Anyone who has regularly watched lower league football, knows you can never write off the underdogs in a cup tie.
Vancouver headed into Edmonton this evening keen to stress that they weren't going to underestimate their NASL rivals in this Voyageurs Cup semi-final first leg match up.
That said, they went in to the game as huge favourites and they ran out comfortable, if rather unexciting, 2-0 winners, in the first meeting between the teams.
It was a workmanlike performance that got the job done that they set out to do, in front of a sparse 2,777 at Commonwealth Stadium.
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Despite making seven changes from the team that beat Columbus on Saturday, Martin Rennie put out a fairly experienced side, with only Greg Klazura making his competitive debut for the Caps.
Alain Rochat returned to the starting line up, but in a central defender role so as not to overstretch his knee, whilst Eric Hassli tried to break his goal drought up front, which he succeeded in doing.
Edmonton's key going in to the game was to not lose an away goal and Vancouver put them under pressure from the kick off.
The Caps had a penalty shout waved away, before the crossbar saved Edmonton in the sixth minute when Davide Chiumiento overhit a free kick from the left and goalkeeper David Monsalve misjudged the flight of the ball.
The home side were sparked into life and had a penalty claim of their own in the 10th minute when the ball was fired off the arm of Rochat from close range, but referee Carol Anne Chenard deemed that the Canadian could do little to get out of the way.
Edmonton were holding their own but the MLS side got the breakthrough in the 19th minute.
Omar Salgado powered up the left wing and easily got past Paul Hamilton to cut the ball back to Eric Hassli and the big Frenchman finally got the non-scoring monkey off his back to knock it low past Monsalve from just inside the box. The keeper was a little wrong-footed but should have done better.
Worse was to follow for Edmonton, as Serisay Barthelemy was carried off on a stretcher moments later.
Yashir Pinto brought the first save of the game out of Brad Knighton in the 38th minute.
The Chilean picked the ball up 25 yards out, easily sidestepped John Thorrington, but fired a weak grasscutter towards the Caps goal.
It was a reminder that the D2 side were still a threat but Vancouver were able to ease their worries a little three minutes later.
Hassli played the ball through to Salgado inside the box and the young winger got past two defenders before his delicate chip goalward crashed off the right hand post. The rebound broke to Atiba Harris inside the six yard box and the St Kitts international took a touch and turn before burying it with ease.
Salgado was having the best game in a Whitecaps jersey in his short career and causing no end of problems for Edmonton.
Klazura set up Hassli on the edge of the box in the closing seconds of stoppage time, but this time Monsalve was prepared for his low effort and easily smothered the danger.
That was the last action of the half. Facing a two goal deficit at home, Edmonton knew they had to come out stronger for the second half, and they did.
Both teams exchanged half chances, before Knighton did well to get down and turn a low Ilja van Leerdam drive around the post with 52 minutes on the clock.
The game then got bogged down in the midfield, with neither team able to carve out any clear cut chances.
Edmonton knew that grabbing at least one goal was vital, but it was Vancouver that nearly added to their tally with ten minutes remaining.
Chiumiento received the ball wide right, cut inside Augustin and unleashed a shot which Monsalve did well to save for a corner.
Edmonton's keeper was called into action five minutes later, saving a fierce long range Long Tan shot from just outside the box for what was to be the last action of the game.
The 2-0 final should make the second leg something of a formality, but if Edmonton can sneak the first goal next week at BC Place, it would still be all to play for.
For that reason, it's unlikely that Martin Rennie will make too many changes to tonight's starting line up.
It's not going to be pretty, and probably won't hold too much more excitement than this game, but it will put the Whitecaps that one step closer to Champions League football.
ATT: 2,777
FINAL SCORE: FC Edmonton 0 - 2 Vancouver Whitecaps
EDMONTON: David Monsalve; Jonathan Joseph-Augustin, Paul Hamilton, Kevin Hatchi, Fabrice Lassonde; Kyle Porter (Paul Craig 76), Dominic Oppong (Chris Kooy 84), Ilja van Leerdam; Serisay Barthelemy (Matthew Lam 21), Yashir Pinto, Shaun Saiko [subs Not Used: John Smits, Kenny Caceros, Antonio Rago, Fabien Vorbe]
VANCOUVER: Brad Knighton; Greg Klazura, Carlyle Mitchell, Alain Rochat, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, John Thorrington, Davide Chiumiento; Atiba Harris (Michael Nanchoff 70), Eric Hassli (Long Tan 78), Omar Salgado [subs Not Used: Joe Cannon, Sebastien Le Toux, Michael Nanchoff, Martin Bonjour, Floyd Franks, Russell Teibert]
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