

Posted by

Robert Cerjanec ,

July 30, 2014 Email

Robert Cerjanec

On Twitter:

@SportsNutRob

After drawing their last three matches, the Vancouver Whitecaps returned to action on the road against the Chicago Fire.



Vancouver entered the contest two points adrift of FC Dallas for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.



Manager Carl Robinson opted for an unchanged 4-2-3-1 formation, with Erik Hurtado in the right wing position and Darren Mattocks operating as the lone striker.



The Opening 45



The early stages of the match were mostly contested in the midfield, with neither side creating much in the way of chances.



Mike Magee’s free kick in the 9th minute nearly put the Fire in front, but his shot drifted just wide of the right post.



Chicago came close again in the 38th minute when Jeff Larentowicz’s stinging header off of a Magee corner just missed the top corner to the left of Vancouver keeper David Ousted.



The largely uneventful first half ended scoreless, as both teams were left with everything to play for in the final 45 minutes. Laba deserves praise. 101 tackles, 51 interceptions is fantastic. But when your D-mid is the story, something's lacking. #WhitecapsFC — Vancouver Armada (@VancouverArmada) July 31, 2014

The Second Half



After a slow first half, Vancouver attempted to up the tempo at the start of the second.



Erik Hurtado was sprung in alone after just three minutes, but the Vancouver attacker’s heavy touch let him down, resulting in a weak attempt on goal that was easily denied by Fire keeper Sean Johnson.



A bizarre moment occurred in the 63rd minute when referee Fotis Bazakos initially awarded a second yellow card to Jordan Harvey in error, however Bazakos corrected himself and rightly awarded the yellow card to Johnny Leveron instead.



Chicago’s Quincy Amarikwa spurned a great opportunity to break the deadlock in the 80th minute, when he fired his shot high and wide from the top of the Whitecaps box after receiving a great through ball from Magee.



Both teams offered little going forward on the evening and rightfully settled for a share of the points, as Vancouver tied their fourth straight match.



Man of the Match





Matias Laba



The Whitecaps created very little offensively on the night, however the diminutive midfielder was slick and efficient in possession throughout the contest. He maintained his defensive gaps and responsibilities well from his holding midfield position.



Honourable Mention



Although it was not his best game, Pedro Morales tried valiantly to create offence for the Whitecaps all evening, but ultimately lacked the quality in the final third to finish off any of the few Vancouver chances.



David Ousted was solid in picking up the clean sheet, but the keeper was rarely challenged by a toothless Fire attack.



Vancouver Whitecaps FC Line-Up

1 David Ousted

2 Jordan Harvey

16 Johnny Leveron

24 Carlyle Mitchell

33 Steven Beitashour

15 Matias Laba

28 Gershon Koffie

7 Sebastian Fernandez

77 Pedro Morales

19 Erik Hurtado

11 Darren Mattocks



Substitutions: Russell Teibert for Gershon Koffie (57), Omar Salgado for Sebastian Fernandez (58), Kekuta Manneh for Erik Hurtado (77).