The Whitecaps were looking for a little revenge against the team that gave them their first loss of the season and ended their MLS record shutout streak. By the end of the 90 minutes Vancouver did more and proved that they can play amongst the MLS elite as the beat San Jose 2-1 with a goal at the death from the designated player Eric Hassli.
The Earthquakes opened up the scoring as Chris Wondolowski picked up his league leading 11th of the season before Gershon Koffie pulled the Caps even just before the half.
Fresh off a dynamic mid-week performance Omar Salgado started the match strong as he earned a corner within the first five minutes after his cross into the box was cleared by the defender. A few minutes later after a shot by Chavez was blocked, Salgado gathered the ball and got past two defenders before his left footed strike was stop by Jon Busch.
A poor clearance by Joe Cannon led to the Earthquakes knocking the ball around before Simon Dawkins got a shot on net that was handled by Cannon. A minute later San Jose once again worked the ball around to Chavez who delivered a perfect cross into the box over Lee to the awaiting head of Wondolowski who deposited his 11th of the season to give an early lead to the visitors.
The Whitecaps responded well to the goal against as they were able to create some pressure with three straight crosses in to the box but there was no to make contact. Another cross a few moments later by Rochat just missed both Camilo and Watson.
After earning a free kick with some fancy crossovers Lee delivered a free kick to his fellow wingback Rochat who headed the ball down just past the post. Camilo was almost sent in free after a Watson interception but was called off side by ref. Then in the 40th minute after another Salgado earned free kick, Camilo delivered it perfectly into the box where Gershon Koffie while being held headed the ball past Busch drawing the Caps even going into the half.
The Whitecaps continued their strong play into the second half as Koffie was able to find Camilo at the side of the box who pulled around a defender but his shot was collected by Busch. After being fouled Camilo got a free kick past the wall but a diving Busch was able to stop the ball labeled for the bottom corner. A minute later off another free kick a blocked attempt by Salgado brought on a dangerous counter attack by Marvin Chavez but the Caps were able to negate by pulling back.
Another San Jose counter Wondolowski found himself with space and fired a shot from 25 yards out that forced Cannon into a diving stop. The two teams traded chances in the final ten minutes but they were unable to get their shots on target.
Two minutes into injury time second half sub Eric Hassli was sent in alone but fired high and wide while not seeing a streaking Thorrington to his left. A minute later Hassli redeemed himself after receiving a perfectly weighted pass from Chiumiento and this time he made no mistake as broke his goalless drought giving the Caps a win, sending the 19,000+ supporters into a frenzy.
In what could be deemed their best overall performance at home, if not overall, the Whitecaps took a big step in showing character and a winning mentality by winning for the first time when behind in a game.
In his post-game conference Martin Rennie felt “that this team needs to win games like that, ones that are 50-50 that could go either way or end up in a tie. If you win those games it starts to move your team forward, it starts to change the belief, it starts to bring a winning mentality. We’re working hard to achieve that and these moments help.”
Except for the goal that was allowed early, the backline held in check the hottest striking pair of Lenhart and Wondolowski and performed much better than their first meeting. In the midfield Koffie may have had his best game in MLS as a Whitecap, even if he didn’t score the opening goal. Most importantly Rennie and the Caps couldn’t have asked for more than to have the face of the franchise break a long MLS goal drought. The fact that the goal was a winner at the death was a bonus for the club and its supporters.
The Whitecaps continue their busy month of May as they now wait to play the second leg of the Canadian Championship as they host FC Edmonton with a 2 goal lead. Their next MLS action will be a long trip to east coast where they will face the New England Revolution.
(image courtesy of Bob Frid/Vancouver Whitecaps)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
