HOUSTON, TX – Vancouver Whitecaps FC earned another vital point on the road on Wednesday with a 0-0 draw against Houston Dynamo FC.
With three matches in a week, acting head coach Vanni Sartini made five personnel changes to the side that won 1-0 against FC Dallas at BC Place last Saturday. Michael Baldisimo replaced an injured Ranko Veselinović at centre back, Javain Brown came in at right wingback for Bruno Gaspar, Janio Bikel returned to the starting lineup in place of Russell Teibert at right centre midfield, Patrick Metcalfe slotted in at left wingback as Cristian Dajome moved up front in place of Brian White, and Ryan Raposo came in for Ryan Gauld at attacking midfield.
Houston had the better of play in the first half, but only seriously threatened the ‘Caps on a couple of occasions, most notably with Fafà Picault hitting the post in the ninth minute.
Looking to change the flow of the match, Sartini made three changes at halftime. Florian Jungwirth came on for Leonard Owusu, pushing Baldisimo into midfield, while Déiber Caicedo came on for Metcalfe, moving Dájome to wingback. White also subbed in for Lucas Cavallini at striker as an injury precaution.
Five minutes into the second half, Maxime Crépeau came up big with a low save to keep Houston off the board. Crépeau was again the hero with a pair of late saves to preserve the 0-0 result.
The ‘Caps are right back in action on Saturday when they return to BC Place to face San Jose Earthquakes during Indigenous Night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT, and tickets remain available at ticketmaster.ca/whitecaps.
MATCH DETAILS
GE Appliances VWFC Player of Quality: Maxime Crépeau
Referee: Alan Kelly
Scoring Summary
None
Statistics
Possession: HOU 63.3% – VAN 36.7%
Shots: HOU 17 – VAN 5*
Shots on Goal:* HOU 4 – VAN 1
Saves: HOU 1 – VAN 4
Fouls: HOU 12 – VAN 16
Offsides: HOU 3 – VAN 1
Corners: HOU 8 – VAN 4
Cautions
47' – VAN – Michael Baldisimo
55' – VAN – Cristian Dájome
Houston Dynamo FC
26.Michael Nelson; 5.Tim Parker, 18.Teenage Hadebe, 15.Maynor Figueroa; 25.Griffin Dorsey, MatÃas Vera (8.Memo RodrÃguez 89'), 24.Darwin Cerén, 29.Sam Junqua; 23.Darwin Quintero, 12.Corey Baird (19.Tyler Pasher 65'),10.Fafà Picault (37.Maximiliano Urruti 80')
Substitutes not used
31.Kyle Morton, 4.Zarek Valentin, 11.Ariel Lassiter, 14.Joe Corona, 21.Derrick Jones, 27.Boniek Garcia
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
16.Maxime Crépeau ©; 15.Andy Rose, 55.Michael Baldisimo, 28.Jake Nerwinski; 23.Javain Brown, 19.Janio Bikel (31.Russell Teibert 75'), 17.Leonard Owusu (26.Florian Jungwirth HT), 32.Patrick Metcalfe (7.Déiber Caicedo HT); 27.Ryan Raposo (25.Ryan Gauld 58'); 11.Cristian Dájome, 9.Lucas Cavallini (24.Brian White HT)
Substitutes not used
1.Thomas Hasal, 2.Marcus Godinho, 6.Bruno Gaspar, 87.Tosaint Ricketts
