Whitecaps v Real Salt Lake – BC Place Stadium – Oct 6, 2011
Vancouver played host to, third in the Western conference, rivals Real Salt Lake for the second match in their new home, BC Place.
The crowd was smaller than the sell out that greeted the first BC Place match but was in no way less raucous…without the large contingent of visiting fans the Southsiders cheers carried throughout the pitch.
As the time ticked on the cheers grew louder as Vancouver maintained control and carried the lead throughout the match. Coming in with nothing left to lose, the post season is out of the question, Whitecaps played a lot of their younger players, to get them some needed experience for next year’s campaign. They played eagerly, demonstrating their abilities and desire to be part of the regular make up of the squad. Camilo scoring off of a hand-ball penalty kick gave the team the extra boost of confidence in the first half. Following up with a second hand-ball penalty in the second really gave the crowd and team cause for cheer. As the RSL players seemed a bit awry, the ‘caps seemed to at long last be playing as a team, when
Khalfan scored his first MLS goal late in the match, and the ‘caps first goal in open play in BC Place, cementing a 3-nil victory, it nearly blew the roof off (if it hadn’t already been opened at the start of play).