‘Caps, TFC draw after late-game drama in 1979 NASL Championship anniversary match
VANCOUVER, BC – A tense All-Canadian affair between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC ended in a 1-1 draw at BC Place on Friday evening.
Fredy Montero’s penalty goal put the ‘Caps ahead in the 84th minute but substitute Nick DeLeon’s last-minute equalizer split the points between the Canadian rivals.
Despite the result, the ‘Caps stretch their undefeated streak to four matches, coming in front of members of the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl championship as the club commemorated the title’s 40th anniversary. The title team’s head coach Tony Waiters was inducted to the club’s Ring of Honour pre-match.
With the point, the ‘Caps drew level with FC Dallas for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Western Conference as Vancouver enter the Concacaf Gold Cup break. The Toros and San Jose Earthquakes, who sit just a point behind in the standings, each still have a match to play this weekend.
Yordy Reyna made his return after a six-match absence due to injury and changed the tenor of the game when he came off the bench in the second half. After a number of threatening runs, he was rewarded late when he drew a foul inside the box from Drew Moor, setting up Montero’s penalty goal with only six minutes to play.
TFC would battle back, however. The visitors had the ball fizzing along the right side, eventually ending with Marky Delgado assisting on DeLeon’s game-tier in the 89th minute. The shot deflected off defender Ali Adnan and into the net, tainting keeper Maxime Crépeau’s four-save outing.
After over two weeks off, Whitecaps FC are back in action when they host Colorado Rapids at BC Place on Saturday, June 22. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Visit whitecapsfc.com for ticket information.
MATCH DETAILS
WFC Man of the Match: Maxime Crépeau
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Attendance: 21,083
Scoring Summary
84’ – VAN – Fredy Montero (penalty kick)
90’ – TOR – Nick DeLeon (Marco Delgado)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 45.2% – TOR 54.8%
Shots: VAN 8 – TOR 14
Shots on Goal: VAN 1 – TOR 5
Saves: VAN 4 – TOR 0
Fouls: VAN 9 – TOR 15
Offsides: VAN 0 – TOR 0
Corners: VAN 0 – TOR 10
Caution
45’+1’ – TOR – Drew Moor
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
16.Maxime Crépeau; 22.Érik Godoy, 15.Andy Rose, 13.Derek Cornelius; 23.Scott Sutter, 4.Inbeom Hwang (94.Victor “PC” Giro 90’+1’), 6.Jon Erice ©, 31.Russell Teibert (8.Felipe Martins 70’), 53.Ali Adnan; 7.Lucas Venuto (29.Yordy Reyna 62’), 12.Fredy Montero
Substitutes not used
18.Zac MacMath, 26.Brendan McDonough, 46.Brett Levis, 50.Theo Bair
Toronto FC
16.Quentin Westberg; 26.Laurent Ciman, 3.Drew Moor ©, 23.Chris Mavinga (15.Eriq Zavaleta 32’); 22.Richie Laryea (18.Nick DeLeon 50‘), 27.Liam Fraser, 8.Marco Delgado, 10.Alejandro Pozuelo, 2.Justin Morrow; 91.Terrence Boyd (7.Jordan Hamilton 76’), 17.Jozy Altidore
Substitutes not used
25.Alex Bono, 5.Ashtone Morgan, 14.Jay Chapman, 19.Griffin Dorsey