FRISCO, TEXAS – Playing on the road against FC Dallas has always proven difficult for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. That is, until Saturday when the ‘Caps won at Toyota Stadium for the first time in franchise history. The victory came in dominating fashion, too.
Vancouver came out on top for the first time while visiting Dallas on Saturday by routing Oscar Pareja's 10-man side, 4-0. Afterwards, Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson and his men expressed their satisfaction with the lopsided triumph over one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
“A positive result for us,” Robinson said. “I think we played very well in the game, which you have to do when you come here. It’s the first points we’ve taken at Dallas. We know how difficult of a place it is to come.”
Although they struggled to possess the ball, Vancouver were able to open the scoring with Bernie Ibini’s goal in the 18th minute. Ibini’s shot took a deflection on the way towards goal, and went past wrong-footed FC Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez to give the Australian his first goal in MLS.
“Obviously I’m very happy,” Ibini said. “It’s great to get the goal out of the way because obviously the first one is a bit harder to get and you’re a bit anxious to get it, so I’m very happy to get off the mark now.”
But the star of the show was Fredy Montero, who scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season. Montero's first of the night came in the 49th minute off a confident penalty kick that he drew himself, but the Colombian striker only took the shot from the spot because Robinson gave him the chance.
“I got the opportunity because coach said so. My name was on the board to take the PK,” Montero said. “I felt confident of course and I was willing to help the team in any way I can.”
Montero also got an assist in the match, on Ibini’s winner, and that combined with his brace paved the way for Vancouver in their dominating win over the 2016 Supporters' Shield winners.
“[Montero] led the team properly and obviously gets the penalty and then the second goal is a great little finish, which is what I expect him to do,” Robinson said. “He’s missed a couple of chances, but he’s full of confidence at the moment because he works hard in training.”
Montero, who came to Vancouver from Tianjin Teda in China, has made a solid impact thus far in his first season with the club. He now has eight goals on the year to go along with one assist, and his performance on Saturday in a big win left him more than pleased.
“I feel happy,” Montero said. “Obviously I scored two goals in one game, where you win against the first team in our conference. It’s always good emotions that are going through my mind.”
