It was do or die for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday evening at BC Place against the Colorado Rapids. The math was simple – lose and their season was over or win and they would be the lone Canadian club heading to MLS Cup Playoffs.
Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson made three changes to his starting lineup after last weekend's scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes. Kendall Waston returned to the fold after serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation, while Darren Mattocks and Sebastian Fernandez took the places of Erik Hurtado and Kekuta Manneh.
The Opening 45
Both team started slowly in this one, with the Rapids taking a cautious defensive approach and Vancouver both looking like a team intent on getting the job done and like a side gripping the bat too tightly given the pressure to win.
While Vancouver dominated possession and looked the more dangerous side, they rarely troubled Rapids keeper Clint Irwin, who generally had a very quiet first half.
Vancouver’s first scoring chance of the game came in the 19th minute when Pedro Morales delivered an excellent cross that striker Darren Mattocks headed a few feet wide of the net.
The Whitecaps had a half chance in the 29th minute when forward Sebastian Fernández made a nice run to beat his defender. However, Irwin made a nice sliding save to snuff out the danger.
The Second Half
With Vancouver offense struggling and the clock counting down, Robinson brought on forward Kekuta Manneh early in the second half to give his team a much needed energy boost.
That move almost immediately paid off when Manneh blasted a shot that beat Irwin but ultimately rattled off the crossbar.
The Whitecaps found their breakthrough goal in the 70th minute off a corner kick, with the tallest man on the pitch, Kendall Waston, heading home a fine ball delivered by Pedro Morales.
From that point on, the Rapids came out out of their shell and pushed forward in search of an equalizer. However, with their season on the line, Vancouver ably and professionally finished off the game and capped a remarkable run of games that have seen them qualify for the MLS postseason.
Not only did Saturday's win clinch a playoff berth for Whitecaps FC, it also set a new club record in MLS with 50 points, surpassing their 48-point total from 2013.
Add in the fact that Vancouver has also won the 2014 Cascadia Cup and earned their first ever qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League and it is not a stretch to state that the Whitecap have exceed expectations and delivered a very successful 2014 campaign.
Man of the Match
Kendall Waston
The towering Costa Rican defender scored the biggest goal of the season for the Whitecaps. With Vancouver working hard but looking like a team that was feeling the pressure inherent in their situation, the Whitecaps struggled for much of the match to engineer legitimate scoring chances. Amidst that situation, the 6’5 newcomer to MLS rose to the occasion and headed home the goal that punctuated what has turned out to be a very successful season for Carl Robinson’s squad.
Honourable mention
As he has done all season long, goalkeeper David Ousted made the key stops when Rapids were pushing for an equalizer. Forward Kekuta Manneh played a key role in rejuvenating his side as a second half substitute. Lastly, it should be noted that team most valuable player Pedro Morales also came through big team, delivering the ball that Waston headed home for the winner.
Vancouver Whitecaps Line-up
1 Ousted
40 O'Brien
2 Harvey
4 Waston
33 Beitashour
15 Laba
31 Teibert
77 Morales
30 Rosales
7 Fernandez
11 Mattocks
Substitutions: (33) Adekugbe for Beitashour; (56') Manneh for Teibert; (66') Hurtado for Mattocks
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