KANSAS CITY, KS – For a neutral, Saturday night’s Western Conference tilt between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Sporting Kansas City may have been the best MLS game of the season.
Unfortunately for Whitecaps FC (13W-9L-3D), the result was a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat in a match that saw Sporting KC (11W-4L-7D) erase a 3-1 deficit within the final 10 minutes in front of their boisterous home crowd at Sporting Park.
Kekuta Manneh bagged a first-half brace and Pedro Morales scored his second free kick goal in as many games, and third of the month, but it just wasn’t enough to end SKC’s 16-match home unbeaten run in all competitions. As a result, the ‘Caps drop to second in the Western Conference – one point back of LA Galaxy and two ahead of Sporting KC.
Aside from calling upon rookie centre back Tim Parker for the suspended Kendall Waston, Carl Robinson kept the same starting lineup from Vancouver’s recent wins over Seattle and RSL – Matias Laba was deemed fit to play after picking up a knock Wednesday against Montreal.
SKC also fielded a strong lineup – the only difference being that most of them also played in a midweek U.S. Open Cup fixture. On the other side, the 'Caps had to deal with a heavy week of travel, but Robinson was able to rest eight starters midweek.
And it seemed to pay off early, as the visiting ‘Caps came out flying.
Their first chance came just six minutes in, when Manneh picked out Octavio Rivero with a nice ball over the top. The Uruguayan striker muscled off his defender and got in behind but couldn’t beat the rapidly approaching Tim Melia.
Just three minutes later, Whitecaps FC took the early advantage.
Manneh scores his first of two on the night
The play started when Rivero and Manneh combined to force an SKC turnover in midfield – a common theme in the first half. Vancouver went the other way with a 4-on-1 but Manneh took care of business himself, finishing from inside the box with his left foot.
While the ‘Caps continued to look dangerous on the counter throughout the half, there were a few nervy moments around their own goal.
In the 17th minute, Paulo Nagamura got in behind but David Ousted did well to cut off the angle and come up with the chest save. Vancouver’s all-star goalkeeper was called upon again in the 21st minute, this time denying Krisztian Nemeth from close range before Jordan Harvey delivered a diving, goal-saving block on the rebound.
The rest of the half belonged to Vancouver.
And the visitors doubled their lead in the 41st minute, when Manneh calmly headed in a pinpoint cross from Steven Beitashour, who found acres of space down the right. The assist was Beitashour’s fifth of the season, surpassing Manneh and Morales for the team lead.
The ‘Caps were in control at halftime, but this one was far from over.
SKC pulled one back in the 53rd minute on a short corner. After a scramble in front of goal, Kevin Ellis headed one home at the back post to make it a game.
From there, Vancouver had a pair of clear-cut opportunities from Manneh and Rivero but Melia came up big for SKC on both occasions. Whitecaps FC did manage to get their third goal in the 75th minute, when Morales curled in another spectacular free kick to make it 3-1.
Against all odds, however, SKC scored three goals in the final 10 minutes – one from Dom Dwyer and two from Nagamura, including a stoppage-time winner, to complete the comeback victory.
Saturday’s match was the final meeting between Vancouver and SKC this season. And although Whitecaps FC dropped both encounters, you won’t find many complaining if these two Western Conference heavyweights meet again in the playoffs.
Next up for Whitecaps FC is another massive Western Conference tilt with FC Dallas a week from today at BC Place. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT and tickets are still available.
Be a part of the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are now on sale. 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.
MATCH DETAILS
Budweiser Man of the Match: Kekuta Manneh
Referee: Juan Guzman
Attendance: 19,969
Scoring Summary
9’ – VAN – Kekuta Manneh
41’ – VAN – Kekuta Manneh (Steven Beitashour)
53’ – SKC – Kevin Ellis (Soni Mustivar)
75’ – VAN – Pedro Morales
81’ – SKC – Dom Dwyer (Krisztian Nemeth)
87’ – SKC – Paulo Nagamura (Chance Myers, Benny Feilhaber)
90’ + 4’ – SKC – Paulo Nagamura (Soni Mustivar)
Stats
Shots: Sporting KC 17 – Vancouver 10
Shots on Goal: Sporting KC 6 – Vancouver 7
Saves: Sporting KC 4 – Vancouver 2
Fouls: Sporting KC 14 – Vancouver 11
Offsides: Sporting KC 2 – Vancouver 3
Corners: Sporting KC 7 – Vancouver 5
Cautions
61’ – SKC – Amadou Dia
64’ – VAN – Matias Laba
90’ + 5’ – SKC – Paulo Nagamura
Sporting Kansas City
29.Tim Melia; 17.Saad Adul-Salaam (7.Chance Myers 73’), 4.Kevin Ellis, 5.Matt Besler, 94.Jimmy Medranda (13.Amadou Dia 34’); 6.Paulo Nagamura, 93.Soni Mustivar, 10.Benny Feilhaber; 22.Connor Hallisey (37.Jacob Peterson 46’), 14.Dom Dwyer, 9.Krisztian Nemeth
Substitutes not used
21.Jon Kempin, 2.Erik Palmer-Brown, 20.Amobi Okugo, 71.Marcel de Jong
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 33.Steven Beitashour, 26.Tim Parker, 44.Pa-Modou Kah, 2.Jordan Harvey; 15.MatÃas Laba, 28.Gershon Koffie; 13.Cristian Techera (7.Mauro Rosales 60’), 9.Nicolás Mezquida (77.Pedro Morales 65’), 23.Kekuta Manneh (11.Darren Mattocks 74’); 29.Octavio Rivero
Substitutes not used
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 22.Christian Dean, 31.Russell Teibert, 88.Robert Earnshaw
