Whitecaps lose Champions opener 2-0 in Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico (CP) — Kendall Waston’s own goal in the 66th minute cost the Whitecaps as Vancouver fell to Mexico’s Tigres UANL 2-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal. Edurado Vargas added an insurance goal in the 87th minute for the Tigres.

The rematch goes April 5 at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium.

Playing in Mexico has historically been a nightmare for Major League Soccer teams, who are a combined 2-43-8 in Champions League play.

Crosses into the area were an issue for the Whitecaps all night, with Vancouver’s defence unable to keep tabs on all of the Tigres’ players.

Waston’s misplay of a cross was Vancouver’s undoing.

Andre-Pierre Gignac dribbled the ball down the left side of the field and into the box and made a light rightfooted cross that Waston redirected into his own net at the 66th minute.

An exhausted Whitecaps defence was exposed again in the 87th minute. Quinones sent a cross through Vancouver’s area, with an unmarked Jurgen Damm Rascon gathering up the ball and unleashing a booming shot that ricocheted off a Whitecaps defender. Vargas was in perfect position to volley that bounce in from near the penalty spot for the 2-0 lead. Vancouver beat the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in the Champions League quarter-finals in the competition that features teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.