VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders met for the second time this season as they added another chapter to their Cascadian rivalry. The Caps had been floundering since returning from the MLS World Cup break and coming into this match they were goalless in two previous lackluster performances. Leading up to this match, the Caps had been preaching that the Seattle Sounders would be the perfect team to bump their slump.
The Whitecaps knocked off the top team in MLS with a 1-0 win thanks to a first half wonder strike from Sebastian Fernandez. David Ousted earned his 4th clean sheet of the season and the Whitecaps sent home 22,500 happy fans from a sold out BC Place Stadium. After the match, Carl Robinson talked about the terrific goal from Sebastian Fernandez.
“When you see him shoot like that, I want him to shoot a little bit more. I thought he was fantastic today, I really did. I thought it’s probably as good as he’s played. He’s scored some great goals for us. Three now. But his all-around performance today was excellent and it was just rewarded.”
Carl Robinson made a trio of changes to his team that lost 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids last Saturday in Commerce City. Kekuta Manneh, and Gershon Koffie found themselves back into the lineup, and Steven Beitashour returned to his familiar right-back position. The Iranian-American made his first MLS start for the Whitecaps since a May 10 contest at Columbus. Beitashour has been with Iran at the World Cup. Nigel Reo-Coker found himself on the bench to start the match and Andy O'Brien missed the match due to a hip strain. Vancouver went with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Erik Hurtado as the lone striker.
Seattle was unable to count on the services of Gonzalo Pineda, and Osvaldo Alonso due to suspension. Obafemi Martins was absent from the match due to a hamstring injury. U.S. Men's National Team players, DeAndre Yedlin and Clint Dempsey also missed this match. The duo have yet to rejoin Seattle since the United States bowed out of the World Cup earlier this week. Seattle decided to start in a 4-4-2 formation with Kenny Cooper and Chad Barrett up front. Despite missing a plethora of talent, Sigi Schmid was not making any excuses for his teams poor showing.
“It doesn't matter who’s missing – it’s talking about the players who played. We had enough quality on the field to get a result and to play."
The Opening 45
In the opening 10' minutes the Whitecaps looked like a completely different team than what they showed vs Montreal and at Colorado. The Caps had energy, they looked focused, and they had no problem putting together a pass. Vancouver used their pace to stretch the Sounders and they got back on defense whenever they lost possession. They were quickly rewarded for their early play thanks to a wonder strike from distance.
In the 12' minute, Sebastian Fernandez fired a rocket from about 30 yards out that Stefan Frei had no chance at saving. The Uruguayan midfielder rifled his shot seemingly out of nowhere and into the back of the net for his third goal of the season. Seattle was caught flat-footed and Fernandez capitalized to give Vancouver an early lead. The popular player was all smiles when he described his goal after the match.
“Pedro put a good ball to me, I turned with the ball and, fortunately, there was space. I practice this all the time, so I just took the opportunity and went to shoot.”
Vancouver kept coming and quickly started to control the match. The Sounders were struggling early on to keep up with the Whitecaps speed. Kekuta Manneh had a chance to double the Caps lead in the 24'. He came down the left-flank and fired a shot through the legs of Jalil Anibaba. The ball was set to hit the target until Stefen Frei came up with a big save.
Shortly after, Fernandez was the victim of an untimely challenge that could have caused him a serious injury. In the 33', Lamar Neagle and Fernandez both went up in the air for the same ball with the boots of Neagle striking Fernandez in the back of his legs. The 24 year-old went down on the pitch and had to be attended to by Whitecaps trainers. Referee Baldomero Toledo did not issue a card to Neagle. Fernandez left the pitch and eventually made a return minutes later.
The Whitecaps had a pair of late chances that could have seen them head into halftime with a 2-0 advantage. Steven Beitashour ran down the right-flank and sent a lovely cross into the Sounders box. Seattle was unable to clear the cross and a streaking Erik Hurtado got his foot on the ball only to volley it well wide of the target. In stoppage time, Hurtado and Pedro Morales were on a counter-attack that had Hurtado pass the ball over to a wide open Morales. He fired a low shot on target that Frei was able to control as he dove across his net.
At the half the Whitecaps maintained a 1-0 lead and A 4-1 advantage in shots on target. The battle for possession was even at 50% for both teams.
Sigi Schmid was not happy with his teams slow first half and he talked about that with the media.
“I didn’t think we started the match very well. I think we caught it a little bit and we had a good ten minute patch right around the 30 minute mark in the first half. We started to get into the game, and I thought we played better. In the second half, hats off to them, I thought they played with a lot of passion because of the results that they had and we didn’t really match that completely until the second."
The Second Half
Neither gaffer made any substitutions before the second half kicked off.
The Sounders attacked with more flare and gusto in the second half as they looked to find the equalizer. Lamar Neagle had an opportunity to score in the 51' when he sent a screamer towards the Whitecaps net. The Tacoma, Washington native had his attempt roll wide past the far left post. The crowd let out a sigh of relief after that miss. Moments later Neagle was substituted from the match for forward Tristan Brown.
The newest player on the pitch almost knotted the score at 1-1 when his shot was deflected by Whitecaps defender Johnny Leveron in the 59'. Tristan Brown's fancy footwork sent Kekuta Manneh to the ground as the Gambian winger fell over on his own. Brown had his shot go off of Leveron's leg before a diving David Ousted was able to save the ball from going in his net.
Carl Robinson made his first substitution of the match in the 68' minute as he looked to bring on a defensive stalwart to protect his 1-0 lead. Nigel Reo-Coker entered the match for Kekuta Manneh. Reo-Coker had been filling in at right-back while Steven Beitashour was at the World Cup. The London, England native played in his more comfortable midfield position as Vancouver went in a lock-down defensive mode.
Sigi Schmid and the Sounders could not overcome their missing players as they looked out of sorts against a much stronger Whitecaps side. Seattle failed to mount a consistent offensive threat and only managed two shots on target. The Whitecaps defenders played brilliantly and limited the Sounders from creating much of anything. Vancouver controlled the pace of the game and was well deserving of all three points.
Man of the Match
Sebastian Fernandez
With the Vancouver Whitecaps struggling and their confidence being questioned, it was none other than Sebastian Fernandez who stepped up and delivered a masterful strike from distance. Fernandez was ready to go from the first whistle and he came to play. He worked lovely give and goes with his teammates and helped create offense throughout the match. His goal lifted the Vancouver faithful from their seats and he made a big difference in this match.
Honourable mention
Pedro Morales picked up an assist on the lone goal of the match and he was focused and in the zone for all 90' minutes. The Whitecaps skipper had a lot of energy, and was instrumental in Vancouver's early start and success in the first half. Morales has taken over as the go to guy and playmaker on the Whitecaps, and he was key in making sure Vancouver kept up the tempo after scoring early on. The Chilean dynamo shared his thoughts on the match.
“I think the team played very good today. [It was] a good game against a difficult team, but I think that today the team [was] very good. I am happy. The guys are very happy for today for the win in a very important game.”
Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leverón, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Matias Laba; Sebastian Fernández, Pedro Morales(C), Kekuta Manneh; Erik Hurtado. (4-2-3-1)
Seattle Sounders Starting XI: Stefan Frei; Jalil Anibaba, Chad Marshall, Zach Scott, Leonardo Gonzalez; Lamar Neagle, Micheal Azira, Brad Evans(C), Marco Pappa; Kenny Cooper, Chad Barrett. (4-4-2)
Notes: Canadian International Bryce Alderson missed the match due to a left quad strain.
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