Vancouver FC have climbed to second place in the CPL table, as they defeated rivals Pacific FC 2-1 in a Salish Sea Derby matchup at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park on Saturday, doing so thanks to a late Vasco Fry winner.
With that, they maintained their unbeaten record at home, winning back-to-back games for the second time this year. As for Pacific, they’ve now lost two straight after going undefeated in their first five games, conceding two goals for the first time all year.
Yet, it didn’t always look like Pacific would fall in this game, as they started out strongly.
As a result, it didn’t take long for Pacific to open the scoring, as they caught Vancouver FC asleep on a corner early. After a dangerous header into the box from Cédric Toussaint on the second phase of that set-piece, the ball fell to Josh Heard, who quickly fired a dangerous strike, one that bounced off the hand of Vancouver’s David Norman Jr, gifting Pacific a sixth-minute penalty.
From there, Ayman Sellouf stepped up to take it, and he’d make no mistake, marking his return to action from an injury with an early goal.
Eager to pull back a goal, Vancouver nearly responded immediately, as Vasco Fry had a good look at goal from outside of the box, sending his half-volley just over the goal. Then, Alejandro Díaz had a good look from inside of the box after a nice cross from Paris Gee, but he sent his header over the net.
Finally, Vancouver’s hard work would pay off in the 40th minute, however. After a perfect ball into the box from Gee, the ball found a wide-open Moses Dyer, who bundled the ball home from close-range to tie the game at 1-1.
Pacific nearly responded right away, as Dario Zanatta took the ball the other way and fired a shot from the edge of the box, curling a powerful shot just over the bar to keep the game tied.
Then, Pacific had the last good chance of the half, as Zakaria Bahous danced through a couple of Vancouver defenders before firing a shot inside of the box, but he sent his shot well over the mark.
On the other side of the half time break, Vancouver had a glorious chance to grab the lead, as Dyer got on the end of a cross from Kadin Chung, but he sent the ball wide of the net from the edge of the six-yard box despite being completely alone in front of Pacific’s goal.
At the other end, Zanatta continued his lively game for Pacific, cutting inside and firing a shot from inside of the box, forcing a good save from Vancouver’s Callum Irving.
Continuing a back-and-forth half, Díaz then had a glorious chance in the 59th minute, as he got in behind Pacific’s defence after a perfect through ball, but he sent his shot over the net on the breakaway.
Right after, Pacific responded with a big chance of their own, as Zanatta teed up Josh Heard with a perfect low cross, and he nearly bundled one over the line, only finding himself denied by a last second clearance from Vancouver’s Allan Enyou.
Then, Pacific’s Andrei Tîrcoveanu had a good look in the 73rd minute, cutting in from the right to fire a shot with his right foot, curling a low shot just past the near post.
Eager to find a late winner, however, both teams started to ramp up the pressure, leading to more dangerous opportunities. As a result, Ben Fisk nearly found a goal in the 84th minute, firing a dangerous shot on his right foot from just outside of the box, sending it just past the post.
While Vancouver didn’t find the net on that chance, they wouldn’t miss the next opportunity that would fall to them. After a blocked Jose Navarro shot in the 86th minute, the ball sat up perfectly for Vasco Fry to fire a shot from inside of the box, and he’d make no mistake with his attempt, slamming the ball into the top corner to give his team a late lead.
From there, Vancouver would do enough to hold on, allowing them to pick up their third straight win over Pacific, continuing their recent climb up the CPL table in the process.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Vancouver FC: Irving; Chung (Cameron 69′), Enyou, Norman Jr., Gee; Fry, Garcia; Bitar (Navarro 76′), Cantave (McDonnell 69′); Dyer (Kibato 89′), Díaz (Fisk 69′)
Pacific FC: Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Amedume, Meilleur-Giguère, Lajeunesse; Bahous (Tîrcoveanu 64′), Toussaint, Yeates (Young 64′), Zanatta (Greco-Taylor 80′); Heard, Sellouf
Goals
6′ — Ayman Sellouf (Pacific FC) (Penalty)
40′ — Moses Dyer (Vancouver FC)
86′ — Vasco Fry (Vancouver FC)
Discipline
26′ — Yellow: Zakaria Bahous (Pacific FC)
45′ — Yellow: Vasco Fry (Vancouver FC)
50′ — Yellow: Kunle Dada-Luke (Pacific FC)
65′ — Yellow: Moses Dyer (Vancouver FC)
81′ — Yellow: Renan Garcia (Vancouver FC)
90+1′ — Yellow: José Navarro (Vancouver FC)
