P osted by

Harjeet Johal ,

June 26, 2016 Twitter

@HarJournalist Read this on your iPhone/iPad or Android device



VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps and Philadelphia Union tangled for a tasty encounter at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. Carl Robinson's lads were looking to get back to winning ways against the table toppers in the MLS Eastern Conference. Philadelphia had been inform, but Vancouver was able to come away with a convincing 3-2 victory thanks to an outburst of goals from Andrew Jacobson, Kekuta Manneh, and Christian Bolanos before 17,225 spectators. Union head coach Jim Curtain weighed in on his side's first home loss this season, "So, not a feeling that the group is used to – or likes. First loss at home comes exactly at the midway point. Again, the guys are really disappointed, upset, frustrated because on the night I thought we played really good soccer. We had some of our best actions in terms of possessions, movements, the goal. Credit to Vancouver, they made some big blocks, the goalkeeper made a few saves, especially early. When we were buzzing a little bit in the first half." Carl Robinson was in better spirits after last week's disappointing result against New England. "It was a big win, a very important win because we didn’t take care of business at home last week against New England. We played very well. We made one or two individual mistakes and in this level it catches up on you. So today we wanted to show a little bit of character – and I think we showed a lot of character – and be in contention towards the end of the game and we were. So, all credit to the guys in there. It’s not an easy place to come, this place. We’ve never won here, but we have tonight." Philadelphia suffers their first home loss of the season and at the halfway point of the season, Vancouver improve to 7-7-3. The Opening 45

Philadelphia had an early opportunity to open the scoring off a throw-in, just 4' minutes into the match. Tranquillo Barnetta was left unmarked in front of the Whitecaps net. The former Swiss international fired a point-blank shot towards David Ousted. The Caps goalkeeper was up to the task as Vancouver was lucky to escape without conceding an early goal. The high-flying Philadelphia Union kept coming in search of the opening goal and they did just that in the 14' minute. A lovely combination play resulted in a wide open Fabian Herbers striking the crossbar with his attempt on target. The ball then came down and struck the arm of former Whitecap, Sebastien Le Toux. The Caps seemed to stop playing in anticipation of a handball call. A whistle never came, and the very much inform Roland Alberg smashed the ball into the Whitecaps net. An undeterred Whitecaps side quickly found an equalizer in the 19' minute after a goalkeeper error from Andre Blake. Andrew Jacobson was able to convert an open header thanks to a blunder from Blake. The Union keeper went up to intercept the Whitecaps corner from Christian Bolanos and instead missed the ball. For Jacobson, that was his first goal for the Whitecaps. "Like I said, good character in the group," praised Carl Robinson, "They get along very well every day and it’s important because if you don’t do that coming into work 300 days a year is a bit… daunting. So the guys work their socks off and make individual mistakes sometimes, and my coaching job is to improve them on a daily basis so we do, and today we showed a lot of character coming back from a goal behind. We haven’t done it too many times but in Major League Soccer in general, teams that concede the first goal don’t usually go on to win the game. We’ve done it well, I don’t want to do it too often to be honest. I like to go ahead more than behind, but when you have the ability to do it, it’s helpful." The terrific back and forth pace continued throughout the opening forty-five and it helped Vancouver take the lead in the 41' minute. Whitecaps winger, Kekuta Manneh raced past rookie centre-back Josh Yaro and turned him inside out. Manneh cut into the Union box and fired across the box, off the post, and behind goalkeeper Andre Blake for his 5th MLS goal this season. "I gambled, when to go forward and when to stick with him," recounts Manneh, "So we won the ball and he was a little bit up the field. So I got some space, and Pedro [Morales] passed me the ball and my thought was to go forward. I know I had a chance, there was one defender in front of me, So I thought I could take him so I ran at him. He had a bit of a cover and I cut inside and I shot it near post and I thought it was a good goal, but again just glad to help the team win the game." Vancouver's shaky defense was bailed out by Philadelphia poor decisions at the back and Blake's indecision on Jacobson's goal. The visitors were happy to take a 2-1 lead into the break and also held a 52% - 48% possession advantage. @bcphlip7 Well, we did get screwed today with that non called hand ball. Thankfully our striker free offense manged to overcome it. #VWFC — Shoe Thief (@StuckontheSofa) June 26, 2016 We love you Headband, We do, We love you Headband, We do, We love you Headband, We do, Oh Headband we love you!! #VWFC — VancouverSouthsiders (@Southsiders) June 26, 2016

The Second Half

Jim Curtin's Philadelphia Union came out of the interval looking inspired as they went in search of their own equalizer. The Union had a trio of early corners, but could not capitalize on those opportunities. Tranquillo Barnetta was once again instrumental in creating scoring chances for Philadelphia. An early free kick from him almost caught Ousted off guard. Vancouver was hemmed in and stuck on the back foot as Philadelphia pushed the pace and dictated play. The Whitecaps first substitution came in the 65' minute as defensive minded Russell Teibert entered the match for skipper Pedro Morales. Philadelphia countered with Chris Pontius as they continued to look for offense and a match tying goal. With Philadelphia pushing forward with numbers, that left the back door vulnerable for a counter-attack from the Whitecaps. Vancouver was able to take advantage of the goal hungry Union and scored an insurance goal in the 84' minute, against the run of play. Erik Hurtado and Cristian Techera worked a lovely give-and-go on the right flank. Hurtado was able to find a streaking Christian Bolanos all on his own. The Costa Rican international calmly slotted the ball into the net past Andre Blake. Philadelphia was able to cut the Vancouver lead to 3-2 in stoppage time as Chris Pontius s converted on a header off a corner. There was not enough time remaining for the Union to draw even. Vancouver did well to earn all three points in a tough environment. Philadelphia has been a strong and surprising team this season, but Vancouver took advantage of an inexperienced Philly back-four and goalkeeper. The Whitecaps weathered an early storm and second half surge to pick up a crucial road victory. Man of the Match Engage superspeed mode ⚽️🏃💨#VWFC #PHIvVAN pic.twitter.com/gUvrGn2Dg7 — Vancouver Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC) June 25, 2016



Kekuta Manneh

Manneh had one of his best matches of the season for the Whitecaps. He was able to use his speed on multiple occasions, to test the Philadelphia Union defense. Josh Yaro was victimized when Manneh left him in the dust. When Kekuta Manneh uses his best attributes, not many MLS defenders can keep up with him. He was fantastic on the wing during his 79' minutes of action. Vancouver is a much stronger team when Manneh is healthy and able to contribute. "I thought it was very important for us to get to winning ways. We have a final coming up on Wednesday and I thought this game would give us confidence going into that game. We played the way we wanted to play and you know we got our goals. Some games, we get chances and we don’t take them and this game we took our chances and that’s what this game is all about. I thought that was the different between us and Philly. I thought they were great but we took our chances. But great effort from the guys tonight." Who was your Whitecaps Man of the Match?

Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Jordan Smith, Andrew Jacobson, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Pedro Morales(C) 65 (Russell Teibert); Christian Bolaños, Nicolas Mezquida 75 (Blas Perez), Kekuta Manneh 79 (Cristian Techera); Erik Hurtado. 4-2-3-1. New England Starting XI: Andre Blake; Fabinho 82 (Leo Fernandes), Richie Marquez, Josh Yaro, Keegan Rosenberry; Brian Carroll, Tranquillo Barnetta; Sebastien Le Toux, Roland Alberg, Ilsinho 65 (Chris Pontius); Fabian Herbers 76 (Walter Restrepo). 4-2-3-1