The Vancouver Whitecaps are through to the CONCACAF Champions Cup Quarter Finals.
You read that right; the Whitecaps pushed through CF Monterrey, CONCACAF officiating, homophobic chanting, and more to keep their Champions Cup hopes alive after a 2-2 draw (3-3 on aggregate, advance by away-goal rule) in Mexico.
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen said he “was very happy” for his team.
“This is a team that will grow,” he said of the Whitecaps. “It’s a hardworking team, a team that works together. We played a very good game a week ago but only came away with 1-1. So, we had some things we needed to do. And today, we came behind 1-0 with a very bad start from us, and we fought ourselves back into the game.”
Sørensen’s lineup was without Whitecaps’ talisman Ryan Gauld who suffered a knee injury in the MLS match against CF Montreal. He was added to the trainer’s room alongside Sam Adekugbe, Jayden Nelson, and Emmanuel Sabbi.
This left room for Tate Johnson to get a second-straight start. Belal Halbouni was awarded another Champions Cup start after his goal to equalize the tie in the first leg.
Daniel Ríos and Édier Ocampo both drew in for the Whitecaps as well.
The Whitecaps had work to do in this one as the away-goal rule was in effect, but they did not get to the start they wanted.
Only four minutes in, Sergio Canales had the home side up by one. With a proper cross in from the left, Canales drifted in behind Johnson and with a well-placed shot at the back post, Monterrey was in the driver’s seat.
“We knew it would be difficult, playing away, of course. [CF Monterrey] have great fans. That helps them a lot. They have players who work. It was a big game for both teams,” Sørensen said.
For the first 20-25 minutes, Los Rayados controlled the match. However, they were being helped by a Whitecaps team that was committing poor passes and cheaply giving away possession.
But the visitors did find their way into the match. Shortening their passes and playing the full width of their back 5, the Whitecaps built up their possession and began finding seams into the opposing 18-yard box.
The second half brought Mathías Laborda and J.C. Ngando in as well as a return to their 4-3-3 formation that served them well in the first few matches of the season. Both players had an immediate impact, giving the Whitecaps a further sense of control in the game.
“We wanted to protect ourselves a little bit to begin with, playing in one structure,” the Whitecaps head coach said. “And then we wanted to in the second half, go all in and play offensively.”
And it paid off in the 57th minute. Ahmed cuts inside and played a short pass to Pedro Vite. The Ecuadorian quickly shifted the ball to Ocampo as he cut into the 18-yard box from the right.
Ocampo’s shot was hard and low, beating Esteban Andrada as the ball found the goal by the far post.
The go-ahead goal for the Whitecaps came in the 78th minute. Andrés Cubas fought his way into the central channel and passed short to the recently subbed-in Brian White.
The American striker, on a hot streak, added to it with his fourth goal in all competitions, giving the Whitecaps the much-needed second away goal.
“We have the way we would like to play. It’s an attacking mindset, and a strategy where we want to attack our opponents. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
But it would not be a CONCACAF tournament without a questionable (read: non-existent) penalty call.
Arguing to the ref in the 95th minute, Sergio Ramos used his pull to convince the referee and VAR to review a potential handball by Ranko Veselinovic. It was given and Ramos tied the draw.
Five additional minutes were given (10 in total of an original five minutes), but the Whitecaps held on for the win on away goals.
Winning without the big guns
Winning a two-legged tie with the final match in Mexico is difficult. Doing it without Gauld would have been considered a bridge too far only a year ago.
But there is belief in this squad of players. With Gauld, Adekugbe, and Nelson out and White on the bench to begin the match, there was still a sense that something special was happening.
This left room for Ocampo to shine, for Johnson to get another start, and for Boehmer to continue his cup-worthy performances.
In particular, Ocampo stood out, deputizing sublimely for the injured Adekugbe and making the case for more consistent minutes in the future.
Up next
The Whitecaps do not have to travel far. They are on the road in MLS action this weekend, facing FC Dallas on Saturday, March 15. Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m.
