<i>Match report and post game reaction from Vancouver Whitecaps' trip east to take on Columbus Crew in MLS action. Carl Robinson, Erik Hurtado and David Ousted talk about the 1-0 win.</i>
<b><u>Report:</u></b>
Watching Vancouver Whitecaps' away games the last couple of years have, on the whole, not been the most enjoyable experience. Even when there was a rare win at the end of it, the tactics employed were often hard to watch.
That is certainly not the case under Carl Robinson and his young team put in a terrific attacking performance in Columbus on Saturday evening, generating 22 shots on their way to a deserved 1-0 win over the Crew.
It was Vancouver's first away win of the season and it came courtesy of Erik Hurtado's first ever MLS goal.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
The Whitecaps made one change from the team that beat San Jose last weekend, a forced one, with Erik Hurtado coming in as the out and out striker in place of the injured Darren Mattocks.
It was clear from the line up, and the early going, that Vancouver were hoping to use their pace to cause Columbus a whole heap of problems.
Vancouver had the first chance of the match in the 4th minute when Sebastian Fernandez pounced on some sloppy play from Michael Parkhurst as he brought the ball out from the back.
The Uruguayan dispossessed the Crew captain but pulled his shot wide left when he really should have done much better.
Columbus had their first shot on target two minutes later when Hector Jimenez's long range drive forced David Ousted to save low to his left.
The Caps kept pressing and the pace of their young again was causing the Crew some problems.
Fernandez fired wide from inside the box before Erik Hurtado forced a save out of Steve Clark in the 9th minute.
The game settled down and it was the 18th minute before a keeper was called into action again, with Ousted making an easy hold from a Jairo Arrieta header.
There was very little action of note, although Clark was called into action in the 33rd minute to keep out a Jordan Harvey header from a Pedro Morales corner.
The Whitecaps got the breakthrough in the 37th minute and it came from Hurtado. It was his first MLS goal and it was a beauty.
The striker brought down a long Ousted free kick forward, turned, took a touch and buried a 20 yard screamer into the top left corner.
The visitors weren't content to sit on a one goal and minutes later Morales forced a save out of Clark on a dipping 30 yard free kick.
Columbus were having the better of possession but were creating very little, which Vancouver went in at the half with 12 shots from a very attacking first 45 minutes.
The Whitecaps nearly came out flying in the second half, with Kekuta Manneh flashing a low long range effort just past the left hand post just 23 seconds in.
Manneh was in the thick of the action four minutes later, playing in Hurtado but the striker took a wild attempt at a shot instead of trying to take on Clark one on one.
The game had died a little but Hurtado showed some nice footwork in the box before seeing his shot deflected for a corner as the hour mark approached.
Both teams made substitutions but Vancouver's defence were comfortably dealing with anything Columbus were able to muster, which wasn't actually a lot.
As time ticked down, Wil Trapp came close for the Crew with three minutes remaining but his low long ranger took a deflection and whizzed past the right post.
Vancouver responded and it was nearly a fairytale return for substitute Omar Salgado as he raced clear on goal and did everything right but could only look on in agony as his lob over Clark took a bounce and just went the wrong side of the right post.
Seconds later and it was Manneh's turn as he raced toward goal but pulled his effort right as well.
Columbus had a late rally in stoppage time but without troubling Ousted's goal and in the end Vancouver easily held on for their first away win of the season and back to back wins in MLS.
Now all their attention will turn to Wednesday evening's Canadian Championship semi final second leg against Toronto.
FINAL SCORE: Columbus Crew 0 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
ATT: 14,495
COLUMBUS: Steve Clark; Josh Williams (Ethan Finlay 77), Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Parkhurst, Waylon Francis; Wil Trapp, Tony Tchani, Hector Jimenez (Dominic Oduro 63), Federico Higuain, Bernardo Anor (Justin Meram 46); Jairo Arrieta [subs Not Used: Matt Lampson, Tyson Wahl, Agustin Viana, Chad Barson]
VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Jay DeMerit, Andy O'Brien, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba (Nigel Reo-Coker 89), Gershon Koffie, Sebastian Fernandez, Pedro Morales (Russell Teibert 82), Kekuta Manneh; Erik Hurtado (Omar Salgado 74) [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Johnny Leveron, Carlyle Mitchell. Nicolas Mezquida]
<b><u>Reaction:</u></b>
<b>Carl Robinson on the overall performance:</b>
[On Team 1410] "It was a thoroughly good performance for 90 minutes and that's the tone we have to set. It seemed like a home performance, only on the road, and that will be my biggest challenge continuing that process with these guys."
[On Team 1410] "First of all it's nice to get your first away win but I think more importantly than that was the performance. I thought we were absolutely excellent today in the way we set out our gameplan and took one chance, and I'm disappointed that we only took one chance, but it worked a treat against a very good Columbus team that likes to play football the right way."
<b>Carl Robinson on Erik Hurtado:</b>
"The goal's fantastic. It was a super strike and it's just reward, but his all round performance really was fantastic. He held the ball in, he run down the channels and he gave the two centrebacks, who are both very good players, a problem all night. That's credit to him. It's been tough since he come out of the draft, it really has, but he's knuckled down, especially this year and he got his reward tonight."
<b>Carl Robinson on Matias Laba:</b>
[On Team 1410] "His calf got a little bit tight, otherwise he wouldn't have come off. I don't need to talk about Mati Laba because I'm his biggest fan and I think people are getting to see what he's about. I thought he was absolutely awesome today from the first minute"
<b>Erik Hurtado on his 20 yard screamer:</b>
"I got the little touch that set me up for the shot and just kept my eye on the ball, cos when I keep my eye on the ball I connect with it smoothly. I can watch the goal on replay, I don't have to watch it go into the back of the net."
"It hit my sweet spot, right on my left foot. It felt good. I saw it going over the keeper and I knew it was going under the crossbar."
<b>Erik Hurtado on finally breaking his MLS scoring duck:</b>
"I don't really know if it changes my confidence. It's a little weight off my shoulders looking for that first MLS goal. I know the team's got faith in me, the coach has got faith in me. I just got to keep what I've been doing and hopefully the floodgates are open."
[On Team 1410] "I've been focusing on just being calm and thinking before I get the ball. Seeing the field before I get it and what I'm going to do and just attacking like I've always done my entire life. I've been working on my finishing a lot and it proves today hard work pays off."
<b>Erik Hurtado on his other missed chances:</b>
[On Team 1410] "I got to work on finishing next week. I could have had two, I could have had three, but I got to learn from that. I'm a young player but I've got to finish my chances the next time I get them."
<b>Erik Hurtado on team's performance:</b>
"We pressed and pressed and pressed. We got at them from the beginning. We didn't sit back and that's what we're most trying to instill in this team. Whether we're away or at home, we want to press and get at them. We're an attacking team, we did that, but also defended great as a team."
<b>Erik Hurtado on team's confidence:</b>
"We got to keep level. We definitely got to keep level."
<b>David Ousted on the overall game:</b>
"Solid game where I thought we had a lot of chances to make it more than the 1-0 we won it with. Other than that, I thought it was a great team performance. We defended well and I thought we deserved the win."
<b>David Ousted on his clean sheet:</b>
"Kudos, especially the four guys in front of me for doing amazing work, especially in the second half."
<p>