P osted by

Harjeet Johal ,

April 19, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - Vancouver entered hostile Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, never having won a road match against Real Salt Lake in six previous matches. That all changed with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Jeff Cassar's strong squad before a crowd of 20,414. Darren Mattocks scored a wonderful header in the 80th minute off of a Russell Teibert cross. David Ousted made four saves and earned his 4th MLS clean sheet of the season, tying him for first overall in that category. Real Salt Lake had Sebastian Saucedo sent off due to a straight red card, and a pair of yellows to Jamison Olave. Once second half substitute Saucedo was banished from the match Vancouver took over and got going. Following the match the home-grown Saucedo took full responsibility for his red card and he shouldered the blame for his sending off. "It’s not my intention to get a red card, obviously, and I didn’t intend to tackle him. Obviously I can’t argue about giving a red card. If it was a red card, then it’s a red card. I can’t argue about it or anything like that. I tried to get the ball and I tried to do it as clean as possible and it led to something else. I can take the blame for getting a red card.” Whitecaps FC improve to 5-2-1 on the season and continue to lead the MLS table with 16 points. Carl Robinson has his young upstart squad playing just the way he wants as they learn and continue to grow as a team. The gaffer was delighted to earn a win in a difficult environment. "Yeah, obviously it’s a good result for us. We came here with a game plan and made some tactical adjustments prior to the game and they worked to a tee so we took the three points."



The Opening 45

The Whitecaps tough tackling reputation was fully on display in the early moments of the match. Skipper Russell Teibert earned himself a yellow card from referee Ted Unkel after a dangerous two-footed challenge on Olmes Garcia. Jordan Allen had the first decent opportunity to open the scoring. The 19 year-old capitalized on a missed clearance from Sam Adekugbe. Allen fired a low shot that David Ousted was forced to dive to his right to make a save in the 15' minute. Vancouver carried the majority of possession in the first forty-five, but had trouble finding a goal and creating chances in the final third. Real Salt Lake did well to get back defensively when Vancouver was able to break out on the counter-attack. Darren Mattocks and Octavio Rivero were unable to get service from the Caps midfield and weren't able to create chances. David Ousted caused a momentary scare for the Whitecaps when he collided with left-back DeMar Phillips in the 31' minute. Ousted was down on the pitch for a few minutes while being attended to by a trainer. The Danish keeper was given a chorus of boo's from the Rio Tinto faithful who assumed he was time-wasting. Real Salt Lake were not thrilled with Ted Unkel's approach to the match and felt the referee wasn't consistent enough with his foul calls. This boiled over into an unnecessary yellow card for Jamison Olave who received a card for dissent in the 42' minute. Teibert with the assist. Atta boy. #VWFC — Kasey Hunter (@KRWJonze) April 19, 2015

Big away win for the #WhitecapsFC. 5 wins in 8 to start the year. They love the road! Good on ya Robbo #VWFC — Brendan Dunlop (@Brendan_Dunlop) April 19, 2015

The Second Half

Real Salt Lake's sound defensive play kept the Whitecaps at bay in the first part of the second half. While Vancouver was able to get breaks down the flanks, they were unable to find that elusive goal. Rivero and Mezquida linked up well, but any time they got forward, Real Salt Lake was there to shut down the Whitecaps offensive attempt. Real Salt Lake had a great chance to score when Olmes Garcia delivered a wonderful cross to Alvaro Saborio in the 62' minute. The Costa Rican sent a terrific header on goal, but David Ousted was in perfect position to make the catch and deny the open free header. Vancouver was very lucky to not concede as Saborio was unmarked behind the Whitecaps back-line. Carl Robinson made his first substitution in the 71' minute as Mauro Rosales made his return to the pitch for Vancouver. The Argentine playmaker had been sidelined since March 14 with an ankle injury sustained against the Chicago Fire. Nicolas Mezquida made his way to the bench and Rosales slid into the no.10 role. Real Salt Lake made a substitution in the 64' minute that proved to be quite costly ten minutes later. 18 year-old Sebastian Saucedo went in studs first on Mauro Rosales. His right foot clearly making contact with Rosales and his ankle. Ted Unkel made no hesitation in awarding a straight red card to Saucedo. Vancouver was able to use the extra player to their advantage as the Caps nicked a goal with a great cross and leaping header. A deflected ball found Russell Teibert on the left flank, and he was able to send a brilliant cross into the box. Darren Mattocks jumped up and sent a sublime header into the RSL goal off the post for a 1-0 Vancouver lead in the 80' minute. It didn't get any better for Real Salt Lake as they were soon reduced to a 9-man squad. Darren Mattocks was tripped up by Jamison Olave as he broke in towards goal. Olave was given his second yellow card of the match and sent packing in the 89' minute. The home side was forced to come up with an equalizing goal while playing with two-fewer players on the pitch and it just didn't pan out on this occasion. Man of the Match





Darren Mattocks

Mattocks usually needs a bundle of chances before he cashes in on one. Tonight, that was not the case as he made good on the only shot on target the Whitecaps had. The Jamaican international rose above the Real Salt Lake defense and scored a timely goal. Mattocks was also able to use his speed, which forced Jamison Olave to haul him down, earning his second yellow. Mattocks has stepped up this season when the Whitecaps have added many offensive dynamic players. Going forward Mattocks will continue to earn himself playing time if he can maintain his excellent play and scoring touch.

Who was your Whitecaps Man of the Match?

Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Kendall Waston, Pa-Modou Kah, Sam Adekugbe; Gershon Koffie, Matias Laba; Darren Mattocks (Erik Hurtado 90), Nicolas Mezquida (Mauro Rosales 71), Russell Teibert(C); Octavio Rivero. (4-2-3-1) Columbus Crew Starting XI: Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran (John Stertzer 84), Jamison Olave, Elias Vasquez, DeMar Phillips; Kyle Beckerman(C), Luke Mulholland (Devon Sandoval 88), Luis Gil; Jordan Allen (Sebastian Saucedo 64), Alvaro Saborio, Olmes Garcia. (4-3-3) Notes: Real Salt Lake now falls to 12-1-3 lifetime against all Canadian MLS opponents at Rio Tinto Stadium. Vancouver will return home to play DC United on Saturday, April 25 at BC Place Stadium.