The Vancouver Whitecaps welcomed New York City FC to BC Place on Wednesday night as NYCFC wanted to extend their 4 game win streak. Vancouver had other plans as they were hoping to bounce back from a tough 4-0 loss in Chicago over the weekend.
Both teams were weakened due to both injuries and international duty but were more than capable of fielding two well constructed teams.
Quick Start
The opening ninety seconds made it seem as if NYCFC were going to dominate the game with a lot of possession and potentially a few goals. Unfortunately for them, a bad turnover from Maxime Chanot resulted in a Fredy Montero goal. Montero pounced on the loose ball and made no mistake as he comfortably tucked the ball around NYCFC keeper Eirik Johansen.
NYCFC Bounce Back
Following the goal, New York City continued with their possession based game which resulted in plenty of chances which they didn't convert. A lot of these chances ended up resulting in corners and fortunately for New York City, one of them found the back of the net. Andrea Pirlo took the corner kick which eventually fell to RJ Allen who put the ball on frame. After a bit of confusion in front of the net, Maxime Chanot made up for his mistake as the ball found his foot and ended up in the back of the net.
Shortly after the equalizer, NYCFC was rewarded with a controversial penalty kick. Thomas McNamara went down in the box after being hit in the face with a Kendall Waston arm. After a bit more confusion caused by referee Baldermo Toledo, the penalty was rewarded and the captain stepped up. David Villa made no mistake from the spot and gave his side the lead right on the brink of halftime.
Vancouver Comeback
Similarly to the first half, Vancouver started off the second with another early goal. This one came after an injury to young NYCFC midfielder Yangel Herrera. Just a minute after leaving the field with an injury, he saw his side concede a goal. A lack of communication allowed Jordan Harvey to fire home the equalizer.
After some end to end action over the next half hour, Vancouver took the lead for the second time. Substitute Yordy Reyna found the back of the net for the first time in his young MLS career. A great cross from Jakob Nerwinski found Reyna wide open in the middle of the box and Reyna delivered a spectacular finish.
What's Next?
Following the two week break, both sides have very tough games. For Vancouver, they will be traveling to a somewhat underperforming Los Angeles Galaxy side before then welcoming the Portland Timbers to BC Place. As if that wasn't bad enough they will then have to travel to face off against FC Dallas.
As for NYCFC, they will also have to be in top form as they face off against some of the leagues best. They will welcome Toronto FC who sit second in MLS before then welcoming Bastian Schweinsteiger and the rest of the Chicago Fire who currently sit on top of the MLS standings. Following these matches they will then travel to Toronto to face off against Toronto FC once again. They better hope they perform better than they did against Vancouver or that four game win streak could very easily become a four game winless streak.