Kei Kamara scored two goals, and teen sensation Alphonso Davies had an assist and created several scoring chances in the Vancouver Whitecaps' 3-2 victory over the Fire on Saturday night.
The 17-year-old Davies was foiled by the posts multiple times, including on a breakaway in the 30th minute, when he bounced a shot off the iron, then shook his head in disbelief. Davies will play in the MLS All-Star game against Italian champion Juventus on Aug. 1 in Atlanta.
A battle in front of the Fire’s net in the 28th minute saw goalkeeper Richard Sanchez stop a shot from Whitecaps midfielder Yordy Reyna. But the rebound bounced to Kamara, who rocketed the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring for the Whitecaps (7-7-5).
The Fire (6-8-5) tied it in the 42nd minute after Whitecaps midfielder Felipe Martins was beaten down low, allowing the Fire's Kevin Ellis to get a pass off to forward Nemanja Nikolic, who beat goalkeeper Brian Rowe for his eighth goal.
The Whitecaps’ Jordan Mutch waltzed past Sanchez at the top of the box in the 46th minute and slowed the ball before tapping it into the net for his first MLS goal. Efrain Juarez got the assist.
In the 71st minute, Davies blasted past the Fire defenders and lobbed a shot at Sanchez. The rebound went straight to Kamara, who tapped it in for his second goal of the night and team-leading eighth of the season as the Whitecaps jumped out to a 3-1 lead.
Fire midfielder Tony Tchani drilled one past Rowe in the 81st minute to bring his team within one. The Fire applied major pressure in the final minutes, but could not net the equalizer.
The loss snapped the Fire’s five-game unbeaten streak.
Vancouver’s teen soccer sensation showed Saturday why he’s an MLS all-star.
Midfielder Alphonso Davies was all over the field in the Whitecaps’ 3-2 win against the Chicago Fire, creating numerous chances and notching an assist at B.C. Place.
Meanwhile, Kei Kamara scored two goals as Vancouver improved to 7-7-5, good for sixth in the Western Conference.
Chicago dropped to 6-8-5.
The 17-year-old Davies was foiled by the posts multiple times, including on a breakaway in the 30th minute where he bounced a shot off the iron, then shook his head in disbelief.
Davies will play in the MLS all-star game against Italian champion Juventus on Aug. 1 in Atlanta.
Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson had wanted his team to focus on turning opportunities into goals Saturday. He felt the Whitecaps had dominated the Colorado Rapids on Canada Day, but lost the match 1-0 on an own goal.
He also asked some of his top scorers to step up and Kamara responded.
A battle in front of Chicago’s net in the 28th minute saw Fire goalkeeper Richard Sanchez stop a shot from Vancouver midfielder Yordy Reyna. But the rebound bounced to Kamara, who rocketed the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring.
Davies joined him for a synchronized dance to celebrate.
The pair teamed up again in the 71st minute, where Davies blasted past Chicago’s defenders and lobbed a shot at Sanchez. The rebound went straight to Kamara, who tapped it in for his second goal of the night.
Defender Marcel de Jong was credited with a second assist.
Kamara’s second goal was his team-leading eighth of the season. Christian Techera, who has six, was sitting out Saturday’s game with a suspension.
Vancouver’s other goal came in the 46th minute, when midfielder Jordan Mutch waltzed past Sanchez at the top of the box and slowed the ball down before tapping it into the net for his first MLS goal. Efrain Juarez got the assist.
Chicago’s first goal came in the 42nd minute, after Vancouver midfielder Felipe Martins was beaten down low, allowing the Fire’s Kevin Ellis to get a pass off to forward Nemanja Nikolic, who beat Whitecaps keeper Brian Rowe. It was Nikolic’s eighth goal of the season.
Fire midfielder Tony Tchani drilled one past Rowe in the 81st minute to bring his team within one. Chicago applied major pressure in the dying minutes, but could not net the equalizer.
The loss snapped Chicago’s five-game unbeaten streak.
Kei Kamara scored two goals, including a crucial second-half tally, as the Vancouver Whitecaps edged the visiting Chicago Fire 3-2 on Saturday night.
The Whitecaps posted their first win in three games while the Fire saw their unbeaten streak end at five games.
Jordon Mutch, with his first MLS marker, also scored for the Whitecaps.
Nemanja Nikolic and Tony Tchani, a former Whitecap playing against his former team for the first time, replied for Chicago. Kevin Ellis assisted on both Fire goals.
Kamara put the Whitecaps ahead 3-1 in the 72nd minute with his second goal, converting an Alphonso Davies pass from the left flank.
Vancouver was bolstered by the return of forward Yordy Reyna and defender Jose Aja after they completed one-game suspensions for taking red cards in Philadelphia two games earlier.
The Whitecaps have long been known for sending crosses from the flanks into the box. However, the hosts took a more direct approach against the Fire, deploying through balls and long lead passes and charges up the middle featuring Kamara, Reyna and 17-year-old Canadian sensation Davies.
Kei Kamara & Alphonso Davies Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
The trio's speed caught Chicago defenders flat-footed and vulnerable to breakaways on which the Whitecaps occasionally capitalized. Yet the Fire still managed to keep the game close by netting some timely goals.
Kamara opened the scoring in the 29th minute as he put in Reyna's rebound. Reyna triggered the play with a through ball to Kamara. Chicago goalkeeper Richard Sanchez got his hand on the ball as Kamara tried to go around him and it came loose, but Davies pounced on it and sent a pass back to Reyna.
Two minutes later, Davies hit the left post on a breakaway after taking a lead ball from Reyna.
Nikolic drew the Fire even in the 43rd minute as he tapped in an Ellis pass from the end line following some sloppy Vancouver defensive efforts.
The Whitecaps regained the lead early in the second half as Mutch, a highly touted midfielder on loan from Crystal Palace of the Premier League, took a lead pass from Efrain Juarez and scored on a breakaway.
Tchani, traded to Chicago from Vancouver in February for $150,000 in allocation money, brought the Fire back within a goal in the 81st minute as he ripped in an Ellis tap-back. But the visitors could not get the equalizer despite pressing moments before the final whistle.
Two teams searching for traction this MLS season met at B.C. Place on Saturday. This is what we learned from the match as the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Chicago Fire 3-2:
ALPHONSO THE GREAT
In a battle, if that’s the right term, between two teams that started the night 6-7-5, the Whitecaps hammered out a 3-2 win in a contest highlighted by a moment of shimmering brilliance from Alphonso Davies.
With the Caps leading 2-1 in the 72nd minute, and the crowd of 22,120 fretting over a boatload of near misses by the home side, Davies sprinted down the sidelines, skipped past a pair of Fire defenders and, when it appeared he’d run out of room, left his feet to square the ball to Kei Kamara for the eventual game-winning goal.
It was Kamara’s second goal of the game. The only wonder is he didn’t have three more.
A ‘MUTCH’ NEEDED GOAL
Vancouver midfielder Jordon Mutch scored the crucial go-ahead goal early in the second half and, on a night when the Caps’ big guns butchered a series of scoring chances, it was fitting that Mutch supplied the game’s pivotal moment with his first-ever MLS goal. While supporters were still settling in for the second half, the Crystal Palace man reeled in a long ball from Efrain Juarez, navigated his way around Fire keeper Richard Sanchez and nervelessly finished the play.
Kamara’s second goal would stand as the game-winner after former Whitecaps midfielder Tony Tchani brought the fire within one with a strike from distance in the 80th minute. Kamara’s goals were the 105th and 106th of his MLS career, moving him past former Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario into seventh place on the MLS all-time goals list.
There were a few nervous moments in the final 10-plus minutes, mostly of the scrambly variety around Whitecaps goalie Brian Rowe. Chicago’s Namanja Nikolic had the best chance when his strike from in front of Rowe went over the bar in injury time, but the Caps brought the win home.
CHANCES GALORE
The teams went into halftime tied 1-1 but the larger story was the number of gilt-edged chances the Whitecaps missed.
Yordy Reyna forced Sanchez into a save in the seventh minute before Kamara missed a header in the 11th minute and chipped it over the crossbar in the 15th minute. Davies blasted one high from a prime scoring area in the 23rd minute, then rattled the woodwork when he was put in alone by Reyna.
Even the Whitecaps’ lone goal was produced with maximum effort. Doneil Henry started the play when he dispossessed Fire star Bastian Schweinsteiger outside the Whitecaps penalty box. At the other end of the break, Kamara was forced wide by Sanchez before Davies teed it up for Reyna. Sanchez made a spectacular save off the Caps’ frontman but Kamara finally converted the rebound.
But all those misses would become a massive part of the night’s storyline when Chicago scored in the 42nd minute on one of their few forays into the Whitecaps’ end. The Fire’s Kevin Ellis beat Felipe on the goal before finding Nemanja Nikolic unmarked five yards from the Whitecaps’ goal.
LAUNCHING PAD?
If you were looking for signs from the Whitecaps, this was about the point where they launched their best stretch of play in 2017. Beginning on July 5 with a win over New York FC, the Caps went 7-3-1 over their next 11, led by Reyna and Fredy Montero. Reyna, who was coming off a red-card suspension, was a danger man on Saturday night.
FORCED MOVES
A groin injury to Kendall Waston forced Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson to start a makeshift backline. Jose Aja took Waston’s left back spot alongside Doneil Henry. Juarez wore the captain’s armband for the Caps and had a big game in the middle of the park. The Whitecaps did surrender two goals but the back four handled most of its business efficiently.
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NEXT GAME: Saturday
Vancouver Whitecaps at D.C. United
5 p.m., Audi Field, TSN, TSN 1410 AM
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