BURNABY, BC – Whitecaps FC 2 (2W-5L-3D) put together a remarkable 5-0 victory over Cascadia rivals Tacoma Defiance (5W-3L-0D) on Wednesday night at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC.
Under the sun at Swangard, WFC2 controlled play and dictated pace with long sprints from wingers that resulted in pinpoint crosses into the Tacoma danger area.
On the stroke of the sixth minute, the home side’s dedication paid off. Off a Jackson Castro corner kick, first team centre back Belal Halbouni leapt with all of his powerful, six-foot-two frame to successfully nod in his first MLS NEXT Pro goal past Defiance goalkeeper Mohammed Shour.
The WFC2 faithful cheered again a few minutes later. Nikola Djordjevic sent a probing cross that dipped perfectly for an onrushing Nelson Pierre. The unmarked striker expertly collected with his left boot and cooly slotted home his seventh of the season with a clinical half-volley for a 2-0 lead.
Whitecaps FC 2 goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer, who wore the captain’s armband, had no concerns in the first half, and stood tall for the clean sheet.
In the second half, the young 'Caps continued to take the game to their Cascadian foes.
Johnny Selemani was 'Johnny on the spot' as his header took a fortuitous bounce off the pitch to fool Shour. The ball then rolled tantalizingly close to the goal line, before Pierre darted forward to collect his brace to make it 3-0. Pierre now sits tied for the league-lead in goals scored with eight goals.
A minute later, Pierre came mere inches from a hat trick. In mid-air, he alertly twisted his body to connect for a scissor kick that Shour narrowly pushed over the crossbar.
In the 89th minute, WFC2 defender Mark O’Neill added the icing on the cake with a successful tap-in from inside the box and substitute Rayan Elloumi scored his first of the season in stoppage time to secure the 5-0 victory for the young 'Caps.
Next up, the Blue and White will quickly turn their focus towards another home match at Swangard as they welcome Ventura County FC on Sunday, May 18. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Mo Mohseni
Scoring Summary
5’ – VAN – Belal Halbouni (Jackson Castro)
18’ – VAN – Nelson Pierre (Nikola Djordjevic)
49’ – VAN – Nelson Pierre (Johnny Selemani)
89’ – VAN – Mark O’Neill
90+3' – VAN – Rayan Elloumi (Yuma Tsuji)
Cautions
64’ – TAC – Kaito Yamada
71’ – VAN – Deylen Vellios
Statistics
Possession: VAN 45% – TAC 55%
Shots: VAN 15 – TAC 13
Shots on Goal: VAN 8 – TAC 5
Saves: VAN 5 – TAC 3
Fouls: VAN 9 – TAC 13
Offsides: VAN 3 – TAC 0
Corners: VAN 7 – TAC 6
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
32.Isaac Boehmer ©; 27.Giuseppe Bovalina, 53.Mark O’Neill, 12.Belal Halbouni (51.Dembo Saidykhan 61’), 46.Deylen Vellios (54.Daniel Russo 89’); 59.Jeevan Badwal, 68.Yuma Tsuji, 44.Jackson Castro; 41.Nikola Djordjevic (43.Antoine Coupland 62’), 42.Nelson Pierre (75.Rayan Elloumi 83’), 63.Johnny Selemani (64.Mateo Clark 83’)
Substitutes not used
60.Alexander Milošević, 48.Adrián Pelayo
Tacoma Defiance
41.Mohammed Shour; 33.Cody Baker, 35.Antonio Lopez (4.Leo Burney 31’ (47.Demian Alvarez 62’)), 38.Kaito Yamada, 21.Reid Baker-Whiting (32.Joon Mo Kang 61’); 45.Peter Kingston, 37.Snyder Brunell (34.Daniel Robles 70’); 48.Jackson Khoury, 90.Sebastian Gomez (42.Rafferty Pedder 70’), 3.Travian Sousa; 36.Yu Tsukanome
Substitutes not used
30.Lars Helleren, 31.Birame Diaw, 44.Charlie Gaffney, 46.Ryan Baer
