The Portland Timbers weren’t particularly better than the Colorado Rapids for much of Thursday night.

In the second and final game of Leagues Cup group play, the Rapids largely kept pace with the Timbers, equaling the home side in possession in the first half and matching Portland stride for stride in front of a small, but lively crowd on a hot and humid evening.

The difference between the two for much of the match wasn’t talent, or effort, or even refereeing.

No, sometimes the result can be as simple as this:

Portland had a keeper that could stop a rocket at point-blank range. Colorado did not.

And that whale of a performance from Portland’s Maxime Crepeau was more than enough to give one of the league’s best offenses time to come to life in a 4-0 win.

With the win, Portland secured the top spot in the West 5 group to advance to the tournament’s round of 32.

After a first half of an MLS season where Timbers’ No. 2 keeper James Pantemis has recorded all four of Portland’s clean sheets, it was Crepeau finally in net for the Timbers as they kept their opponent off the scoreboard. In his second game back from Canadian national duty, Crepeau made four saves, including point-blank saves on attempts in the 2′ and 5′ that kept Portland in the match early as the offense searched for some rhythm.

“You need to be ready, especially early on in the game,” Crepeau said. “You have to be ready for those actions. For me, obviously, it’s a great way to start the game and just gives our guys confidence.”

The Timbers first found their groove offensively in the 29′, when Anthony took a pass from Felipe Mora’s head and fired it between the legs of the Colorado keeper for the 1-0 lead.

Portland padded its lead with a pair of firsts:

David Ayala scored the first goal of his career in the 52′ with a header off of a corner kick, while the newly acquired Mason Toye from CF Montreal netted his first goal since his trade to the club in the 69′.

“I was watching from afar,” said Toye, a 25-year-old forward from New Jersey. “James (Pantemis) and Kamal (Miller) I know really well so I was keeping up with the team a little bit. I saw how much service and how many chances people were getting and I was chomping at the bit once I found out I was coming here because I knew I was going to get a lot of chances. Tonight I got one, I put it away, and I think I’m going to get a lot more.”

For good measure, Santiago Moreno sent the Providence Park crowd into a tizzy with a goal in the 71′, putting a stamp on a group stage performance that saw the Timbers go 2-0 after defeating Leon on Sunday.

The Timbers dominated the second half, with Colorado’s only threat coming early when Miller deflected one pass away from net before getting in the way of another shot from close range. Crepeau gave his fellow countryman a confident shake after that one. Then the keeper took over the rest of the way.

“I cannot say [what I told Miller]” Crepeau said. “It was PG-13.”

What Crepeau could say is this: whether it’s MLS play, which resumes Aug. 24 against St. Louis, or it’s the Leagues Cup, where Portland will face either FC Juarez or St. Louis in the Round of 32, the Timbers are on a quest to pick up some hardware.

“We want to win a trophy,” Crepeau said. “We have momentum and that’s the goal for this club. Get trophies.”

Next up: The Timbers will face either FC Juarez or St. Louis in the Round of 32, depending on future outcomes.

-- Tyson Alger for The Oregonian/OregonLive