The Whitecaps weren’t expected to match the energy or desperation of Orlando City FC, but the unexpected happened in hot, humid Florida
With nine changes to starting lineup, Vancouver gets three big points in Orlando
Hurricane Harvey’s presence caused much concern Saturday for the Floridian theme park community that is Orlando City, but it was the fury of the Whitecaps that whipped up the on-field damage.
Despite travelling 4,200-plus kilometres following an emotional and physically-draining 1-1 tie with the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday, the playoff-hungry Vancouver squad was able to shock the rested and favoured Orlando City FC 2-1.
With coach Carl Robinson making nine changes to the Major League Soccer roster that salvaged a late draw against Seattle at B.C. Place Stadium despite playing a man down, the Whitecaps got an early break, and goal, Saturday when Nicolas Mezquida’s free kick in the ninth minute found the head of Orlando defender Tommy Redding, who while fighting for position with the Caps’ 6-5 bulldog Kendall Waston, deflected the ball into his own net past keeper Joe Bendik.
Brek Shea, a former Orlando player used sparingly in Vancouver this MLS season, was inserted into the Whitecaps’ starting lineup with the hope of creating some emotion and energy. He responded by taking a through ball from Erik Hurtado and scoring a beautiful counter-attack chip-shot goal in the 53rd minute — his third of the season — to put Vancouver ahead 2-0 despite trailing badly in the time-of-possession category.
Cyle Larin pulled Orlando within a goal with a strike in the 62nd minute. It was Larin’s 10th goal of the season and it changed momentum in the match, played in 93 per cent humidity. Heck, it was so hot even Robinson ditched his signature sweater for a golf shirt.
Alphonso Davies and Fredy Montero almost made it 3-1 for Vancouver some 10 minutes later, but a crease-wide pass from the talented teen to striker Montero, who was staring into an empty net, failed to connect. Davies, buzzing all over the field in the second half, almost scored again in the 81st minute.
Given this was Vancouver’s third match in eight days, the fact Stefan Marinovic was in net to give starting keeper David Ousted a rest, the taxing travel, and the hosts being desperate to secure a playoff position in the Eastern Conference, it was surprising the Caps were the ones collecting three points in O-Town.
Marinovic had to make several superb saves, including one in the 15th minute and a game-saver in the final 12 minutes with the Caps sagging a bit and trying to protect the lead. With under six minutes left, Giles Barnes of Orlando hit the crossbar with a booming shot from about 25 yards out.
In the final minutes, fans were chomping their nails à la Gatorland as the home side stormed the Whitecaps’ net but couldn’t score the equalizer despite several wild scrambles.
With the win, the Caps jump from sixth place to fourth in the Western Conference with an 11-9-5 record for 38 points, while Orlando slips to ninth in the East with an 8-11-7 record and 31 points.
THROW-INS: The 25,500-seat, US$155-million Orlando City Stadium that opened in February of this year, is nicknamed The Fortress and is located two blocks from the heart of downtown Orlando. It has 49 rainbow-coloured seats in Section 12 that pay tribute to victims of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy of June 12, 2016 ... Attendance Saturday was announced at 24,406 ... Five of the Caps’ wins this season have come on the road ... Orlando won the possession battle Saturday, owning the ball for 70 per cent of the game ... Orlando FC’s mascot, a bulked-up Lion with dreadlocks, is named Kingston. We don’t believe he’s related to lion-hearted Gary Kingston, who covered the Whitecaps’ beat for Postmedia News in Vancouver for several years ... Waston had a gamehigh 16 clearances on the night, the fourth-highest total of any player this season. His centre back partner Aaron Maund, making his Whitecaps debut, finished second with 11 clearances ... The Caps get a 12-day break, then play four home games in a 15-day span starting on Sept. 9 with a visit from Real Salt Lake.