VANCOUVER – With their 2-0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday, the Vancouver Whitecaps won back-to-back games for the first time since May.
In the tight Western Conference race, it was essential, and following the match it became even more important as the Portland Timbers came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
Now, with 43 points, the Whitecaps sit fifth in the West and remain just one point up on the Timbers, with both teams having three matches to play. Add in the fact these two are Cascadia rivals and the tension only grows as each side and its supporters watch scoreboards down the final stretch.
The victory was largely down to the pair of Sebastian Fernandez and Mauro Rosales. For both goals, Rosales played set-up man for Fernandez to score.
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First, it was a tantalizing cross from the midfielder from the right, as Fernandez jumped impressively to win an aerial duel with the taller Je-Vaughn Watson.
Four minutes later, the forward doubled his tally, as Rosales found the streaking player running in from the left. Fernandez took it with his left, bringing his tally to five goals on the season.
“Terrific performance by him, he was a threat all game,” said Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson of Fernandez. “His movement patterns and positional sense, getting into areas and causing problems for them was evident throughout the game. You guys will think it was his best game because he scored two goals but he has been playing like that regularly for me without the goals. Today the goals were a bonus.
“If you see his training every day, if you watch him, you can see that his work ethic is fantastic and he is a very talented football player. He’s got ability, and when he gets in the final third he make things happen. The last three or four weeks, even though he has not scored, his work ethic has been very valuable.”
Robinson also had praise for Robinson, who needed a game like this from the player the team made a move from with a view to trying to sneak into the playoffs.
“I thought it was his best game since he has been here and I think sometimes we’re very lucky to have him. I wanted to get him off earlier but he said ‘five minutes’ and I let five minutes go and he said “another five minutes” and then another… He was excellent. His technical ability is amazing and he had a massive influence on the game,” Robinson said.
Looking ahead to next week’s match in Seattle, the bad news is that Fernandez won’t get a chance to build on this performance, as he picked up a late caution, earning a suspension for yellow card accumulation.
The team will also be without Darren Mattocks, as he’s received a call-up for Jamaica. That could open the door to a start for Kekuta Manneh, who once again came off the bench Saturday to great effect.
It was of course down in Seattle were Manneh shocked the league last season, bagging three goals in a 4-1 defeat over the Seattle Sounders, becoming the youngest player in league history to score a hat-trick.
With a strong supporting cast, Manneh won’t have to do everything himself this time around, but a big performance, if he’s given the nod, will be important given the lack of attacking depth that will likely be on the bench.
As for Saturday’s contest, it was again a quiet night for Erik Hurtado up front. He ran his socks off but had little in the way of opportunities. His movement has improved by bounds since last season, but he still needs to improve his hold-up play if he’s to become the man leading the line for the Whitecaps on a consistent basis.
After the final whistle the match concluded with a bizarre incident, as Dallas coach Oscar Pareja looked upset with Whitecaps assistant Martyn Pert. It looked as if Pareja pushed Pert, and the Englishman responded in kind.
It’s unclear what the issue was, but it continues a heated rivalry between the sides—last time the Whitecaps visited Texas, Pert was ejected along with a Dallas assistant.
If the season ended with the current point tally, these two teams would meet in a single match to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
But there’s still three games to go—and much could happen before then.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.