Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency ended their trip to Dallas Cup XXIX with a 2-1 friendly win over English club Leicester City on Saturday.The result capped a constructive week of action for Thomas Niendorf's side, despite his side missing out on the U-19 Super Group semifinals. Initially drawn in Bracket C, Whitecaps Residency fell 1-0 to Portuguese giants Benfica in their opening game before drawing 2-2 with Mexico's Chivas Guadalajara and finishing their tournament campaign with 3-3 result against Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt.With the squad not leaving Texas until Easter Monday, the Whitecaps took the opportunity to play the academy side of English League Championship club Leicester at Pizza Hut Park over the weekend. The young Foxes had also missed out on the tournament semifinals after finishing second in Bracket A behind Mexico's CF Monterrey.In bright and windy spring conditions, it was the English youngsters that took the lead after just five minutes, as Residency goalkeeper Simon Thomas was beaten by a Leicester free kick at the near post. The goal seemed indicative of the Whitecaps time at the Dallas Cup, as the team created chances after going behind, but failed to find the back of the net before the break.To their credit, the Residency team picked up where they left off at the restart and leveled the contest on 63 minutes, as Jamaican youth international Dever Orgill was able to get in behind the Leicester back-line before making it 1-1. Four minutes later, Orgill's strike partner in second-half substitute Randy Edwini-Bonsu was the next Whitecaps player to breach the Leicester defence and score Vancouver's winner.The goals were well deserved from Niendorf's side, as the pace and strength of the Whitecaps goalscorers and the flank play of winger Alex Semenets, caused Leicester many problems in the second 45 minutes. Niendorf was delighted with the way his group came from a goal down to defeat their English opponents. "We really wanted to leave the tournament with a win," he told whitecapsfc.com. "The boys put in a good effort, as we dominated large parts of the game, especially the second half. It was just a good conclusion of our tournament participation."The German tactician feels the trip reflected the Residency program's progress in its first year and the high level that the inaugural group of players have now reached. "I think the priority for us was setting a standard on our performances in the tournament," he said. "We held our own against very good European competition, and it was great for us to play top development programs from three leading European countries, and the top CONCACAF country in Mexico. To compete with them and play on the same level showed that we are on the right track with the standards that we have set. The players have very good and helpful reference points in terms of how they compare with top players. They realize that they now have an honest opportunity for a career in professional soccer."Whitecaps Residency will now prepare for another trip to Europe in the coming weeks, as the team will participate in the INSEL-CUP tournament in Frankfurt, Germany. The tournament takes place from April 28 to May 12.
Whitecaps FC Residency - line-up v Leicester City (Frisco, Texas)
Simon Thomas; Greg Smith, Adam Straith, Anthony DiNicolo, William Hyde (Navid Mashinchi 6'); Kyle Porter (Drew Russell 55'), Antonio Rago (Philippe Davies 45'), Devin Gunenc (Gagandeep Dosanjh 45'), Alex Semenets; Marcus Johnstone (Randy Edwini-Bonsu 45'), Dever Orgill
Subs not used:
Karm Shergill, Ethan Gage
To view the latest news and features from the Whitecaps Residency's trip to Dallas Cup XXIX – including tournament blogs from defender Adam Straith - please CLICK HEREfor our special Dallas Cup page.
