Vancouver Whitecaps are hoping it will be third time lucky as they reached their third Voyageurs Cup final under the new format with a comfortable 5-2 aggregate win over FC Edmonton.
Fortunate to head into the second leg with a one goal lead, Vancouver won 2-0 on the night thanks to a stunning 40 yard strike from Corey Hertzog and an equally stunning headed own goal from Shaun Saiko.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Edmonton to get themselves back into the tie and they showed nothing on the night to make anyone think that they were capable of doing that from the first kick to the last.
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Martin Rennie had said pre-game that he was going to go with a strong Vancouver side to ensure the Whitecaps claimed their place in the final. There weren’t many that were expecting such a strong set of starters though, with both Camilo Sanvezzo and Darren Mattocks starting up front, alongside Tommy Heinemann.
Vancouver had the first real chance of the match in the sixth minute when Camilo flicked on a deep Greg Klazura cross and Tommy Heinemann hit it wide with his first time volley.
Camilo gave Lance Parker some trouble in the Edmonton goal in the 13th minute with an inswinging free kick, as the home side carried most of the play.
Camilo had a shot from just inside the box in the 25th minute which didn’t trouble Parker too much, but for all the possession they were enjoying Vancouver were doing little with it and the visitors were getting to see a bit more of the ball.
A lot has been made of the finishing of Mattocks in recent weeks and the knock that has given his confidence. If the striker needed any reminding that his luck wasn’t in these days, it came in the 31st minute when he ran on to a Gershon Koffie pass and crashed a fierce shot off the right hand post.
Edmonton just couldn’t find a way past a more organised Vancouver backline than has been seen for many a game and the home side were posing the only real attacking threat.
Koffie fired a fierce 25 yard drive narrowly right in the 39th minute and Mattocks missed another great opportunity when he directed a Heinemann cross over from close range a minute before the break.
Edmonton headed in to half time content that their plan of soaking up the early Whitecaps pressure was working, but although still in the tie, their plans of hitting on the counter hadn’t even begun to get off the ground.
Both teams made changes at the half but the play continued where it left of, with Vancouver controlling proceedings.
Parker let a low Camilo shot slip through his fingers and out for a corner and Edmonton were nearly punished for that mistake when Russell Teibert fired a shot into the side netting from the resultant corner.
As if Edmonton’s task wasn’t hard enough, Adrian Leroy made it all the harder in the 51st minute when he was sent off for a last man challenge on Corey Hertzog, pushing the Caps substitute over as he chased down a long ball on the edge of the box.
Vancouver forced a string of corners but it ended up being a stunning long range strike that saw them break the deadlock in the 58th minute.
Teibert nodded a neat ball into the path of Hertzog, who hit a stunning 40 yard volley into the bottom right hand corner.
And it was another stunning finish which made it two to Vancouver on the night when Shaun Saiko rose brilliantly and directed a perfect header into his own net from a whipped in Teibert corner in the 67th minute.
Hertzog had the ball in the net again in the 79th minute but was ruled offside in as tight a call as you’re likely to see this year.
His fellow sub, Erik Hurtado, had a great chance two minutes later when he headed a corner wide left, as the Caps started to turn the screw.
Andy O’Brien nearly got his name on the scoresheet two minutes later after a crazy game of pinball in the Edmonton box ended with a fine save from Parker from the Irishman’s header.
Shaun Saiko nearly pulled one back for Edmonton moments later when he broke free and Brad Knighton, who had little to do all night, let his shot squirm through his fingers but was able to recover.
And that was the last real action of the match.
It was a comfortable win for the Whitecaps in the end. Whether they needed as strong a team out there to get the job done is debateable. How this will affect the line up in Salt Lake at the weekend is now the question.
Will there be tiredness? And did the likes of Leveron, Teibert and Hertzog do enough to get the call to the starting eleven? We’ll soon find out.
Away from the action in the League, will it be a case of third time’s the charm for Vancouver as they head into another Voyageurs Cup final?
On the plus side, they don’t have to play Toronto, who seem to have the hoodoo over them in the competition. On the negative side, they do have to play Montreal, who are one of the form teams in MLS right now and have to go into the final as heavy favourites.
Maybe the underdog role will favour the Whitecaps. We’ll find out in a few weeks.
FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 0 FC Edmonton
ATT: 14,892
VANCOUVER: Brad Knighton; Greg Klazura, Andy O’Brien, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Jun Marques Davidson, Gershon Koffie, Russell Teibert; Camilo Sanvezzo (Kekuta Manneh 61), Tommy Heinemann (Erik Hurtado 74), Darren Mattocks (Corey Hertzog 46) [subs Not Used: Simon Thomas, Alain Rochat, Nigel Reo-Coker, Daigo Kobayashi]
EDMONTON: Lance Parker; Eddie Edward, Mallan Roberts, Adrain Leroy, Antonio Rago; Chris Nurse, Neil Hlavaty, Robert Garrett, Michael Nonni (Daryl Fordyce 46), Massimo Mirabelli (Shaun Saiko 59); Michael Cox (Sadi Jalali 71) [subs Not Used: John Smits, Elvir Gigolaj, Edem Mortotsi]
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