Whitecaps FC vs Toronto FC – Saturday March 2, 2013 – BC Place
Making their 3rd MLS season debut under the roof of BC Place, Vancouver Whitecaps FC took on Toronto FC before a sell out crowd. Both
Canadian teams have made a number of off-season changes, Vancouver bringing in a collection of new and experienced players. J-League veteran Daigo Kobayashi and Nigel Reo-Coker most recently of English side, Ipswich Town FC brought seasons of experience with them to the MLS to help the younger players; Kekuta Manneh, Erik Hurtado and Brad Rusin who all saw action in the season opener.
Once kick-off started the match, delayed due to televised curling running long, the first half got off to a tentative start for the hosts but the away team didn’t seem to be applying too much pressure allowing the Whitecaps time to settle in. Captain Jay Demerit left the field after 7minutes for a undisclosed injury, resulting in an early start for Rusin. Some good moments of action followed but were offset by some missed passes and turnove
rs kept the scoreline at nil-nil at the half. Upon the restart and inclusion of Reo-Coker, seemed to ignite the team and audience as he got his first MLS touch on the ball. Much more lively play followed throughout the second half, resulting in the winning goal from Koffie in the 59th minute. Overall, fans and players seemed to be pleased with the resulting 1 – nil start to the season, especially at the expense of rivals TFC.
Next home match for Whitecaps FC is March 9th at 4:30pm in BC Place, versus Columbus Crew.