly in the first half.

He clasped his hands to his face after not being able to catch a perfectly placed ball from teammate Barry Robson that would've have put Miller in one-on-one with goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

But a funny thing happened. A broken play off a corner kick and a bizarre trajectory from a Jay DeMerit attempted shot landed the ball right at Miller’s feet in the first and last minute of first half stoppage time.

Miller then ripped a right-footed boot from left side of the box, tying the game at 1-1 with one swift motion.

The euphoria wouldn’t last.

“Got out of jail a little bit in the first half,” said Miller.

“Thought that gave us a little bit of [a] life line but again, second half, with a chance to go out and build on that and maybe take advantage of a little bit of luck, but never really done it in the second half.”

Darlington Nagbe opened the scoring for the Timbers in the 41st minute, just before Miller’s moment.

He took advantage of a perfectly placed ball, cut inside the box and sent a shot over a sprawled Cannon. Nagbe becomes the first Timbers player to score goals in three consecutive games.

Things went from bad to worse for the Whitecaps towards the end of the second half.

Trailing by a goal and in need of an offensive spark, striker Darren Mattocks, revered for his athleticism and flair but questioned at times for his discipline, was ejected from the match for a red card foul on Timbers defender David Horst.

The two were challenging for a ball in the air, when it looked like Mattocks got the elbow up on Horst.

Mattocks, 21, came into the match one yellow card away from a suspension for yellow card accumulation. He’ll be unavailable for next Saturday’s match against the L.A. Galaxy.

The foul tops a long and growing list of infractions against the Whitecaps. Gershon Koffie was suspended a week ago for a dangerous tackle on Andy Rose of the Seattle Sounders FC.

Barry Robson was banned for one game earlier this month for kicking a ball in the direction of an official in a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas on Aug. 15.

“The thing that’s very frustrating is, at a certain point players need to take accountability, too,” said Rennie.

FOOTNOTES:

Whitecaps captain and defender Jay DeMerit returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a concussion.

DeMerit, 32, played the entire match Saturday against Portland, assisting on Miller’s goal in the first half.