MONTREAL, QUE –Andrew Jacobson made the connection he was hoping for on his volley, and it helped Vancouver Whitecaps FC to their first result on the road this year.
Jacobson delivered the right touch from just beyond the 18-yard box for the tying goal 29 minutes into Vancouver's 2-1 comeback win against Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo on Saturday. The veteran midfielder made the most of his opportunity, and started the rally, when the ball soared out towards him after Montreal centre back Laurent Ciman attempted to head clear Christian Bolanos' free kick.
“I knew I wouldn't have time to take it down so I just wanted to get a decent connection on it,” Jacobson said. “I didn't want to try to hit it as hard as I can, just get a connection and see what happens.”
The next ‘Caps connection followed immediately after the strike when Vancouver captain Kendall Waston slapped Jacobson's face, a form of goal celebration that Waston described as “just craziness of mine.”
“To be honest, I'm just used to it by now,” Jacobson said. “He's inspirational to the team and he brings a lot of energy, and sometimes that's the form it comes in.”
Jacobson did more than score a nice goal, though. The veteran also delivered the assist on the 79th-minute winner with a nice pass that set up Cristian Techera.
Vancouver coach Carl Robinson said he was happy to see Techera get on the scoresheet.
“He's playing with confidence at the moment, which is really important for players,” Robinson said. “And if you put the work in on a daily basis in training you get the reward in games. We've just been slightly off in the penalty boxes in the early part of the season, but today we weren't, so pleased for Cristian and hopefully there's more to come.”
The comeback win gave Vancouver their first points in four road matches this season, which is important given that they are just now at the halfway point of a four-game swing away from home.
“I think last week we played very well against a good Portland team that were in form and we want to try and replicate that performance, and I think we certainly did [today], especially the first half,” Robinson said. “I think some of our football was outstanding, and even though we went behind we maintained our focus, our discipline, and then got back into the game and obviously got the winner with a little bit of magic from The Bug.”
