VANCOUVER, B.C. – It got a bit hairy at times, but the Vancouver Whitecaps are through to the Amway Canadian Championship finals mostly thanks to two goals from Sébastien Le Toux.
Vancouver’s 3-1 win over FC Edmonton at BC Place on Wednesday gave the club a 5-1 aggregate win over the two-legged tie.
Yashir Pinto put the scare into the ‘Caps on 54 minutes and put Edmonton within a goal of levelling the tie, before substitute Le Toux beat David Monsalve with a goal in the 75th minute and tallied a second in the 87th minute.
Darren Mattocks, making his return from burn injuries suffered in late March in a cooking accident, scored an insurance goal with the game’s final kick to round out the win.
Three minutes in, Michael Nanchoff got on the end of a low cross from John Thorrington, bundling the ball across the line, but the play was deemed offside.
After the scare, Edmonton managed to put some pressure on Vancouver goalkeeper Brad Knighton, but neither Michael Cox nor Matt Lam could find a way past him.
The game got more physical as the half went on, as Edmonton gave away a number of dangerous free kicks, and Cox was cautioned for colliding with Knighton.
Just eight minutes into the second half, though, Pinto weaseled in between Klazura and Carlyle Mitchell to put Edmonton into the 1-0 lead, getting on the end of a Antonio Rago cross.
However, Le Toux eased the nerves for Vancouver 15 mintues from time, beating Vorbe, who fell on the play, before striking a fairly tame effort toward Monsalve. The Edmonton goalkeeper didn’t get down quickly enough, allowing the ball to slide underneath for the equalizerl.
OPTA Chalkboard: Subs make the difference
In the 86th minute, Etienne Barbara took his first touch as a Whitecap, getting on the end of a Darren Mattocks knockdown before beating Paul Hamilton once. The defender got back on his feet, only to drag Barbara down in the area.
The Maltese striker stepped up to take the resulting penalty himself, but hit the post.
About a minute later, Le Toux got on the end of a Camilo corner to bring the score to its 2-1, before Mattocks scored the 3-1 stoppage-time goal.
The Whitecaps will now prepare for a road match against the New England Revolution on Saturday, before hosting Toronto FC on May 16 in the first leg of the Canadian Championship finals.
