Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency returned to winning ways in the USL Premier Development League after a 6-0 home win over the struggling Spokane Spiders on Saturday evening.

Two goals by Coulton Jackson helped Thomas Niendorf's side to a convincing victory in their latest PDL Western Conference, Northwest Division encounter at Simon Fraser University's Terry Fox Field. Jerome Baker, Sahil Sandhu, Bobby Jhutty, and Keithy Simpson also got on the scoresheet for the 'Caps, with five of the goals coming in the second half. Both sides also finished the match with ten men after Spokane's Blaze Vela and Vancouver's Luca Bellisomo were both shown second yellow cards late in the game.

The Residency's starting XI included two experienced centre backs in Bellisomo and former University of British Columbia Thunderbirds star Aaron Richer. In attack, Baker was partnered by Randy Edwini-Bonsu.

On a beautiful sunny evening on Burnaby Mountain, the first half proved not as eventful as the home side would have liked, as the Residency team struggled to break down their Washington State opponents during the opening 45 minutes.

Though they seemed in control of proceedings with their one-touch passing and movement, there were few chances in the early stages of the contest. On three minutes, Gagandeep Dosanjh struck a shot well off target following a Russell Teibert corner, while Teibert himself flew a shot across the face of goal on 19 minutes.

It was not until the midway point of the half that the 'Caps created the best chance of the half from Teibert's fine cross from the left. Right fullback Axel Levry was at the far post and had an open net, but his header could only find the side-netting on 22 minutes.

Teibert and fellow midfielder Kevin Cobby went close with chances on 27 and 29 minutes respectively before Vela earned his first booking for the Spiders after a robust shoulder challenge on the Residency's left fullback William Hyde on 32 minutes.

Spokane's opportunities were few during Saturday's match, but they came close to breaking the deadlock after Bellisomo was booked for handling the ball just outside the Whitecaps box. Spiders striker Zach Smith took the resulting free kick and curled it around the Residency wall, but a diving Julien Latendresse-Lévesque in the Whitecaps goal made a fine save to keep the match scoreless on 42 minutes.

A minute later, Spiders goalkeeper Eric Kurimura needed to stop efforts from Edwini-Bonsu and Dosanjh at the other end, with Baker seeing his effort cleared off the goal line by a Spokane defender in the same sequence.

Though it seemed both clubs were heading to the break at 0-0, the Whitecaps struck in the two minutes of time added on. Dosanjh fed a fine through ball Baker, who no mistake in slotting his finish past Kurimura for a 1-0 halftime lead.

Niendorf refreshed his side for the start of the second half, with Sandhu replacing Edwini-Bonsu. On 48 minutes, Sandhu combined well with Teibert down the left-hand side before scoring the Residency's second goal with a powerful header from Teibert's driven cross.

Looking full of confidence, the Whitecaps went on to effectively secure all three PDL points with two more goals in the space of a minute. On 55 minutes, Jackson made a fine and shot to beat Kurimura for 3-0 before the talented youngster got on the end of a fine forward passing move that involved Baker and Sandhu to score his second goal for a 4-0 Vancouver lead a minute later.

On the hour mark, both Jhutty and Simpson replaced the central midfield pair of Cobby and Dosanjh before Jackson missed out on claiming a hat-trick when he struck the post at close range on 61 minutes.

The energy and movement of the young 'Caps was wearing down a tired and frustrated-looking Spokane side. On 64 minutes, Jhutty was unlucky not to score after striking a free-kick effort off the Spiders woodwork, while Sandhu struck wide a minute later from another Whitecaps opportunity.

Spokane's miserable evening on the Lower Mainland was made worse when Vela was shown a second yellow card for a sending off on 74 minutes. A minute later, the Spiders found themselves five goals down, as Jhutty took Sandhu's pass before finding the back of the net.

The Residency then made it a half dozen on 84 minutes, with another substitute in Simpson striking home his first-ever PDL goal to make it 6-0.

The match, however, would end on a sour note for the home side, as men's team defender Bellisomo was also shown a second yellow card to reduce the Whitecaps to ten men for the dying stages.

No additional time was played by match referee Marco Arruda, as the Whitecaps cruised to a comfortable six-goal win.


Niendorf was pleased that his side improved their performance levels after the break. "We addressed things at halftime, as we were not happy with our first-half performance," he told whitecapsfc.com. "We were too messy with our play, as it lacked the quality and sharpness that we were looking for with our passing. It took a little bit of time to break Spokane down, but our first goal was a quality finish, and we were able to build from that. We had way more urgency and purpose to our play in the second half, so I was happy with what I saw. Everyone chipped in, which was good to see."

Niendorf will hope Whitecaps Residency can translate Saturday's performance into their next match on Sunday afternoon, as they host third-place Portland Timbers U-23's at SFU. Spokane, meanwhile, will host Abbotsford Mariners in their next PDL match on Friday evening.

Scoring Summary:
45+' – VAN – Jerome Baker (Gagandeep Dosanjh)
48' – VAN – Sahil Sandhu (Russell Teibert)
55' – VAN – Coulton Jackson
56' – VAN – Coulton Jackson (Sahil Sandhu)
75' – VAN – Bobby Jhutty (Sahil Sandhu)
84' – VAN – Keithy Simpson (Russell Teibert)

Match Stats:
Shots: Spokane 3 – Vancouver 25
Saves: Spokane 6 - Vancouver 2
Fouls: Spokane 14 - Vancouver 10
Offsides: Spokane 2 - Vancouver 5
Corners: Spokane 1 - Vancouver 5

Cautions:
32’ – SPO – Blaze Vela
41' – VAN - Luca Bellisomo
44' – SPO – Pete Peterson
71' – VAN – William Hyde
74' - SPO – Blaze Vela
84' - VAN - Luca Bellisomo

Ejections:
74' - SPO – Blaze Vela
84' - VAN - Luca Bellisomo

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
1.Julien Latendresse-Lévesque; 3.William Hyde, 16.Axel Levry, 20.Aaron Richer (5.Aaron Richer 76'), 26.Luca Bellisomo; 7.Russell Teibert, 10.Gagandeep Dosanjh (2.Bobby Jhutty 60'), 12.Kevin Cobby (18.Keithy Simpson 60'), 14.Coulton Jackson; 17.Randy Edwini-Bonsu (9.Sahil Sandhu 45'), 19.Jerome Baker (4.Jack Cubbon 66')

Subs not used: 31.Simon Thomas, 33.Dever Orgill

Spokane Spiders
0.Eric Kurimura; 6.Tim Muravez, 15.Matt Miller, 19.Blaze Vela, 21.Avery Washington; 3.Tyler Falco, 16.Nick Love, 23.Pete Peterson, 24.Jesse Dunbar (20.Mitch Weller 76'); 14.Jay Vela (11.Jake Moug 52'), 22.Zach Smith

Subs not used: 1.Josh Peck