Rain, two goals put out the Fire
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Yordy Reyna and Cristian Dajome scored six minutes apart in the second half, third-string goalkeeper Thomas Hasal got a shutout in his first MLS start and the Vancouver Whitecaps advanced to the MLS is Back Tournament’s knockout stage with a 2-0 victory Thursday against the Fire.
The Whitecaps clinched one of the four wild-card spots, but their opponent in the round of 16 has yet to be determined. The Fire also had three points in Group B but were eliminated on goal differential.
“It’s very disappointing, obviously,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said. “I’m trying not to only judge the results. It’s a result business, and obviously today the result hurt. We needed only a point [to advance], and in the end, we stand here with a loss. We had everything in our own hand; everything was there. We just [had] to grab it. So it hurts.
“We see good moments, but we obviously also see that there is still work to do. It’s going to take time. But today it hurts.”
The Whitecaps’ goals were similar. They split the Fire’s defense and found goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm out of position. Reyna’s first score of the season, which came in the 65th minute, happened shortly after the game resumed following a 93-minute rain delay.
Dajome put home his second of the year in the 71st minute with a shot between Kronholm’s legs.
“I just thought we didn’t have the energy right at the beginning of the restart,” said Fire defender Jonathan Bornstein, who was subbed out just before the delay. “They had a little bit more possession, just a few more chances than us during that time. I think the first shot on goal was a goal, and the second time on goal was another goal.
‘‘Mentally, we just needed to be stronger, I think, after the restart.”
The Whitecaps were down to Hasal in goal after regular starter Maxime Crepeau broke his left thumb during the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Sounders. Regular backup Bryan Meredith is not with the team after the death of his mother. Jonathan Sirois was loaned by the Impact as a backup goalkeeper.
Hasal made four saves, but the 21-year-old also got some lucky breaks. CJ Sapong appeared to give the Fire some hope in the 84th minute when he headed in a goal after Alvaro Medran’s shot hit the crossbar, but it was overturned by VAR, which revealed a handball. Przemyslaw Frankowski was open inside the 6-yard box in the 47th minute, but his header hit the near post.