VANCOUVER, B.C. - It was the much-anticipated return of Tim Parker on Saturday afternoon at B.C. Place, but it was Kendall Waston and Daniel Royer who stole the show. Whitecaps FC had a victory in their sights, but Royer and 10 man New York Red Bulls had other ideas. The Austrian assassin, scored at the death in a 2-2 draw at B.C. Place in front of 22,120 fans.
"We’re disappointed we conceded in the last-minute off a set piece," Coach Carl Robinson said post-match. "I think (it) was a dubious call for the free kick anyway. But we need to be better defending the back post. We knew what they’d do, we needed to move our line across a little bit and we switched off at the back post. So disappointed, for them, because the second 45 (minutes) I think we put on a really good performance. First half I thought we were awful. We were off it, we looked leggy, we looked lethargic, and we were probably lucky to be 1-1 at the break. So a tale of two halves probably."
Daniel Royer opened the scoring, and Kendall Waston scored in each half, before Royer sucked the air out of B.C. Place with a back post set piece equalizer in the 90' minute.
"Yeah, on that play, I was supposed to occupy the second post." Royer said, recalling his late equalizer. "If he over hits it a little bit, or if he's aiming for the second post. I was able to get a touch on it, luckily I was free, and try to hit it on frame."
The New York Red Bulls head back to Harrison, New Jersey top of the table with a 15-6-3 record. Coach Chris Armas will have a quick turn around to prepare his squad as the Red Bulls visit New York City FC on Wednesday night in The Hudson River darby.
"It’s intense and you can feel it." Parker said, of the impending match at Yankee Stadium. "The fans completely buy into it so it’s something we take seriously as a club."
While Parker was cheered on his return to Vancouver. He wasn't quite so sure if that was going to happen. Red Nation Online caught up to the former Whitecap centre-back post-match and asked him if he was thinking about what type of the reception he would get?
"Yeah, you put it in my head like a week ago. It was definitely really nice to hear."
Moments of the Match
The New York Red Bulls wasted no time in jumping on the travel weary Whitecaps. In the 5' minute, Bradley Wright-Phillips brown down the left flank and played a ball into the Vancouver box. Daniel Royer raced past Jake Nerwinski and played a tap in past Stefan Marinovic who was caught in between in an early mix up.
"I take blame for that goal." Nerwinski said, "As a defender, I need to clear that. I need to take charge even if I think that Stef could get it. I know it’s hard for him to come out that far, dive and hold on to the ball. I learn from that, and next time, I’ll just hit the ball as hard as I can. It all happened fast. We were just both leaving it for each other, I think, and we didn’t take charge, and that’s what happened."
Whitecaps FC looked knackered and lacking enthusiasm in the early stages. They didn't create much in the scoring department. It took a great run from Erik Hurtado to earn a corner and a subsequent tying tally before the break. Kendall Waston rose above everyone including Parker, and smashed home a header past Luis Robles.
The Caps equalizer gave them a boost in momentum as they started the second half with more energy, focus, and clear possession. It would not take long for the home-side to strike again and claim an advantage in the 60' minute.
Off a Felipe corner, Waston out leaped Parker and drove a fantastic headed ball past Robles. Parker protested that he was pushed down, but referee Joseph Dickerson wasn't buying any of it. The Caps 'Towering Tico' was a dominating force in the air.
Did Tim Parker feel Waston got a way with a foul, he shared his thoughts on the matter.
"Yeah." Parker, said. "Kendall's going to do whatever he can to get to the ball. Was I pushed down? Yeah. I didn't get the foul, so it's a goal for him."
The cross continent journey that Vancouver has had to make far to often appeared to be getting the better of the Red Bulls. As the clock ticked closer to 90' minutes, Whitecaps FC were on the brink of three massive points at home, against a top of the table team.
Four minutes of stoppage time were shown on the board, but New York didn't need them as Royer scored his 6th goal in his last five matches. Tyler Adams sent a free kick into the Vancouver box. A nonchalant Alphonso Davies, lost track of Royer, and that's all the time and space he needed to break free past the teenager to score the 2-2 tally.
"We know Vancouver is a real competitive team." Royer said, "I think their one of the best teams in winning duels, competitiveness, and also in savviness. We knew what to expect, and we were ready for it."
Vancouver dropped two points they absolutely needed, and New York dug deep, kept battling, and found a way to get back into the match and earn a draw. That the difference between top MLS Cup contending teams, and those who aren't contenders for cups.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC slip to 8th place in the western conference with a 9-9-7 record.
Man of the Match
Kendall Waston doubled his goal-scoring total with a brilliant brace. The Caps leader on and off the pitch used every inch of his frame to tower above the New York back-line on both of his headed goals. Waston almost single handily dragged Whitecaps FC to a crucial victory at home. You need big match players to step up, and Waston showed that it wasn't a match all about Tim Parker, and Daniel Royer.
"I would rather win than score one or two goals to be honest." Waston said. "Today was much that, it was a little bit difficult with the way we didn’t perform as how we would want to. But one point still helps us to continue to fight to get in the playoffs and now we’ve got to prepare everything for the next match."
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Starting XI: Stefan Marinovic; Brett Levis, 66 (Nicolas Mezquida), Aaron Maund, Kendall Waston(C), Jake Nerwinski; Brek Shea, Effy Juarez, 46 (Russell Teibert), Felipe, Alphonso Davies; Yordy Reyna, Erik Hurtado, 76 (Kei Kamara). 4-4-2
NYRB Starting XI: Luis Robles; Michael Murillo, Tim Parker, Aaron Long, Kemar Lawrence; Sean Davis, 82 (Brian White), Tyler Adams; Alex Muyl, 63 (Derrick Etienne), Kaku 72 (Andreas Ivan), Daniel Royer; Bradley Wright-Phillips. 4-2-3-1
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