# 1981 Portland Timbers season

The 1981 Portland Timbers season was the seventh season for the Portland Timbers in the now-defunct North American Soccer League.

## Squad

The 1981 squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Keith MacRae |
| 2 | DF | USA | Glenn Myernick |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Clive Charles |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Gary Collier |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Graham Day |
| 6 | MF | SCO | John Bain |
| 7 | FW | CAN | Dale Mitchell |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Barry Powell |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Willie Donachie |
| 10 | FW | BER | Clyde Best |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Stuart Lee |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Willie Anderson |
| 14 | DF | CAN | Bruce Gant |
| 15 | MF | ENG | John Pratt |
| 16 | MF | CAN | Brian Gant |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Bernie Fagan |
| 19 | FW | SCO | Ally Brown |
| 20 | FW | USA | Mike Farebrother |
| 21 | FW | NIR | Jimmy Kelly |
| 23 | DF | KOR | Young-Jeung Cho |
| 24 | MF | USA | Chris Hellenkamp |
| 31 | GK | YUG | Dragan Radovich |

## North American Soccer League
### Regular season
#### Northwest 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 28, 1981 | California Surf | A | 2–0 | 7,663 | Lee, Mitchell |
| April 4, 1981 | Seattle Sounders | A | 1–2* (OT) | 24,065 | Pratt |
| April 11, 1981 | Calgary Boomers | H | 3–1 | 8,524 | Mitchell (2), Anderson |
| April 18, 1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 1–2 (OT) | 13,153 | Lee |
| April 26, 1981 | Calgary Boomers | A | 2–1 | 10,114 | Mitchell (2) |
| May 2, 1981 | Tulsa Roughnecks | H | 1–3 | 7,766 | Bain |
| May 6, 1981 | San Jose Earthquakes | H | 3–0 | 4,669 | Bain (2), Lee |
| May 10, 1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | A | 3–1 | 3,306 | Bain, Mitchell, Lee |
| May 16, 1981 | Calgary Boomers | H | 2–0 | 10,510 | Mitchell, Bain |
| May 24, 1981 | Edmonton Drillers | A | 1–2 | 12,812 | Lee |
| May 27, 1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | A | 0–2 | 23,541 | |
| June 3, 1981 | Minnesota Kicks | H | 1–0 | 8,318 | Bri. Gant |
| June 9, 1981 | Atlanta Chiefs | A | 1–2 | 3,117 | Brown |
| June 13, 1981 | Seattle Sounders | H | 2–1 | 15,316 | o.g., Bain |
| June 17, 1981 | Ft. Lauderdale Strikers | H | 0–3 | 11,093 | |
| June 20, 1981 | Chicago Sting | H | 2–4 | 12,510 | Mitchell, Brown |
| June 23, 1981 | Chicago Sting | A | 1–0 | 9,568 | Bri. Gant |
| June 27, 1981 | Tulsa Roughnecks | A | 1*–0 (OT) | 19,232 | |
| June 30, 1981 | Edmonton Drillers | A | 1–2 | 7,892 | Mitchell |
| July 4, 1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | H | 2–3 (OT) | 17,318 | Mitchell, Donachie |
| July 8, 1981 | Washington Diplomats | H | 2–1 | 8,155 | Brown, Lee |
| July 11, 1981 | Minnesota Kicks | A | 3*–2 (OT) | 15,302 | Bain, Brown |
| July 15, 1981 | Dallas Tornado | A | 0–1 | 2,905 | |
| July 18, 1981 | California Surf | H | 2–3 (OT) | 9,134 | Powell, Anderson |
| July 22, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | A | 1–3 | 10,268 | Bain |
| July 25, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | H | 0–2 | 8,493 | |
| July 29, 1981 | New York Cosmos | A | 0–2 | 28,640 | |
| August 1, 1981 | San Jose Earthquakes | A | 2*–1 (OT) | 11,166 | Brown |
| August 5, 1981 | Edmonton Drillers | H | 3–1 | 8,423 | Cho, Bain, Brown |
| August 8, 1981 | Dallas Tornado | H | 5–2 | 8,954 | Bain, Brown (2), Cho, Mitchell |
| August 15, 1981 | Seattle Sounders | A | 2–1 (OT) | 16,747 | o.g., Powell |
| August 19, 1981 | Los Angeles Aztecs | H | 2–1 | 15,923 | Brown, Bain |
* = Shootout win Source:

### Postseason
#### Playoff bracket

    Best of 3 series
| First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals |
| Portland Timbers | 2 | 1 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| San Diego Sockers | 1 | 5 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| San Diego Sockers | 1 | 5 | 2 | San Diego Sockers | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | Jacksonville Tea Men | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| Jacksonville Tea Men | 3 | 2 | — | Jacksonville Tea Men | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| Atlanta Chiefs | 2 | 1 | — | | | | | | | | |
| Atlanta Chiefs | 2 | 1 | — | | | | | San Diego Sockers | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | Chicago Sting | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Seattle Sounders | 2 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | Chicago Sting | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Chicago Sting | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Chicago Sting | 3 | 0 | 3 | Chicago Sting | 2 | 4 | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | Montreal Manic | 3 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| Montreal Manic | 5 | 2 | 2 | Montreal Manic | 3 | 2 | 2 | | | | |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 3 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
Source:

#### Playoff results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| August 22, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | H | 2–1 | 15,923 | Brown, Bain |
| August 26, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | A | 1–5 | 12,039 | Day |
| August 30, 1981 | San Diego Sockers | A | 0–2 | 15,244 | |
Source: