VANCOUVER: All eyes were on Fredy Montero in the lead up to the Cascadia derby match, and did he deliver in a big way.
The Colombian striker scored two second-half goals against his former side to lead Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2W-3L-1D) to a 2-1 victory over Seattle Sounders FC (1W-2L-3D) in front of a sellout crowd at BC Place on Friday evening.
The Designated Player received support from goalkeeper David Ousted, as well as a number of ‘Caps defenders, who made timely stops against a full-on attack from the visitors.
Head coach Carl Robinson made five changes to last week’s lineup, and they stood toe-to-toe with the defending MLS Cup champions in a tightly-contested first half.
On the opposite end, Alphonso Davies, Christian Bolaños, and Cristian Techera were lively on the Vancouver attack, manufacturing chances but the match remained scoreless heading into intermission.
After the hour-mark, Montero took control of the match. He struck first on 65 minutes, nodding in a Techera cross from the right wing, and beating a full-stretched Stefan Frei in the bottom-left corner.
MCMILLAN ‘CAPS CORNER KICK DONATIONS
For every ‘Caps corner kick at home, McMillan donates $100 to the United Way. An additional $500 is donated for every goal scored off a corner kick. This match McMillan Corners for Kids has donated $700 for a running total of $1,900.
Budweiser Man of the Match: Fredy Montero
Referee: Kevin Stott
Attendance: 22,120
Scoring Summary
65′ – VAN – Fredy Montero (Cristian Techera)
80′ – VAN – Fredy Montero (Kendall Waston, Christian Bolaños)
89′ – SEA – Will Bruin (Nicolas Lodeiro)
Possession: Vancouver 38.2% – Seattle 61.8%
Shots: Vancouver 11 – Seattle 15
Shots on Goal: Vancouver 3 – Seattle 7
Saves: Vancouver 5 – Seattle 1
Fouls: Vancouver 13 – Seattle 10
Offsides: Vancouver 3 – Seattle 2
Corners: Vancouver 2 – Seattle 10
Cautions
37′ – SEA – Nicolas Lodeiro
44′ – SEA – Harry Shipp
53′ – VAN – Fredy Montero
90’+3′ – VAN – Tim Parker
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 25.Sheanon Williams, 4.Kendall Waston ©, 26.Tim Parker, 2.Jordan Harvey; 15.Matías Laba, 31.Russell Teibert; 67.Alphonso Davies (11.Nicolás Mezquida 76′), 7.Christian Bolaños, 13.Cristian Techera (77.Mauro Rosales 86′); 12.Fredy Montero
Substitutes not used
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 8.Andrew Jacobson, 16.Tony Tchani, 17.Marcel de Jong, 47.Kyle Greig
24.Stefan Frei, 91.Oniel Fisher (23.Henry Wingo 78′), 4.Gustav Svensson, 14.Chad Marshall, 33.Joevin Jones; 6.Osvaldo Alonso ©, 7.Cristian Roldan; 10.Nicolas Lodeiro, 2.Clint Dempsey, 19.Harry Shipp (17.Will Bruin 68′); 13.Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used
35.Bryan Meredith, 8.Alvaro Fernandez, 12.Seyi Adekoya, 15.Tony Alfaro, 21.Jordy Delem