Vancouver Whitecaps v FC Dallas – The Story In Pictures
Ah MLS. You never know what result you’re going to get in matches. Good old parity.
Not that there seemed to be too much parity heading into Saturday’s match between a struggling Vancouver Whitecaps side on a three game winless streak and a high flying, table topping, goal popping FC Dallas side, who were unbeaten in six.
There could only be one result. Yup, a 3-0 Whitecaps win.
After soaking up wave after wave of Dallas pressure, a multitude of misses, some phenomenal saves from David Ousted, and a Maynor Figueroa own goal somehow conspired to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 half time lead.
It gave Vancouver the confidence and self belief they needed and Jordan Harvey and Kekuta Manneh added a couple more in the second half, to give the ‘Caps three important points.
Not a perfect performance by far, and yes, they rode their luck a lot, but that’s football and that’s why we love and watch the game.
AFTN photographer Tom Ewasiuk was there to capture all the action before, during and after the game and here’s his “Story In Pictures”, with a full Flickr slideshow at the end.
[Also check out Tom’s website www.residualimagephotography.com for more of his photos and work].
New “dugout” – more a row of chairs but it seemed to work!
The gaffer’s pre match superstition or did he drop or bury a lucky loonie?
Whitecaps starting XI
Some scrubs
It was clear from the early going how important David Ousted was going to be making saves and himself hard to beat
And again
And again
And again
Then ten minutes before half time, Kekuta Manneh goes for a run up the left wing
Whipping a dangerous ball into the box
That bounces off Dallas defender Maynor Figueroa into his own net
And the Southside goes wild!
But there was still time for Ousted to keep out Fabian Castillo
And the Great Dane kept things going in the second half with a stunning point blank save to kick things off
The Whitecaps finally settled and Cristian Techera showed some nice footwork in the box but could get the space for a shot
Then Tim Parker tested Chris Seitz
Before the second crucial goal finally came in the 63rd minute when the ball came to Jordan Harvey from a corner
And the goal machine fired home sparking jubilant celebrations
Kekuta Manneh was causing problems up the left for Vancouver and when he got on to a Blas Perez touch in the 77th minute
He raced in on goal to fire home his first of the season and the Whitecaps’ third
Ousted takes a sore one late on but nothing stops the Dane from keeping a clean sheet on the night
Perez knocks the ball away from Seitz late on
But neither he, or fellow sub Christian Bolanos, can stick it in the pokey for a fourth
Thank heavens for scoreboards to confirm that that really did just happen
Jordan Harvey does the post match Humba with Curva Collective
Happy Cappers
You can see all of Tom’s photos from the game HERE and in our full Flickr slideshow below:
Fabulous photos here…especially the ones that captured the David Ousted heroics so well! Great action shots of some great action!