Martin Rennie's scowl soon turned into a smile Sunday night.
The Vancouver Whitecaps coach was thrilled as his team became the first Canadian franchise to qualify for the Major League Soccer playoffs.
His jubilation came after he was disappointed with his club's upset 1-0 loss in their last regular-season home game to the lowly Portland Timbers before a sellout crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium.
Despite the loss, the Seattle Sounders came to the Whitecaps' post-season rescue as they defeated FC Dallas 3-1. The setback eliminated the Texas club from contention and gave Vancouver the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"I feel really good about [qualifying]," said Rennie.
"From the start of the season, that was our goal, to get into the playoffs."
Vancouver is the second youngest of Canada's three MLS clubs. Toronto FC has yet to make the playoffs in six MLS seasons while the Montreal Impact, completing its expansion season, will have to wait at least one more year.
The post-season berth came in Vancouver's second season after first-year coach Rennie inherited a team that finished last overall.
"Taking over a team that was last in the table and had a poor record last season, it's actually quite a big achievement to reach the playoffs, I think," said Ren-nie. "As disappointed as we are with how we performed tonight, over the course of the season we've done well. Things like winning our first game [ever] on the road early in the season. Those points all add up and they all came to fruition for us to reach the playoffs.
"There's a lot of well respected and well established MLS teams who would like to be in our position - teams like Columbus, Colorado, Dallas. Teams that have won the MLS Cup in the last four or five years aren't in the playoffs, and we are."
The Whitecaps (11-13-9) will play a do-or-die game on the road against the Los Angeles Galaxy at a date to be announced.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Brad Knighton, who was in goal for Sunday's loss, said being the first Canadian team to make the playoffs is something that players, club staff and the people of Vancouver will remember for years to come.
"Obviously, Toronto hasn't made the playoffs . . . they've fallen short," he said. "For us to do it in our second year is a testament to the club."
The Whitecaps squeaked in after starting the season strongly but suffering a mid-to-late season slide and went winless in seven games while dealing with injuries, suspensions and the addition of several new players through trades and signings.
Jack Jewsbury scored in the 39th minute for the Timbers (8-16-9) who were only playing for pride and jobs next season.
"We didn't have, really, too many people who performed to their highest standard," said Rennie.
The Timbers also posted their first road victory of the season.
