VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps continue to be the bridesmaid of the Amway Canadian Championship.
After a late Pedro Morales goal made it 2-1 on the night and knotted the aggregate score at 3-3, the Whitecaps succumbed 5-3 to Toronto FC in a penalty shootout Wednesday at BC Place before 18,470 fans in what was a dramatic and entertaining semifinal second leg.
Issey Nakajima-Farran scored the decisive goal and backup goalkeeper Joe Bendik capped off a man-of-match performance by making a big save on Kekuta Manneh to give Toronto the win.
TFC earned a 2-1 victory in the first leg at BMO Field last week. The Reds advance to the two-legged final (May 28 and June 4) where they will face the Montreal Impact who beat NASL side FC Edmonton in the other semifinal.
While Toronto will try to claim its fifth Canadian championship—having won four in a row from 2009 to 2012—Vancouver will be licking its wounds after falling short yet again. The Whitecaps finished runners-up in the five previous tournaments. But Vancouver coach Carl Robinson didn’t want to talk about that in the post-match press conference and instead claimed the moral victory.
“How could I be disappointed with a performance like that? Sometimes you don’t get in football what you deserve and today we didn’t because the boys were brilliant over 120 minutes. I know we haven’t won (the championship) but we have won it for me,” Robinson claimed.
Robinson was right. The final result was harsh on the Whitecaps, who were the better side on the night and forced TFC on the back foot for most of the contest. But for all of its sparkling play while in possession, Vancouver didn’t make the most of its chances, as it squandered plenty of scoring opportunities.
The Whitecaps also ran into a hot goalkeeper in Bendik, who made a number of clutch saves to keep TFC alive and give them a chance to steal the game in the shootout.
“We expect that from Joe now. That’s why he’s one of the best goalkeepers in (MLS). He has such a bright future and I wouldn’t be surprised if after this World Cup that he doesn’t get a call up (for the U.S. national team),” Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen offered.
Robinson made two lineup changes from the first leg, inserting Morales and Manneh for youngsters Marco Bustos and Kianz Froeze who were away on international duty with Canada’s under-20 team. Nelsen made a number of changes—most notably starting newcomer Luke Moore in place of star forward Jermain Defoe—but still fielded a strong starting 11 featuring Michael Bradley.
Marco Carducci, 17, started in goal again for Vancouver and for the second straight game the youngster looked shaky early on. TFC defender Nick Hagglund out-jumped and beat him to a high ball played into the box, and Doneil Henry capitalized by tapping home into an empty net to give Toronto the lead after only four minutes.
Henry’s goal wasn’t without controversy, though, as Hagglund appeared to foul Carducci on the play, and Henry was offside when the ball was played forward.
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That goal woke up the Whitecaps who dominated possession for the rest of the half and pinned TFC inside its half for long stretches. Vancouver made the Reds chase with some fast and lovely ball movement, but lacked finishing inside the box—Manneh, Morales and Erik Hurtado all wasted quality scoring opportunities.
Carducci made amends later in the half when he pulled off a fantastic diving save to deny Bradley of a goal on a curling free kick.
Finally the Whitecaps broke through in the 43rd minute, transitioning quickly after winning back possession. Morales played a lovely chipped pass from midfield that split the defence for Hurtado to run onto and the Whitecaps striker drove a low shot past Bendik.
The game’s quick pace continued in the second half, with Gilberto rushing in on goal off a pass from Bradley, only to see Carducci scamper off his line to smother the ball at the feet of the Brazilian. Then it was Bendik’s time to shine, pulling off a similar save after the speedy Manneh was played in alone on goal down the flank following a sumptuous pass from Nicloas Mezquida.
TFC appeared to have things wrapped up when the Whitecaps were given a life line in the 85th minute as Henry committed a needless foul and inexcusably brought down Hurtado inside the box. Morales converted the ensuing penalty.
Nelsen admitted that Henry showed poor decision making on the play, but he refused to call out the Canadian defender.
“Doneil’s done some fantastic things. Let’s remember he scored a goal as well,” Nelsen said.
The Whitecaps continued to pour it on as Bendik made a number of game-saving stops in the final minutes of regulation—including on another break by Manneh—to send the game to extra time.
The two overtime periods featured more great saves by both goalkeepers—and Dwayne De Rosario hitting the post—but no goals. Fortunately for TFC, they rediscovered their scoring touch in the shootout as all five players scored perfect penalties that Carduccci had no chance of saving.
“What extra time does, especially when you win, is it hardens you up as a team—physically and mentally. In a sick way, I’m glad it went to extra time,” Nelsen admitted.
NOTES: Toronto returns to MLS action on Saturday when it hosts the New York Red Bulls. Vancouver has this weekend off. Nelsen said he didn’t play Defoe because he was resting him for the New York contest… Bradley was playing in his last game before leaving to join the U.S. national team for World Cup training camp… Midfielder Daniel Lovitz, recalled from his loan deal with the Wilmington Hammerheads of the third-tier USL Pro League, made his TFC debut as a second-half substitute…
