By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency made it three wins out of three on their 12-day tour of Japan, as they defeated Kyoto Sanga U-19's 4-2 on Wednesday.
For the second time on the team's five-match tour of the Far East nation, striker Randy Edwini-Bonsu scored a hat-trick to give Thomas Niendorf's side a second win over an U-19 team from a J.League Division One club. In their opening match on Sunday, Edwini-Bonsu scored all three goals in a 3-1 win over Vissel Kobe U-19's.
After playing their first two games during the daytime, the Whitecaps were under the lights for the Wednesday evening friendly with Kyoto. Yet, as was the case in Monday's win over Takigawa Kobe U-19's, the Canadian visitors had a slow start to this match, with Kyoto taking the lead after just four minutes.
Edwini-Bonsu then restored parity when he converted Ethan Gage's through ball on the quarter-hour mark, but Kyoto replied with a second goal on 25 minutes for a 2-1 advantage.
The physical nature of the friendly meant Niendorf made early changes to his line-up, with Kevin Cobby, Bobby Jhutty, and Russell Teibert all entering the contest during the midway point of the first half.
The moves had the desired effect, as Edwini-Bonsu found the back of the net again on 42 minutes after Gagandeep Dosanjh fed the Edmonton, Alberta, native with another through ball. The goal meant both sides went to the halftime break level at 2-2.
Vancouver started the second half in strong fashion, with Edwini-Bonsu completing his hat-trick on 62 minutes with another good finish.
While the Whitecaps remained dangerous on the counter-attack, Kyoto struggled to convert their ball possession into meaningful goalscoring opportunities. The Residency squad completed the win on 82 minutes, as substitute Coulton Jackson eluded his Sanga markers before striking home from 16 yards.
Niendorf's squad will now move on to their fourth match on Thursday, as they meet the U-19 side of J.League Division One club Gamba Osaka.
Whitecaps FC Residency - starting line-up v Kyoto Sanga
Julien Latendresse-Levesque; Antonio Rago, Jack Cubbon, Ethan Gage, William Hyde; Philippe Davies, Sahil Sandhu, Gagandeep Dosanjh, Alex Semenets; Randy Edwini-Bonsu, Drew Russell
Subs used:
Kevin Cobby 20', Russell Teibert 25', Bobby Jhutty 25', Coulton Jackson 39'
Subs not used:
Simon Thomas
