Once again, the Timbers got the big things right. They dominated a game against the Vancouver Whitecaps, one of the best teams in MLS. They were suffocating defensively, disciplined tactically, and worked relentlessly hard.

Once again, the Timbers got the little things wrong. A missed penalty, a blown sitter, a poor lineup, and an uncanny ability to not win consigned Portland to two more dropped home points, one win in their last five home games this season, and two wins in nine on the overall campaign.

For 65 minutes of this game, Portland sat back and pried instead of played. Diego Valeri's return to the field sent a jolt through a lifeless attack, but it turns out that 25 minutes of true intent and urgency isn't enough to break down a colossal Vancouver defense on its game.

You've heard this story before. The Timbers played well. They didn't win. And they only have themselves to blame.

The game's biggest moment ended up being the Timbers' first half penalty given against Pa Modou Kah.

Caleb Porter's post-game explanation was that the players decided who would take the penalty, and Darlington Nagbe wanted it. He also acknowledged that in the ten years he has known him, Nagbe has never wanted to take a spot-kick.

Apparently that didn't raise a red flag. Apparently the fact that nothing about Nagbe says penalty-taker didn't either. He can't finish, remember? Meanwhile, the Timbers had Jack Jewsbury on the field, a guy who plays with three heads on his head and has a 100% record from the spot for Portland. It's an iron-clad guarantee that Jewsbury scores. Instead, Nagbe steps up and rips it off the post.

Said Caleb, "I thought Jack would take it." As if he didn't have a choice.

Porter's take was astoundingly weak. It's up to him to get the right man over the ball. You can't mess around with penalties. Especially in big games, especially against good defenses, especially when your own team is not at full strength. How Jewsbury didn't step up escapes me. How Nagbe missed was all too predictable.

That was the game. Portland would have won 1-0. The defense was clearly up for the challenge. Instead, the Timbers didn't manage the game properly. They lose two points, and considering that they missed out on the playoffs by one point to this same Whitecaps team last year, the irony is overt. Not to mention the Cascadia Cup, which, after one point in three games, is lost before the competition has really even heated up.

The penalty was one moment in an otherwise dull first half worth writing home about. The other was a point-blank header from five yards out missed by Maxi Urruti, whose hair is bigger than his game at this point.

Porter's decision to again start Urruti over Designated Player and the team's leading scorer Fanendo Adi was alarmingly dumb. It sent the message from the get-go that Portland didn't want to compete with Vancouver's center-backs physically, and, as if Portland weren't having enough problems creating offense, gave Urruti 65 minutes to do his thing: Slow down the game, kill space, and fall down.

It was a vote of no confidence in Adi, who, when he was playing regularly as the lone-striker at the beginning of the year, was arguably the Timbers' only effective and reliable attacking producer.

Starting Ishmael Yartey over Gaston Fernandez was an even bigger vote of no-confidence in Fernandez than sending La Gata down to the reserves to play for T2 is. Yartey is a waste of space, and the result of having both him and Urruti on the field to start was that the Timbers attack — which was supposed to try and play around Vancouver with speed — had almost zero off-the-ball movement of consequence.

Porter said after the match of the Urruti over Adi call, "I'm just trying to find the hot hand." Maybe he should just play the better player and take it from there. Yartey, meanwhile, is done. The Timbers might as well cancel his loan now. Good thing, though, that the Timbers were able to test him out in non-consequential games though, like against Seattle and the 'Caps.

The Timbers might have sleep-walked through the entire game if not for the introduction of Valeri, who made his season debut and his return from an ACL tear early in the second half. It was a cathartic moment for the fans at Providence Park, but it also boosted the other ten Timbers on the field.

Valeri was certainly rusty — he missed two very decent chances on late runs into the box — but his quality was easily apparent. His range of passing, his attacking intent, and his movement opened up all kinds of space for Portland. That the Timbers were most dangerous after they got Valeri, Adi, and Fernandez onto the field late was as foreseeable as it was frustrating.

But for all the positive energy, Portland couldn't nab a late winner. It finished scoreless.

Credit where credit is due: Vancouver's central defense was outrageously good. The tone-setter was Hulk's favorite cousin Kendall Waston, and he dominated in the air — though it certainly helped that he was matched-up against glorified gnat Maxi Urruti for the majority of the game.

But we knew all along that Kah would be at the center of the action on his official Timbers return. He gave away a penalty, sparked a controversy with a bizarre race-related comment in his halftime interview, and then proceeded use his uncanny ability to be in the thick of the action at all times to block to everything in sight in the second half, becoming the Whitecaps' single most influential player as they held on for their point.

If Kah could play like that more than once every four games, he'd still be in Portland. Instead, the Timbers will simply have to sit back and marvel at the unrivaled antics of possibly the most unique character in team history.

This was a stark reminder of why Portland almost made MLS Cup with Kah at the heart of the back-line. Even at his best, Kah isn't a security blanket. He's just a better attacker than the attackers he faces.

Perspective is important. Portland bossed around one of the league's top teams. The defenders, especially the fullbacks, were outstanding. Diego Chara was sensational, and Jack Jewsbury was vital as well. If Jack was five years younger, Porter wouldn't even consider pulling him from the lineup for Will Johnson next week. Vancouver played for a draw, and made it tough for the Timbers to attack. Absolutely true.

But the numbers don't lie. These Timbers have been shutout in over half their games this season. They're still near the bottom of the table, and they've let five points slip from their grasp in a season in which it appears every point is going to matter.

The bottom line is this: It's hard to love a team that doesn't win. And until the Timbers start to do everything they can, mentally just as much as physically, to win every match, they're going to continue to come away disappointed on Saturdays.