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Harjeet Johal ,

May 12, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - The Chicago Fire made a rare visit to Vancouver for a mid-week clash with the Whitecaps. The Fire have struggled this season as they sit at the bottom of the eastern conference with 7 points. Carl Robinson was hoping his team could build on momentum following a 2-1 win over Portland on Saturday. The Whitecaps did just that thanks to a Blas Perez brace that earned Vancouver a 2-1 win in front of a crowd of 19,638 fans. The 35 year-old Perez described his highlight real bicycle kick that earned Vancouver a massive win. "I thought the referee called the foul," said a surprised Perez. "I was a little surprised because normally balls like that high up in the air, the referee sometimes calls fouls for high feet. But that’s what I normally wanted to do, when I saw my teammates coming towards me, that’s when I realized the ball had gone in." The match had an unfortunate injury occur in the first half when Whitecaps striker Masato Kudo was involved in a nasty collision with Chicago keeper Matt Lampson. Kudo received an unintentional forearm to the face and had his head bounce off the BC Place turf. Chicago Fire players immediately helped turn Kudo over and called for a stretcher. After being attended to by medical staff from both teams, Kudo left the match on a cart with his face bloodied. An alert and awake Kudo was taken to a local Vancouver General Hospital for further evaluation. Chicago defender Razvan Cocis described the scary incident. "I think Joao (Meira) turned him over, it was a smart move because he had blood in his mouth. When I got there, I tried to put my finger in his mouth to take his tongue out so he didn't swallow it. His mouth was stuck so I forced him to open it and tried to keep his tongue out and then the medical staff came. I'm glad he's okay, I hope he's going to be fine." Carl Robinson was full of mixed emotions following the match as he offered a brief update on Kudo. "It's not good. I don’t think it’s looking very good. Obviously it’s a head injury, I think it’s a jaw problem. I'm going to go see him now, straight after. Mixed emotions today, because performance I thought we were ok, average. Blas, delighted for Blas. Top, top professional. Two super goals. Obviously a big blow losing Masato, so mixed emotions.” Whitecaps right-back Fraser Aird was happy with the victory and the way the Whitecaps showed resilience on the pitch. Aird also has a message for any week 11 MLS goal of the week nominees. "Obviously very unfortunate that Kudo goes down, wishing him all the best in his recovery. But Blas comes on and scores two goals and wins us the game. It just shows you the type of pro he is. All credit to him. He deserves it and his finish was unbelievable. If that doesn't win Goal of the Week, then I think I'm going to need to phone in and have a word with someone." The Opening 45

Carl Robinson elected to go with the same starting lineup that dominated vs Portland. That meant that Pedro Morales played in a holding midfield position and Masato Kudo played up top as a lone striker. Chicago opened in a 3-5-2 formation with Kennedy Igboananike and Joey Calistri as strikers. Following the Masato Kudo injury, you could clearly tell that the energy had been zapped out of BC Place. There was obviously a concern for Kudo, and playing football seemed to take a pause. It took a while for players from both teams to get back into the flow of an up and down Major League Soccer match. Cristian Techera setup Nicolas Mezquida for a brilliant chance, however Lampson came up with a fantastic save off his face to deny the Mezquida one-timed shot. At the other end, Kennedy Igboananike was in alone on David Ousted, but was not able to muster a decent effort on goal in the 24' minute. The Whitecaps finally broke through while the opening goal of the match in the in the 36' minute. Skipper, Pedro Morales played a lovely cross the pitch ball to a streaking Christian Bolanos. Blas Perez was able to out-muscle Chicago centre-back Johan Kappeljhof in the box to convert a Bolanos cross into the net. For Perez, that was his first goal since May, 9 2015 when he was a member of FC Dallas. Heading into the half, Vancouver could have sat back after seeing Kudo leave the match, however the Caps caught Chicago with some brilliant passing and left the visitors trailing 1-0. Vancouver held a dominate 65% - 35% possession advantage as the Fire didn't have much going offensively. The second Pérez goal was made even better with his reaction when he saw that it went in. #VWFC #VANvCHI — Eric Bucad (@heyrickie) May 12, 2016 Awful Kudo concussion. Wonderful Perez bicycle game-winning goal. And bizarre Rivero trade saga. Eventful day. #WhitecapsFC #VWFC — Vancouver Armada (@VancouverArmada) May 12, 2016

The Second Half

The scoring woes of the Whitecaps have been well documented, the Caps have been able to create plenty of chances, but converting in the final third is a struggle. Christian Bolanos had his shot roll wide of the target in the 55'. The Caps were applying pressure, but that goal remained elusive for just a few more minutes. Vancouver finally found the back of the net in the 62' minute thanks to a lovely goal from striker Masato Kudo. The Japanese import picked up a deflected ball and fired short-side, near post on Jake Gleeson. The Timbers keeper was not able to react quick enough and Kudo's first career MLS goal knotted the match 1-1. It only got worse for the visitors as a blunder from Jake Gleeson would put Vancouver ahead 2-1 in the 66' minute. Christian Bolanos sent in a cross attempt that chipped over Blas Perez and his defender. The ball did not touch Perez or his defender. Jake Gleeson let the ball slide through his legs and into the net. Gleeson completely botched the play and Vancouver was awarded a gift. Bolanos third consecutive match with a goal had the Whitecaps looking to take all three points vs Portland. As I wrote pre-season the Canadian #MLS teams are the real deal this year. A lot of ESPN/Fox games in Canada this fall :) #WhitecapsFC — Aaron Nielsen (@ENBSports) May 12, 2016

Chicago Coach Veljko Paunovic decided to make a switch before the second half kicked off. Matt Polster made his return to the pitch after a previously nagging calf injury. Chicago picked up the pace as they sensed an opportunity to find an equalizer. You could feel that a goal was about to come. Vancouver was sitting back and defending far too much and that's always a dangerous recipe. Chicago Fire leading goal-scorer Kennedy Igboananike proved that theory correct has he tied the match 1-1 in the 62' minute. The former Allsvenskan striker dazzled the crowd and left-back Jordan Harvey with some fancy step-over footwork that would make Beyonce jealous. His shot found the inside near post behind David Ousted. It was an ugly goal to concede, but goal-starved Chicago wasn't bothered. Chicago's designated player was doing his best to cause the Whitecaps problems. After single handily tying the match, he hit the post, and also forced Kendall Waston into making a poor tackle which resulted in a yellow card. Waston will now miss Vancouver's away match against Toronto FC on May, 14. Just when it seemed that the match would be concluded as a 1-1 draw a hero emerged with a spectacular goal. Out of nowhere, Blas Perez scored an amazing bicycle kick in the 88' minute. Kekuta Manneh earned the assist, but it was all Blas Perez. There was nothing Lampson could do. El Raton had saved the day and helped the Vancouver Whitecaps pick up an important win at the death. Man of the Match



Blas Perez

Perez had been creating chance after chance for himself as a Whitecap. The goals just weren't going in the net. The bounces certainly went his way vs Chicago. He came in off the bench for Masato Kudo and carried the team. Perez had not scored in over a full calender year, but he looked lively against the Fire. With Kudo likely sidelined, and Octavio Rivero not scoring goals, Perez could become a vital offensive threat for the Whitecaps up top. He is a wise veteran footballer and he showed that he has a lot to offer and a full bag of confidence and creativity to go with his skill set. "It’s mostly important getting the three points," said Perez. "It was a nice goal. What I was trying to do definitely ranks up there among the better goals I have scored. Given it was in the 88th minute, the game was winding down. It was a bicycle kick under circumstance, but I've scored bicycle kicks in the past, but this is definitely up there." Who was your Whitecaps Man of the Match?

Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Fraser Aird, Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Pedro Morales(C), Laba; Christian Bolaños, Nicolas Mezquida 66 (Kekuta Manneh), Cristian Techera 84 (Erik Hurtado); Masato Kudo 19 (Blas Perez). 4-2-3-1. Chicago Fire Starting XI: Matt Lampson; Johan Kappelhof, Jonathan Campbell, Joao Meira; Rodrigo Ramos, Arturo Alvarez 85 (Colin Fernandez), Razvan Cocis(C), Michael Stephens 45 (Matt Polster), Michael Harrington 63 (Brandon Vincent); Joey Calistri, Kennedy Igboananike. 3-5-2 Notes: Whitecaps left-back Jordan Harvey made his 134 MLS regular season appearance with the Whitecaps. He passes Gershon Koffie as the club's new all-time MLS leader.