After a 7-0 demolition of the Philadelphia Union, it was back to business for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Actually, it was unfinished business.
The Whitecaps had a chance to advance to their fourth straight Canadian Championship final. But standing in their way were CPL leaders Forge. The two teams played a tight 2-2 draw in Hamilton on August 13, the day Thomas Müller touched down at YVR. The stage for the second leg was set at BC Place.
After seeing their undefeated streak come to an end at the hands of Cavalry, Forge are coming off a win over Halifax Wanderers and a surprising loss to Valour.
Like the villagers helping defend their village with the samurai in Seven Samurai, the Whitecaps looked to defend their home and their Voyageurs Cup final. Forge by no means was going to be easy, and were looking to complete the upset.
But the Whitecaps made it look easy and are in the final of the Canadian Championship for the fourth straight year.
First half: Pretty good all around
Goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer was called into action early. With the defenders freezing in the box, Aleander Achinioti-Jonsson was denied by Boehmer in the first two minutes of the game. That was an early scare for Vancouver, and it showed Forge were here to shock the Canadian soccer world.
But the Whitecaps were determined to prove they are still Canada’s elite team. After JC Ngando was denied by Forge goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat, Tristan Blackmon headed in Sebastian Berhalter’s corner kick. Another game, another set-piece goal for Vancouver.
The Whitecaps were continuing to be aggressive with their press. Koleilat was keeping Forge in it with big saves off Jayden Nelson and Ngando.
Vancouver continued to hunt down Forge like the Clones hunted the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. Their possession paid off as Ngando rang his shot off the post and past Koleilat. Less than 30 minutes in, the Whitecaps were up by two.
Forge were trying to get back into the game with their long switches to play to Ampomah. Tate Johnson was matched up against him and was beaten by the Ghanaian winger a few times in the first half. Despite that, Johnson was doing a decent job against Ampomah.
The Whitecaps were pushing Forge to play in a low block with what looked like eight in the box. They were doing their job, but there was still another half to be played.
Second half: Took care of business
The Whitecaps continued to pile on Forge. After Belal Halbouni was yanked down in the box, Berhalter converted his penalty kick. Given Berhalter’s ability to smash the ball into the net, there was no doubt he would score.
Forge looked like they were being left in the box. They were struggling with the pace and press the Whitecaps had and were pretty much chasing them in their own half. Forge rarely go down in the CPL, and this was a different experience for them.
Kenji Cabrera and Rayan Elloumi came on in the 60th minute and wanted to get into the action. Each of them missed close-range chances minutes after coming on. Cabrera was also showcasing how shifty he is with the ball. For Elloumi, there is a reason why he was signed to a pro contract: Quick, dynamic, and has a strong eye for goal. This kid could be special.
It was Elloumi who got the assist on what felt like an inevitable Nelson goal. Elloumi, who turns 18 on Wednesday, received the long ball from Andres Cubas, and he found Nelson for the tap-in. Pretty good for a first career assist! Believe it or not, that was Nelson’s first goal since May.
Overall, the Whitecaps did well and didn’t even need Müller. They ran Forge out of BC Place and advanced to the Canadian Championship final once again. Unfortunately, Blackmon suffered an injury late in the match and had to be taken out for Mathias Laborda. It looked bad, and hopefully, it isn’t long-term. Other than Halbouni and Laborda, the Whitecaps have no healthy centre-backs.
Stat of the match
According to Fotmob, Berhalter lead the way in passes into the final third with 14
What was said
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen did not have an update on Blackmon’s injury, other than it was a knee injury that didn’t look good.
He also talked about the depth of the team stepping up.
“We scored four goals and that was a good thing,” said Sørensen. “But we had a lot of chances. We have to execute a little bit better because it has been a problem for us, not in the last game but in the games against St.Louis and Houston. It’s no disrespect at all to Forge, but we had a lot of open opportunities and we have to be a little bit more clinical. Having said that, it’s great that we have four different players scoring. It was nice to see that we kept going for the next goal.”
He was asked about what it meant to reach the final.
“I think you have to get there, you have to play the games, you have to be ready,” said Sørensen. “Whenever the opportunity is there, and there’s not room for many errors in games like this. I want to congratulate everybody around the club. For me personally, as a coach, and you enter a competition, you always believe that you can make it to the final.”
“It’d be a good accomplishment,” said Berhalter on the possibility of winning four Canadian Championships in a row. I think anytime you’re in a final, you want to win it, so hopefully you can go out there and get it done.”
Berhalter also spoke about the depth of the squad.
“I think that’s what’s made us good this whole year,” he said. “The guys have always stepped up.”
Tweet of the match
This pretty much sums up Forge’s performance against the Whitecaps.
Wrap-up
The Whitecaps will face either Vancouver FC or Atletico Ottawa on October 1st in the final at BC Place. Vancouver leads Ottawa 3-1 on aggregate, and their second leg is on Thursday.
But it is back to MLS in the short term as Vancouver travels to the Midwest to take on Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. Kickoff for that game is at 5:30 pm.
