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VANCOUVER — Following last week’s comeback victory, Vancouver once again had San Jose’s number, beating the Earthquakes 2-1 in front of an announced 22,120 spectators at BC Place.
“Getting the three points was good but the performance was even better,” Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson summed up after the match. “We are playing with freedom created by confidence.”
The opening 15 minutes belonged to the Whitecaps. Vancouver passed the ball around nicely and on several occasions combined their way into San Jose’s area.
Christian Techera (15′) and Kei Kamara (16′) found themselves one-on-one with goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell. But on both occasions, the Whitecaps strikers failed to convert their chances.
It was a sign of things to come.
In the 22nd minute, Alphonso Davies scored his sixth goal of the season after another great combination play that left the 17-year-old wide open in the box. Receiving a through ball from Yordy Reyna, Davies proceeded to send the ball across the line with a low, hard shot that beat Tarbell at the near post.
Phonzie with the finish!
Alphonso Davies slots home his sixth goal of the season after some fine work by Kei Kamara and Yordy Reyna.
VAN 1-0 SJ | #VWFC pic.twitter.com/me9xASy9vu
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) September 2, 2018
The opening goal somewhat changed the complexion of the match. San Jose pressed further up the field, which gave the Whitecaps space to counter. Techera, Reyna and Davies, in particular, terrorized San Jose’s backline in the final sequence of the first half, but did not find a way through the Earthquake’s tight knitted defence.
Going into the second half, the Whitecaps lacked consequence and the directness on counterattacks to finish off the game. In the 61st minute, Kei Kamara’s header after a Kendall Waston cross was cleared off the line, and Techera, who went one-on-one with Tarbell in minute 64, should have sealed the match.
The second goal was in the air. Nicolas Mezquida – brought on just a few minutes earlier – missed the target with a header in the 74th minute.
A minute later, he would not be denied.
Winning the ball 20-yards from the goal, Mezquida briefly looked up, noticing that Tarbell was ill-positioned, and then beat the goalie with a lobbed shot to make it 2-0.
It was a goal long overdue.
Magnus Eriksson, however, almost scored a consolation goal for the Earthquakes with five minutes to go. His thunderous shot from 20 yards missed Stefan Marinović’s goal just by a whisker in the 85th minute.
In the 90th minute, San Jose did score. A lapse in concentration by the Whitecaps backline left Valeri Qazaishvili completely open in the box, and the Georgian striker made no mistake beating Marinović with a close-range effort.
“We like to make it interesting,” Robinson said after the match.
But in the end, the Caps walked away with the three points, which will give them a massive push in the race for the playoffs.
“I am not disappointed by the late goal. Not at all,” Robinson said. “I am happy with the point. We have to take the positives.”
Lineups
Vancouver Whitecaps (4-2-2-2)
Marinović –Levis, Maund, Waston, Nerwinski – Ghazal, Teibert – Davies, Techera (Mezquida, 71′) – Kamara (Hurtado, 80′), Reyna (Shea, 90′)
San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-2-2)
Tarbell – Qwiberg (Salinas, 68′), Jungwirth, Kashia, Lima – Fernandes (Yueill, 58′), Godoy (Hyka, 82′) – Qazaishvili, Eriksson – Wondolowski, Hoesen