VANCOUVER, BC – In front of a boisterous crowd of 34,738, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Wrexham AFC played an entertaining international match at BC Place, including a thunderbolt from Giuseppe Bovalina.
With nine of his regulars out, head coach Vanni Sartini provided an opportunity to a number of younger players, including a first start for Belal Halbouni, and the first appearance for six players from Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2). Brian White wore the captain’s armband in place of skipper Ryan Gauld, who was sidelined with an MCL sprain.
Early on, the ’Caps defensive corps of Finn Linder, in his first appearance with the first team at BC Place, Halbouni, and Bjørn Inge Utvik were under pressure from speedy Wrexham counterattacks.
Down the right wing, midfielder Ryan Barnett flashed the ball across goal to Sam Dalby – his deflection was ably punched away by Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer.
After the quarter hour, the ’Caps had a glorious opportunity. Alessandro Schöpf juked his way into the danger area. The wily veteran hooked a low shot on target that caught Wrexham ’keeper Arthur Okonkwo off his line – yet a defender was able to steer the ball to safety.
Whitecaps FC fed off that momentum. Ali Ahmed took full advantage when he slyly stripped defender Ryan Barnett at the edge of the Wrexham box.
At full sprint, Ahmed went one-on-one with Okonkwo – the ’keeper bravely stood his ground to keep the match scoreless.
Wrexham went ahead in the 31st minute. Off a deflected clearance, Seb Revan smashed home the opener from 10 yards out.
Just before halftime, Sam Adekugbe lined up a 25-yard free kick, however his attempt swerved high over the crossbar.
A litte more than 10 minutes after play restarted, Whitecaps FC showed impressive vision in a breakout from midfield. Pedro Vite spun and chipped the ball ahead for Ahmed, who put a sublime through ball onto the boots of Bovalina.
The 19-year-old Australian wingback flexed his muscles. He unleashed the beast with a 30-yard screamer that streaked past Howard into the top corner to tie the match at 1-1.
But Wrexham came roaring back with two goals in three minutes as Elliot Lee took charge. He first set up James McClean for a header from in close to take the lead.
Then, a Ryan Barnett cross found Lee, who nodded home the insurance marker past Whitecaps FC backup ’keeper Joe Bendik in the 71st minute.
Wrexham midfielder Luke Bolton salted the match away as he won a loose ball for a Jordan Davies finish nine minutes from time and a 4-1 final.
Next up for the ’Caps is the start of their Leagues Cup campaign. The Blue and White will head south to California to face off against MLS Western Conference foes Los Angeles FC this coming Tuesday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Whitecaps FC will then be back at BC Place next Saturday, August 3 to face Club Tijuana in their final Leagues Cup West 7 group match. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. PT, with tickets available at whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Attendance: 34,738
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Scoring Summary31’ – WXH – Seb Revan (Elliot Lee)
55’ – VAN – Giuseppe Bovalina (Ali Ahmed)
68’ – WXH – James McClean (Elliot Lee)
71’ – WXH – Elliot Lee (Ryan Barnett)
83’ – WXH – Jordan Davies (Luke Bolton)
Cautions32’ – VAN – Vanni Sartini (head coach)
33’ – VAN – Ali Ahmed
43’ – WXH – Elliot Lee
74’ – VAN – Eliot Goldthorp
81’ – VAN – Ralph Priso
90’+1 – WXH – Aaron James
90’+2 – WXH – Luke Bolton
Statistics
Shots: VAN 4 - WXH 10
Shots on Goal: VAN 3 - WXH 6
Saves: VAN 2 - WXH 1
Fouls: VAN 6 - WXH 13
Offsides: VAN 2 - WXH 1
Corners: VAN 4 - WXH 1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
32.Isaac Boehmer (17.Joe Bendik 62’); 83.Finn Linder, 12.Belal Halbouni (53.Buster Sjöberg 62’), 15.Bjørn Inge Utvik (54.Mihail Gherasimencov 62’); 8.Alessandro Schöpf (16.Sebastian Berhalter HT), 45.Pedro Vite (97.Liam Mackenzie 62’), 13.Ralph Priso, 22.Ali Ahmed (48.Malcolm Simmons 62’); 3.Sam Adekugbe (27.Giuseppe Bovalina HT), 24.Brian White © (28.Levonte Johnson HT), 19.Damir Kreilach (41.Eliot Goldthorp HT)
Substitutes not used
1.Yohei Takaoka, 4.Ranko Veselinović
Wrexham AFC1.Arthur Okonkwo (31.Callum Burton HT); 3.Lewis Brunt (4.Max Cleworth 63’), 5.Eoghan O’Conell © (15.George Dobson 63’), 25.Will Boyle (6.Tom O’Connor HT), 53.Seb Revan (23.James McClean 63’); 8.Andy Cannon (30.James Jones 75’), 12.George Evans (34.Aaron James 84’), 29.Ryan Barnett (17.Luke Bolton 75’), 38.Elliot Lee (7.Jordan Davies 75’); 11.Jack Marriott (27.Jake Bickerstaff 75’), 18.Sam Dalby (9.Ollie Palmer 75’)
Substitutes not used
14.Anthony Forde, 16.Billy Waters, 45.Harry Ashfield
