- Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Montreal Impact last night, 3-1.
- Thierry Henry’s team was left with 10 players already in the first half.
- With this loss, Toronto FC won the first place in the Canadian Championship tournament and secured its place in the finals.
Vancouver’s Strong Performance
It was obvious right from the start that the Whitecaps want to avenge their 2-4 defeat from three days ago. They were better after a slow start, willing to attack more often and showing more aggressiveness. However, after an opening initiative, they could have easily found themselves trailing.
In the 32nd minute, Luis Binks missed a nice chance to stun the hosts, and give Impact a lead. From that moment on, Montreal was all over the field, but their surge was brutally stopped. Rudy Camacho received a red card for violent conduct after kicking Fredy Montero, not only leaving his teammates with one player fewer on the field, but also handing a penalty to the hosts.
“It had a big impact on the game,” Thierry Henry said of Camacho’s red card. “Once again, we’re going to learn, hopefully, quicker than this, sooner rather than later as they say in English….What you saw, obviously, was a massive negative. But I like to talk about it internally.”
Montero was ice-cold when executing the same, bringing a 1-0 lead to Whitecaps.
The home team obtained a massive boost with this development, and they struck once more until the end of the halftime, making this sequence a nightmare for the guests. David Milinkovic assisted Cristian Dajome, who added another score in the 44th minute.
Vancouver started the second half better, trying to find a way to score the third one and seal this event. However, it seems that they relaxed as time went by, and the punishment arrived in the 70th minute.
Romell Quioto scored a nice one, from a tough position, giving his team a hope that they might reach at least one point and avoid a defeat. That hope, though, didn’t last too long.
Just eight minutes later, Montero added his second of the day. He and Leonard Owusu had a show of their own, before the latter made a pass that left Montero in a perfect situation in front of the goal. The Colombian scored, setting the final result of the game.
“He came in and had a fantastic game. He deserved even the hat trick. He impacted with the ball, he impacted the in chances created, he impacted the game in the runs in the box,” said Whitecaps’ head coach Marc dos Santos.
Impact Fails to Reach Canadian Championship Finals
With a win in this one, the team from Montreal would end the round-robin tournament between the Canadian teams in the first place. That would later secure them the direct spot in the Canadian Championship finals.
After this outcome, Toronto FC kept the top position. Head coach Henry didn’t want to discuss that situation, putting all the focus on the MLS competition.
“We wanted three points for the league. I’ve been saying since the beginning of the Canadian Championship tournament, we wanted three points for the (MLS) league.”
Impact meets Philadelphia Union on September 20, while Vancouver plays with Real Salt Lake one day earlier.
