# 1978 Portland Timbers season

The 1978 Portland Timbers season was the fourth season for the Portland Timbers in the now-defunct North American Soccer League.

## Squad

The 1978 squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 00 | GK | ENG | Mick Poole |
| 1 | GK | USA | Dave Givens |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Brian McNeill |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Clive Charles |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Mick Hoban |
| 4 | DF | USA | Kelvin Norman |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Graham Day |
| 6 | MF | SCO | John Bain |
| 7 | FW | SCO | Stewart Scullion |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Jimmy Conway |
| 9 | FW | BER | Clyde Best |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 10 | FW | CAN | Ike MacKay |
| 11 | FW | BRB | Elson Seale |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Willie Anderson |
| 13 | DF | CAN | Peter Stanley |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Pat Howard |
| 14 | FW | USA | Archie Roboostoff |
| 16 | MF | CAN | Brian Gant |
| 17 | FW | USA | Mike Flater |
| 18 | MF | MEX | Ignacio Baez |
| 22 | GK | USA | Jim Gorsek |

## North American Soccer League
### Preseason

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| March 12, 1978 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 0–1 | | |
| March 19, 1978 | Colorado Caribous | H | 2–0 | 7,877 | Scullion, Roboostoff |
| March 25, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 1–2 | | Bain |

### Regular season
#### National Conference, Western Division standings

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points Source:

#### League results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| March 31, 1978 | California Surf | A | 0–1 | 15,206 | |
| April 8, 1978 | Oakland Stompers | H | 1–0 | 10,554 | Roboostoff |
| April 15, 1978 | San Diego Sockers | H | 2–3 | 8,355 | Best (2) |
| April 19, 1978 | Colorado Caribous | H | 2–1 | 6,495 | Scullion (2) |
| April 22, 1978 | Rochester Lancers | H | 3–2 (OT) | 8,667 | Bain, Scullion, Anderson |
| April 29, 1978 | San Diego Sockers | A | 3–5 | 3,830 | Gant, Best, Scullion |
| May 3, 1978 | California Surf | H | 2*–1 (OT) | 8,328 | Seale |
| May 7, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 0–1 | 13,155 | |
| May 10, 1978 | Detroit Express | A | 1–0 | 6,729 | Howard |
| May 13, 1978 | Memphis Rogues | H | 1–0 | 6,955 | Flater |
| May 17, 1978 | New York Cosmos | H | 2*–1 (OT) | 12,484 | Best |
| May 20, 1978 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 3–2 | 13,856 | Bain, Best, Flater |
| May 24, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | H | 2*–1 (OT) | 10,558 | Bain |
| May 29, 1978 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 4–1 | 5,206 | Seale, Best, Scullion, Flater |
| June 7, 1978 | Los Angeles Aztecs | H | 1–0 | 9,054 | Conway |
| June 10, 1978 | Seattle Sounders | H | 1*–0 (OT) | 15,526 | |
| June 16, 1978 | New England Tea Men | H | 2*–1 (OT) | 14,615 | Scullion |
| June 21, 1978 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | A | 0–2 | 13,777 | |
| June 24, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | A | 1–2 | 10,816 | Best |
| June 28, 1978 | Rochester Lancers | A | 1–0 | 5,025 | McNeill |
| June 30, 1978 | Minnesota Kicks | H | 1–0 | 14,125 | Best |
| July 4, 1978 | Oakland Stompers | A | 1–0 | 15,890 | Flater |
| July 7, 1978 | San Jose Earthquakes | H | 5–1 | 15,827 | Best, Scullion, Anderson, Flater (2) |
| July 13, 1978 | Tulsa Roughnecks | A | 0–1 | 9,620 | |
| July 15, 1978 | Dallas Tornado | A | 3–1 | 6,388 | Seale, Best, Flater |
| July 19, 1978 | Toronto Metros-Croatia | A | 1–3 | 6,490 | Best |
| July 21, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 0–2 | 23,536 | |
| July 25, 1978 | Dallas Tornado | H | 2–1 | 11,971 | Gant, Anderson |
| July 31, 1978 | Seattle Sounders | A | 2–3 (OT) | 22,042 | Gant, Best |
| August 2, 1978 | Colorado Caribous | A | 3–1 | 8,638 | Bain (3) |
* = Shootout win Source:

### Postseason
#### Playoff bracket

| 1st round | 1st round | 1st round |
| Portland Timbers (OT) | Portland Timbers (OT) | 2 |
| Washington Diplomats | Washington Diplomats | 1 |
| Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Soccer Bowl '78 | Soccer Bowl '78 | Soccer Bowl '78 |
| 1 | Portland Timbers | 1 | 2 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 1 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 1 | — | Portland Timbers | Portland Timbers | 0 | 0 | — | | | |
| | | | | | New York Cosmos | New York Cosmos | 1 | 5 | — | | | |
| 4 | Minnesota Kicks | 9 | 0 | 0 | New York Cosmos | New York Cosmos | 1 | 5 | — | | | |
| 5 | New York Cosmos (MG) | 2 | 4 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | New York Cosmos (MG) | 2 | 4 | 1 | | | | | | New York Cosmos | New York Cosmos | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 |
| 2 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (MG) | 4* | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 |
| 7 | Detroit Express | 3 | 1 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Detroit Express | 3 | 1 | 0 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | 3 | 1 | 0 | | | |
| | | | | | Tampa Bay Rowdies (MG) | Tampa Bay Rowdies (MG) | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | |
| 3 | San Diego Sockers | 0 | 2 | 0 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (MG) | Tampa Bay Rowdies (MG) | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (MG) | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
* = Shootout win; MG = Series decided by 30-minute mini-game (score of mini-game in 3rd column) Source:

#### Playoff results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| August 9, 1978 | Washington Diplomats | H | 2–1 (OT) | 14,230 | Bain, McNeill |
| August 12, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 1–0 | 16,437 | Best |
| August 16, 1978 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 2–1 | 32,266 | Best, Anderson |
| August 18, 1978 | New York Cosmos | H | 0–1 | 24,515 | |
| August 23, 1978 | New York Cosmos | A | 0–5 | 65,287 | |
Source:

## International friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| May 27, 1978 | Galasca (Guatemala) | H | 5–0 | 6,715 | Scullion (2), Gant, Flater (2) |
| June 1, 1978 | Bristol City F.C. | H | 0–1 | 8,038 | |