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Posted by
Harjeet Johal,
October 11, 2014 |
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@HarJournalist
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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - The Vancouver Whitecaps march to the MLS playoffs kept on rolling as they travelled down to Washington State to play their closest geographical rival, the Seattle Sounders. Carl Robinson's side were looking to regain control of the fifth and final MLS Western Conference playoff spot with a win in Seattle. It was a fierce 90 minutes and a defensive stalwart with not many scoring opportunities for either side. Kekuta Manneh scored the lone goal as the Vancouver Whitecaps claimed a 1-0 win and the title of 2014 Cascadia Cup Champions. 55,765 disappointed Seattle Sounders supporters crammed CenturyLink Field, but it was the Whitecaps who silenced them all and left with all three points in a hostile environment.
Vancouver gaffer Carl Robinson made one change to his team that defeated FC Dallas 2-0 at BC Place last weekend. Goal scorer Sebastian Fernandez earned himself a yellow and had to miss this fixture in Seattle due to accumulation. Kekuta Manneh stepped into his place as the Whitecaps went with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Matias Laba, and Russell Teibert played in holding midfield positions, and the Whitecaps used Manneh, Morales and Rosales to support lone striker Erik Hurtado. Vancouver striker Darren Mattocks missed the match because of international duty with Jamaica.
"To say I'm lost for words is an understatement. I'm so proud of every single one of them today. Not many people gave us the opportunity and believed that we would win, but I did and 1,250 fans did. The group did, too, and that's the most important thing."
Carl Robinson – Whitecaps FC Head Coach
Sigi Schmid elected to go with a strong lineup again the Whitecaps. The Sounders went with a 4-4-2 formation with the dynamic striker duo of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. The only significant change to the Seattle Sounders starting eleven was the absence of star right-back DeAndre Yedlin. Skpper Brad Evans moved over to Yedlin's position and Leo Gonzalez started at left-back.
The Opening 45
The Whitecaps and Sounders showed that they have no love lost between them. Both teams played a feisty and tense first half. Matias Laba, Marco Poppa, Pedro Morales, Osvaldo Alonso, Russell Teibert, and Obafemi Martins all got into it with one another early on. The foul filled first half featured multiple free kicks, corners, and intensity. Referee Jair Marrufo decided to put his cards away as he did not issue any caution until the final minutes of the half.
The best scoring chance of the first half came when 19 year-old Kekuta Manneh was fed a pass from Pedro Morales in the 30' minute as he made his way on goal. The Gambian midfielder cut in towards the left of the Sounders box before trying to beat Stefan Frei to his left. The Swiss goalkeeper was not fooled as he dove to his right to turn Manneh's shot away for a Vancouver corner.
With fouls and bad blood between the Whitecaps and Sounders that left only the inevitable Olympic diving format which soon showed up in the first half. Andy O'Brien and Kendall Waston had a strong first half and did everything to turn the Sounders back when they looked to get forward. Martins, Dempsey and Poppa all looked to be frustrated by the Whitecaps defensive front.
Manneh was all over the pitch as he had bundles of energy. In the 41' he drew the only yellow card off the first half after Sounders defender Leo Gonzalez caught him with his arm as he was hoping to sprint away. Moments later Manneh appeared to be down and injured after colliding with Obafemi Martins. The Sounders leading scorer caught Manneh in the left thigh in a midfield battle. Manneh was helped to the sidelines, however he didn't stay there very long.
The Whitecaps looked to break in on goal for a final scoring chance before halftime. Pedro Morales played the ball to Kekuta Manneh who came sprinting onto the pitch just off from the sidelines. Manneh burst around a stunned Chad Marshall and used his left foot to beat Stefan Frei. Manneh then gingerly walked behind the Sounders net holding his back and limping alone by himself before his teammates joined him to celebrate his 45' goal.
A stunned Seattle Sounders went into halftime down 1-0 after Kekuta Manneh came out of nowhere to score the opening goal after he appeared to be hobbled by a Obafemi Martins kick to his thigh. The Sounders lead the possession battle 58% to 42% and had four corner to the Whitecaps two.
The Second Half
Carl Robinson was forced to make a substitution before the second half kicked off. Kekuta Manneh was unable to continue and 18 year-old Kianz Froese came on to make his MLS debut. The residency product did not look out-of-place and he talked about his debut after the match.
“Coming in with 50,000 plus people, when Robo told me I was going in my heart dropped and you know I’m just happy to be part of the group and being able to help the guys.”
Kianz Froese – Whitecaps FC Midfielder/Forward
Seattle continued to look befuddled as they were not able not muster anything that looked dangerous on offense. To make matters worse, the Sounders had to deal with roving sweeper keeper David Ousted. The Dane continued to add his best Manuel Neuer impersonation to his bag of goalkeeping skills. Seattle made a pair of changes in the 62' and 65' minute as they hoped to inject some life into their lifeless offensive match tactics.
Substitutes Chad Barrett, and Gonzalo Pineda entered the match for Marco Pappa and Michael Azira. Sigi Schmid strategy was to implement more speed on the Whitecaps back four in the hopes that Harvey, Waston, O'Brien, and Beitashour would tire as the second half continued to tick away.
Pedro Morales looked to be labouring and questionable to continue as he went down on his own in the 70' minute. Nicolas Mezquida came rushing to over to the sidelines as it appeared that he would enter the match. Morales was favouring his hamstring, but to his credit he remained in the match, and Mezquida did not make his way into the match until the 81' when Morales went down again favouring his hamstring.
“Very proud of the about the game we did today. We didn’t actually play pretty today, we just fight and defend and being in a good shape, just controlling the game. They have very good players, very good team, and we got the goal and from there we work very hard to keep it. And the concentration and all the personalities that the team shows today is what we wanted for these last push of the playoffs. We needed the points, also we needed it for the fans. They came here to defend the Cascadia Cup and everybody is really happy. They have to enjoy. We have to enjoy about this sometimes the game is not going the way you want and we don’t actually play really good soccer but we got the points and this is the more important. Proud of the character that we showed.”
Mauro Rosales – Whitecaps FC Midfielder
Kendall Waston was issued a yellow card for a clip on American international, Clint Dempsey. Due to accumulation, the Costa Rican defender will now miss the Whitecaps next crucial fixture, an away match to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, October 18. Clint Dempsey had a brilliant chance to curl a free kick over the Whitecaps wall and past David Ousted. Unfortunately the rap artist known as 'Deuce' fired his shot straight at the Vancouver wall and out for a corner.
Seattle's offense looked bleak and Vancouver was able to stay focused, calm and composed. The injuries to Manneh and Morales forced Carl Robinson and his coaching staff to alter their tactics, but in the end they prevailed and earned all three points to jump over Portland back into the last playoff spot in the west.
Man of the Match
Kekuta Manneh
Kekuta Manneh has a knack for scoring goals at CenturyField against the Seattle Sounders. He scored the franchises only hat-trick last season as the Whitecaps came to Seattle and prevailed 4-1. Fighting off an injured thigh, Manneh showed why he has so much skill and promise. He darted back onto the pitch and took a pass from Pedro Morales and delivered home the winning goal before coming off to start the second half. Manneh showed big heart, and spirit to help the Whitecaps continue their push to earn a 2014 berth in the MLS playoffs..
Honourable mention
Pedro Morales fought through a hamstring injury and delivered a clutch performance on the field for the Whitecaps. The Chilean playmaker and Whitecaps go to man, was banged up for much of the second half, but he gave it his all as his team needed his leadership. Pedro Morales setup Kekuta Manneh for the only goal and he was physical, active, and committed to not only offense, but also the defensive front that shutdown the Seattle Sounders.
Vancouver Whitecaps Line-up
David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Andy O'Brien, Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Russell Teibert; Mauro Rosales, Pedro Morales(C), Kekuta Manneh; Erik Hurtado. (4-2-3-1).
FC Dallas Starting XI
Stefan Frei; Brad Evans(C), Chad Marshall, Jalil Anibaba, Leo Gonzalez; Lamar Neagle, Osvaldo Alonso, Michael Azira, Marco Pappa; Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins. (4-4-2).
Notes: Kekuta Manneh left the match with a reported quad contusion, however he proclaimed himself fit and available to play next weekend in San Jose.
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