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Harjeet Johal ,

September 16, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps encountered and conquered Honduran club team CD Olimpia in CONCACAF Champions League action on Wednesday night at BC Place. Carl Robinson rested some of his veteran players with a weekend clash vs Seattle on the horizon. An unknown CD Olimpia side was simply not enough to get the better of the MLS leading Whitecaps. 19 year-old Kianz Froese scored the lone goal and Paolo Tornaghi picked up a clean sheet in a 1-0 Vancouver win in front of 15,491 fans. Vancouver is now tied with Seattle Sounders FC at the top of Group F with 4 points. The Whitecaps will conclude Group Stage matches with away fixtures at Seattle on Wednesday, September 23 and against CD Olimpia on Thursday, October 22. The Caps are in the driver's seat heading to hostile territory. Carl Robinson was not at all surprised with how the 1-nil match unfolded. "It was exactly the way I thought it would play out. It was a very tough game for us, we knew that. They are a fantastic team. They've got top top players in their team and we knew it was going to be a test for us, but we managed to get our nose in front in the first half and I think we played very very well. Obviously, they fought back in the second half but we defended brilliantly. Tactically the boys were fantastic today against a very good team." The Opening 45

Prior to the match CD Olimpia striker Alberth Elis guaranteed to his good friend, Deybi Flores, that CD Olimpia would win. The Whitecaps young holding midfielder started the match and played well. He departed with a second half ankle injury, but not before Vancouver took the lead. Flores was delighted to see Vancouver earn all three points and enjoyed a bit of playful banter with Elis. "Yeah we were chatting over the phone a little while back and he was telling me they're going to come up here and win. I just told him, really it's one of those things. Whoever is most concentrated and whoever's going to stand tallest here is going to come out with the victory. Thankfully it was us who came out with the three points. After the game we shared a couple of jokes and I reminded him of the guarantee that he made and we're still good friends." CD Olimpia had the first real chance of the match off of a free kick in the 11' minute. Oscar Salas had his free kick headed off the bar by full-back Ever Alvarado. After the early chance for the visitors, Vancouver picked up the pace and tempo. The young blood in the Whitecaps lineup created chances and opportunities in the CD Olimpia half. In particular, Kianz Froese and Nicolas Mezquida were buzzing. Mezquida with a cheeky back-heel nutmeg and 19 year-old Froese darting directly at the oppositions defenders. Coach Hector Vargas looked to catch the Whitecaps with a quick counter-attack. However, just getting the ball off of the Whitecaps proved to be a task easier said than done. Robert Earnshaw's insertion into the Caps lineup showed a youthful hop in his step. The Welshman was glowing with confidence as he attempted a first half bicycle kick that he didn't quite connect with. “It felt nice, it felt good. I was worried what minute I was going to get a cramp, because I haven’t played in a little while. Luckily I got through it. I actually felt pretty good. It was enjoyable just to be out there, enjoyable just to have the touches on the ball, be around the guys and play. It never gets old.” The hard work from the Whitecaps paid off with a lucky bounce that resulted in the opening goal of the match in the 42' minute. Darren Mattocks did all the work dribbling around a pair of CD Olimpia defenders. While the Jamaican international missed his shot attempt. Kianz Froese was in prime position to deflect and chip the ball over Noel Valladeres into the vacated net. “I wasn't too sure. I tried to get myself centrally and then I thought maybe Darren would shoot and then maybe if it got blocked I would be in there. It got stuck in his feet and I just kicked it. It went in, so.” Vancouver was the better team in the opening forty-five and went into the break with a 1-0 lead and a possession advantage of 66% - 34%. The Caps also featured the only shot on target for both teams. Deybi Flores was happy to get the result and enjoyed playing against some of his good friends. "Thank God for the three points. It's obviously great to get the result and the main thing here was to have them respect us here in our house. Obviously it's nice to play against my friends. A lot of folks are from the national team and we played not too long ago and we've got some great friends. Most importantly it's good to get the three points." Massive win tonight in #CCL ! The italian way of defending with the hearth makes me so proud! #VWFC — Paolo Tornaghi (@PaulTornaghi) September 17, 2015 Three academy products on the pitch (Adekugbe, Froese and Bustos) for the #VWFC. Slowly but surely the program is yielding fruits #SCCL — Eighty Six Forever (@86forever) September 17, 2015

The Second Half

CD Olimpia was forced to open up and play offensively as they looked for any type of result on the road. Vancouver kept momentum focused on primarily keeping a clean sheet and a 1-0 advantage. CD Olimpia looked out of sorts going forward as Vancouver pressed and gave up few chances that troubled keeper Paolo Tornaghi. CD Olimpia suffered a scare when striker Romell Quioto collided with Whitecaps centre-backs Diego Rodriguez, and Kendall Waston as well as Tornaghi. Quioto took a knee to the back from Tornaghi and fell awkwardly on his back. He was forced to exit the pitch on a stretcher. Surprisingly, he did not pop back up and return to play. Javier Estupinan came on for the 24 year-old Balfate, Honduras native. Hector Vargas was not content leaving with a defeat. He emptied his bench and brought on striker Roger Rojas in the 77' minute. The 25 year-old had an immediate effect as he was left all alone in front of the Whitecaps net.

Rojas skied his shot well over the net as Tornaghi was late coming across goal. Carl Robinson countered with his own substitution in the 78' minute as he brought on hulking central-defender Christian Dean for Deybi Flores. CD Olimpia brought everything but the kitchen sink in the final minutes of the match. The scramble like play from Vancouver proved to be just enough as they prevailed. Carl Robinson pushed all the right buttons and was able to rest many of his veterans and at the same time his young lads came to play.



Man of the Match



Kianz Froese

Froese is turning into a fine young footballer and a player to watch for the coming years. Froese has had brief spells of magic in MLS as he fights for every minute. Tonight he contributed with the winning goal thanks to some great hustle. Froese was all over the pitch in the first half causing all sorts of problems for CD Olimpia. His pace rubbed off on his teammates and helped Vancouver shake off a slow start. Froese was able to reward his team and himself with a key goal as he hopes to earn more minutes and playing time going forward. "Continue to train hard. I can be in the squad, I can be out of the squad, that’s up to Robbo. I just need to continue to work hard in training and better myself and the minutes will come." Who was your Whitecaps Man of the Match?

Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: Paolo Tornaghi; Jordan Smith, Kendall Waston, Diego Rodríguez, Sam Adekugbe; Deybi Flores (Christian Dean 78), Matias Laba; Kianz Froese, Nicolas Mezquida (Tim Parker 85), Darren Mattocks (Marco Bustos 68); Robert Earnshaw. (4-2-3-1) Colorado Rapids Starting XI:Noel Valladeres; Kevin Alvarez (Roger Rojas 77), Johnny Palacios, Fabio De Souza, Ever Alvarado; Carlos Mejia (Michael Chirinos 57), German Mejia, Bryan Johnson, Oscar Salas; Alberth Elis, Romell Quioto (Javier Estupinan 61). (4-4-2) Notes: Darren Mattocks left the match with sore ribs.