COUVA, Trinidad And Tobago — Cristian Techera scored in the first half and the Vancouver Whitecaps held on for a 1-0 victory over Central FC on Tuesday night in their opening CONCACAF Champions League group match.
Techera found the back of the net in the 34th minute off a cross from Erik Hurtado.
Whitecaps FC2 goalkeeper Spencer Richey, in his first-team debut, made five saves as Vancouver jumped into first place in Group C after the first day of this year’s competition.
Known as the Sharks, Central FC plays in the TT Pro League, the country’s top division, where they have won back-to-back titles. They also have won the last two Caribbean Football Union Club Championships.
Both the Whitecaps and Central FC are second-timers in the CONCACAF Champions League, a 24-team competition between the top clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The other team in Group C is MLS’ Sporting Kansas City.
Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson made a number of changes to his starting lineup after facing FC Dallas in MLS action in the 40-degree Texas heat on Sunday.
Regulars Hurtado and Techera got the start along with Nicolas Mezquida, Fraser Aird, and Russell Teibert. But there were also some relatively new faces.
Richey was joined by his WFC2 teammate Brett Levis, who helped set up Techera’s tally. Centre back David Edgar — one of five Canadians in Vancouver’s starting lineup — made his competitive debut with the Whitecaps, partnering in the middle of defence with Pa-Modou Kah, who wore the captain’s armband.
Both sides had some decent chances in the opening half. Central FC controlled possession slightly, but Vancouver looked more dangerous going forward.
Kah headed a corner over goal, Aird came close on a couple opportunities at the back post, and Techera caused all sorts of problems for the Sharks backline.
Techera was rewarded with his goal in 34th minute. The play started when Levis found Hurtado at the corner of the box with a nice ball from the left. Hurtado then beat his man to the endline before feeding Techera, who volleyed the ball in from close range.
At the other end, Richey was busy in the first half with five saves, none bigger than a diving stop in injury time before Edgar slid in to clean up the rebound.
Central controlled possession in the second half, but aside from a long-range effort from Nathaniel Garcia in the 50th minute, they never came close to tying the match.
The Whitecaps next Champions League campaign is against Sporting Kansas City on Aug. 23.
Central FC will play the Whitecaps Sept. 28 at BC Place Stadium.
Vancouver’s next MLS game is Saturday night against the Rapids in Colorado.
