VANCOUVER, B.C. (Saturday, August 8, 2015) – Real Salt Lake is in the middle of busiest stretch of the year with five matches in 15 days. However, a red-hot Vancouver Whitecaps FC side earned a third consecutive victory over RSL this season at BC Place on Saturday night.
RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar was dismissed midway through the first half with the score at 1-0 and things went from bad to worse as Vancouver exploded for three goals in a 30-minute stretch to eventually win 4-0.
In the sixth minute, Vancouver was awarded a penalty kick when Octavio Rivero and FW Olmes Garcia got tangled up in the box. Rivero went down and referee Chris Penso pointed to the spot. Rivero drove the ball to GK Jeff Attinella’s right while the goalkeeper dove left and Vancouver took the 1-0 lead.
Vancouver remained on the attack throughout the first half, but RSL was able absorb the pressure late into the half. That all changed in the 40th minute when Pa-Modou Kah scored his third goal in the last two matches.
After a Whitecaps corner kick, the ball spilled outside to Kekuta Manneh and he sent the ball across the box past three RSL players before landing on the feet of Kah for a one-touch shot that Attinella got a hand to, but not before it crossed the line for a 2-0 lead before halftime.
A mirror-image of that play led to a third goal from Vancouver early in the second half. On a break up the left side, Jordan Harvey crossed the ball to Cristian Techera alone at the far post for a tap-in goal to make it 3-0 in the 50th minute.
Techera added his second of the night in the 68th minute on a half-volley from 25 yards out. Pedro Morales played the ball into the box from the right side and Harvey deflected it out to Techera all alone for a shot from distance that curled inside the far post for the 4-0 advantage.
It was the second consecutive regular season loss for RSL after a 6-4 defeat to D.C. United last week. The losses were separated by a 1-0 win over Municipal from Guatemala in CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.
Real Salt Lake has one more road stop in their stretch of four consecutive matches away from Rio Tinto Stadium when it faces Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Following that match, RSL will return home to face the Portland Timbers on August 15.
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – VANvRSL
- RSL played three Homegrown players for the first time in club history – FW Sebastian Saucedo, DF Phanuel Kavita and DF Justen Glad. It was the first career MLS start for Saucedo.
- IN the midst of five matches in 15 days, RSL opted to keep some veteran players in Salt Lake City after the first two road matches. GK Nick Rimando, DF Tony Beltran, MF Kyle Beckerman, MF Javier Morales and FW Joao Plata all stayed behind as RSL prepares to face Sporting Kansas City in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday at Sporting Park.
- Head Coach Jeff Cassar was dismissed in the 30th minute after Vancouver was awarded a free kick in the attacking third. He will be unavailable for RSL’s match against Portland on August 15.
- The three losses to Vancouver marked the fourth time in club history that RSL has lost three times to one team in one season. Those came against the Colorado Rapids in 2005, the Dallas Burn in 2006 and San Jose Earthquakes in 2012.
- Real Salt Lake has been shown eight red cards in clubs 24 MLS matches this season.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC 4-0 REAL SALT LAKE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2015
BC PLACE
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 2 4
Real Salt Lake 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
VAN: Octavio Rivero (PK) 7’
VAN: Pa-Modou Kah (Kekuta Manneh) 40’
VAN: Cristian Techera (Jordan Harvey, Nicolas Mezquida) 50’
VAN: Cristian Techera (Jordan Harvey, Pedro Morales) 68’
Misconduct Summary:
RSL: Phanuel Kavita (Yellow; Foul) 45’
VAN: Kendall Waston (Yellow; Foul) 60’
RSL: Abdoulie Mansally (Red; Serious Foul Play) 88’
Lineups:
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Pa-Modou Kah, Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba (Russell Teibert 69’), Gershon Koffie; Cristian Techera, Nicolas Mezquida (Pedro Morales 63’), Kekuta Manneh; Octavio Rivero (Darren Mattocks 76’).
Substitutes not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Tim Parker, Deybi Flores, Robert Earnshaw.
Real Salt Lake (4-3-3): Jeff Attinella; Justen Glad (Boyd Okwuonu 72’), Elias Vasquez, Phanuel Kavita, Abdoulie Mansally; John Stertzer, Luis Gil, Luis Silva (Pecka 70’); Olmes Garcia, Devon Sandoval, Sebastian Saucedo.
Substitutes not used: Lalo Fernandez, Demar Phillips, Aaron Maund, Luke Mulholland, Sebastian Jaime.
Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Mike Kampmeinert
4th Official: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 20,638
Weather: Clear
