VANCOUVER, B.C - After 43 days of being displaced because of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Vancouver Whitecaps returned home to BC Place to take on a surging Sporting Kansas City. Carl Robinson's lads did well on the road earning 9 of a possible 15 points. The Whitecaps looked to turn that road momentum into a win at home. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Peter Vermes and his Sporting Kansas City played a perfect road match and prevailed 1-0.
Kevin Ellis scored the matches only goal in front of a sell-out crowd of 21,000 spectators. Benny Feilhaber and Amadou Dia both had important goal-line clearances. Vancouver had their chances, but simply could not convert.
Dom Dwyer had an on going battle with Kendall Waston throughout the match. In the 88' minute Dwyer delivered a two handed shove to the chest of Waston. The Costa Rican went down rather easily. Dwyer should have been sent off and Waston should have earned a yellow for diving. The Sporting Kansas City striker talked about his on going battle with Waston.
"Yeah he's a big guy. A very strong centre-back. I'd like to get a little bit of protection from the referees. It was a bit of kicking, off the ball here and there. The linesman and the refs, I guess they didn't see it. In the end of the day sometimes the decisions are wrong by the referee. We got the result today, so were pleased and we'll move on with three points."
Kendall Waston puts the tussle down to nothing but just playing football.
"Nothing. It was just football. It was a normal battle. It was good because he fight for his team and I fight for mine. At the end of the game we shook hands and everything stayed on the pitch."
Manager Carl Robinson was none too pleased with what went on with his star centre-back. It was noticeable following the match that Robinson went straight to the referees afterwards and did not appear to talk to Dom Dwyer at any point. Robinson believes more should have been done on the pitch to perhaps cool tensions.
"Both good players. Both super professionals. I don’t think it was handled correctly, but they are both good players. Both decided to play a certain way, which is both correct and both wrong. But it wasn't handled correctly."
The Opening 45
The Whitecaps wasted little time getting going and had a flurry of chances in the early stages of the match. Octavio Rivero had a wild go from distance and Kekuta Manneh had a pair of shots from in close that were turned away from goalkeeper Tim Melia. Manneh was disappointed with how the Whitecaps performed and is already looking ahead to next weekends clash with Portland.
"Give all the credit to K.C., they played really well. They moved the ball, they kept the ball and it makes other teams tired. At the end that's what happened. We didn't really connect today. We were off our game. All we can do now is get ready for the next game against Portland. Hopefully we can win that one."
Vancouver's greatest opportunity to open the scoring came off a corner in the 12' minute. Mauro Rosales sent the ball in. Rookie centre-back Tim Parker had his header cleared off the line by midfielder Benny Feilhaber.
The Caps were buzzing and the continued forward at a blistering pace. Cristian Techera was sent in a long 1 v 1, but could not completely pull away from the Sporting KC defender. Amadou Dia did well to track down Techera and tackle him. The Vancouver faithful clamoured for a penalty, but referee Kevin Stott was not having any of it.
Both teams settled into the match and the intensity picked up. Feilhaber was issued a yellow card for a challenge on Manneh, and several players from both sides hit the deck and frustratingly pounded the pitch. Mauro Rosales seemingly appeared to turn back the clock as his 34 year-old legs were full of pace and energy in a familiar no.10 attacking role.
Neither side could convert as the opening forty-five ended scoreless. Vancouver had the better chances, and kept the visitors at bay. The home side carried a 55% - 45% possession advantage into the interval.
The Second Half
Sporting Kansas City was on the offensive after a slow and cautious opening half. Peter Vermes had his team playing tentatively on the road until they switched on and went in search of a goal.
Centre-back Kevin Ellis scored his second goal of the season in the 52' minute. The homegrown Kansas City native, split the Whitecaps defensive pairing of Kendall Waston, and Tim Parker. Ellis connected on a fine cross from Krisztian Nemeth after Soni Mustivar was able to send the ball forward.
Ellis described his match winner.
“It was a good ball from Krisztian and he put in a spot where only I could get it, so he made it really easy for me to get up and get it.”
Vancouver almost had a moment of magic and an equalizer from Cristian Techera. Rivero found 'El Bicho' and his shot went off Melia and defender Matt Besler. The ball appeared to be heading into the Sporting Kansas City net. Rookie full-back Amadou Dia raced back to the goal-line and cleared the ball off the line just as the supporters looked to jump up and cheer in the 61'.
The Whitecaps had a free kick just outside the Sporting KC box after a handball was called. Cristian Techera stepped up and fired a rocket on goal. Tim Melia was up for make a fine save as his leaped up and pushed the ball over the bar for a corner.
In an effort to spark his teams offense, Carl Robinson brought on Erik Hurtado in the 80' minute and veteran striker Robert Earnshaw in the 84' minute. The Welsh goal-poacher had previously been dealing with a nagging calf injury. The Caps spark that had looked strong in the first half diminished as the match progressed. Sporting KC played a solid match and earned the wint.
Man of the Match
Tim Parker
Despite being beat on the only goal of the match, Tim Parker had an otherwise great match. He was up the pitch trying to create scoring chances and had a header cleared off the line in the first half. As Vancouver was looking for a late equalizer he had another header in the box that was turned aside. Parker is quickly becoming a valuable player for the Whitecaps and a centre-back that should be starting each and every week alongside Kendall Waston as the Caps top pairing.
Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour (Robert Earnshaw 84), Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Gershon Koffie (Deybi Flores 59); Cristian Techera, Mauro Rosales, Kekuta Manneh (Erik Hurtado 80); Octavio Rivero. (4-2-3-1)
Sporting Kansas City Starting XI: Tim Melia; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Kevin Ellis, Matt Besler, Amadou Dia; Benny Feilhaber, Soni Mustivar, Roger Espionza; Jacob Peterson (Jimmy Hallisey 83) , Dom Dwyer, Krisztian Nemeth. (4-3-3)
Notes: Carlo Ancelotti attend the match. Ancelotti was relieved of his duties as Real Madrid Manager on May 25, 2015.
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