VANCOUVER, BC – Playing down a man for more than 60 minutes, Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2W-2L-1D) put on a gritty performance against LA Galaxy (2W-1L-1D) in front of an expanded capacity crowd of 27,038 fans on Saturday night at BC Place, earning a scoreless draw despite losing three of their mainstays midway through the first half.
David Ousted recorded the clean sheet for the 'Caps, who lost Pedro Morales and Kekuta Manneh to injury, and MatÃas Laba to a straight red card, all before the halftime whistle.
- Robinson: "Great character, great spirit, great fight by the group."
- Post-match press conference: David Ousted and Tim Parker
The two sides traded chances early. In the seventh minute, Nicolás Mezquida, one of three changes to the starting XI from last week, found fellow Uruguayan Octavio Rivero on the right wing, however Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe was there to make the early save. Minutes later, LA would try to get on the board when Sebastian Lletget found a lane on the left side and sent a cross to Jelle Van Damme but the defender's sliding shot found the side of the net.
This is when the physicality of the match turned up a notch.
First came a collision between Morales and Daniel Steres that resulted in a yellow card for the Galaxy centre back but proved to be costlier for the 'Caps, as their captain had to leave the match in the 19th minute with a left hip strain.
Then it was Van Damme's turn to pick up a yellow card on a race to a ball that sent Mezquida to the turf.
Things got even testier in the 28th minute, when Laba's challenge versus Mike Magee in LA's attacking half earned the 'Caps midfielder an ejection from referee Jair Marrufo.
The two goalkeepers were alert on each end, with Ousted coming up with a flying save on Lletget's glancing header, and Rowe diving right to stop a long-distance shot from substitute Andrew Jacobson, keeping the match scoreless at halftime.
Unfortunately for the 'Caps, Manneh would not make it to intermission as the winger sustained a left ankle injury while trying to settle the ball in a non-contact play in the 43rd minute.
The good news, however, was that Kendall Waston and Tim Parker were back in action after missing last week due to international duty. Facing an LA attack with a man-advantage, the centre back duo came up with timely clearances, including several in the dying minutes.
The man behind them was a wall as well. In the 70th minute, Lletget fed a wide-open Gyasi Zardes at the middle of the box but the substitute striker's point-blank attempt was stopped with a diving reactionary save from Ousted. Bradford Jamieson would test the 2015 MLS All-Star goalkeeper minutes later with a chance from the right side, but his shot again met Ousted, who had four saves in total.
Alan Gordon got a late try with a header off a Magee corner kick, but his shot would miss the top corner by mere inches.
It was Ousted's second straight shutout, while Rowe, who made two saves, recorded his first clean sheet of the year.
Whitecaps FC now take their three-match undefeated streak on the road next week when they visit D.C. United on Saturday, April 9 at RFK Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. PT (TSN1 and TSN 1410).
INJURY UPDATE:
Christian Dean (foot), Russell Teibert (calf), and Kianz Froese (concussion) were unavailable for the match. Froese has resumed training after sustaining the injury in the Whitecaps FC 2 match versus Seattle Sounders FC 2 on March 26... Robbie Keane (knee surgery), Steven Gerrard (calf) and Giovani dos Santos (leg) missed the game for the Galaxy.
MCMILLAN ‘CAPS CORNER KICK DONATIONS
For every ‘Caps corner kick at home, McMillan donates $100 to the United Way. An additional $500 is donated for every goal scored off a corner kick. This match McMillan Corners for Kids has donated $300 for a running total of$2000.
MATCH DETAILS
Budweiser Man of the Match: David Ousted
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Attendance: 27,038
Scoring Summary
None
Stats
Shots: Vancouver 5 - LA 15
Shots on Goal: Vancouver 2 - LA 4
Saves: Vancouver 4 - LA 2
Fouls: Vancouver 11 - LA 16
Offsides: Vancouver 0 - LA 1
Corners: Vancouver 3 - LA 3
Cautions
17’ – LA – Daniel Steres
24’ – LA – Jelle Van Damme
Ejection
28’ – VAN – MatÃas Laba
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 8.Fraser Aird, 4.Kendall Waston, 26.Tim Parker, 2.Jordan Harvey; 13.Cristian Techera, 15.MatÃas Laba, 77.Pedro Morales (17.Andrew Jacobson 19'), 23.Kekuta Manneh (7.Christian Bolaños 43'); 11.Nicolás Mezquida, 29.Octavio Rivero (27.Blas Pérez 74')
Substitutes not used
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 3.Sam Adekugbe, 32.Marco Bustos, 44.Pa-Modou Kah
LA Galaxy
12.Brian Rowe; 14.Robbie Rogers, 44.Daniel Steres, 37.Jelle Van Damme, 3.Ashley Cole; 24.Emmanuel Boateng (38.Bradford Jamieson 78'), 34.Nigel de Jong, 6.Baggio Husidic (11.Gyasi Zardes 61'), 18.Mike Magee; 17.Sebastian Lletget, 15.Ariel Lassiter (9.Alan Gordon 67')
Substitutes not used
31.Clément Diop, 20.A.J. DeLaGarza, 25.Rafael Garcia, 27.Dave Romney
Be a part of the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! 2016 Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are on sale from $39/month all in. In addition to Season Tickets, Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket, and single match tickets. For more information, visit
whitecapsfc.com/tickets
.
