VANCOUVER: Don’t look now, but Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4W-1L-0D) are top of the table in Major League Soccer.

The ‘Caps extended their winning streak to four matches on Saturday night with a 2-0 victory over defending MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy (1W-2L-2D).

Both of Vancouver’s goals came in the second half. Kekuta Manneh opened the scoring with his first goal of the season and MLS Player of the Month Octavio Rivero  continued his red-hot start with his league-leading fourth goal in five matches to seal the victory. 

It was a dominant performance from the ‘Caps, who outshot LA by an 18-6 margin and held them to just one shot on target. Not bad for a team that had only beat the Galaxy once in 12 previous meetings.

This is the first time Whitecaps FC have won four straight matches in MLS. The victory puts Vancouver atop the MLS standings with 12 out of a possible 15 points from their first five matches.

Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson made two changes to his starting lineup after last weekend’s win over Portland Timbers. After serving his one-match suspension, Manneh drew back into the team in place of Erik Hurtado on the left wing, while Russell Teibert replaced an injured Gershon Koffie (left MCL sprain) in midfield.

Both players were very involved in the early going, as the ‘Caps got off to a bright start in front of a sold-out BC Place crowd. Teibert was lively as usual in the middle of the park, both with and without the ball, and Manneh looked dangerous in and around the box. The 20-year-old winger had a game-high five shots in the first half.

One of Vancouver’s best first-half chances, however, came off the foot of Pedro Morales in the 11th minute. After some nice build-up play between Rivero and Nicolas Mezquida, the Chilean received the ball in the centre of the box before turning and firing with his left foot. Unfortunately for Morales, Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo was well positioned to handle it with ease.

At the other end of the park, Whitecaps FC goalkeeper David Ousted wasn’t tested once in the opening frame thanks to some fine defending from the home team. It was an encouraging half from the ‘Caps, who controlled 57 per cent of possession and outshot the Galaxy 8-2 but entered the break in a scoreless deadlock.

LA looked a little better to start the second half, but Robinson’s side quickly settled in and took over the game. In the 56th minute, Morales played a perfectly weighted throughball to Manneh, who fired it in from the top of the box to put Whitecaps FC ahead. Morales now has assists in three straight matches.

Just 10 minutes later, the ‘Caps made it 2-0 with Rivero’s league-leading fourth goal of the season. The 23-year-old Uruguayan banged in a rebound from close range after some nice work by Mezquida, who was named Budweiser Man of the Match for his impressive showing.

Vancouver could have had two or three more in the dying stages with substitutes Darren Mattocks and Erik Hurtado coming on and creating a number of chances. But in the end they cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over the defending champs.

The ‘Caps are right back at it on Wednesday night, when they host Columbus Crew in their final home match until April 25. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT

MCMILLAN ‘CAPS CORNER KICK DONATIONS

For every ‘Caps corner kick at home, McMillan donates $100 to the United Way. An additional $500 is donated for every goal scored off a corner kick. This match McMillan Corners for Kids has donated $100 for a running total of $900.

MATCH DETAILS

Budweiser Man of the Match: Nicolás Mezquida
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Attendance: 21,000

Scoring Summary
56′ – VAN – Kekuta Manneh (Pedro Morales, Russell Teibert)
66′ – VAN – Octavio Rivero

Match Stats
Shots: Vancouver 18 – LA 6
Shots on Goal: Vancouver 9 – LA 1
Saves: Vancouver 1 – LA 7
Fouls: Vancouver 6 – LA 10
Offsides: Vancouver 3 – LA 1
Corners: Vancouver 1 – LA 4

Cautions
41′ – VAN – Pa-Modou Kah
58′ – VAN – Sam Adekugbe
85′ – LA – Gyasi Zardes

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 33.Steven Beitashour, 4.Kendall Waston, 44.Pa-Modou Kah, 3.Sam Adekugbe; 15.Matías Laba, 31.Russell Teibert; 9.Nicolás Mezquida (20.Deybi Flores 82′), 77.Pedro Morales, 23.Kekuta Manneh (11.Darren Mattocks 78′); 29.Octavio Rivero (19.Erik Hurtado 86′)

Substitutes not used
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 2.Jordan Harvey, 26.Tim Parker, 88.Robert Earnshaw

LA Galaxy
18.Jaime Penedo; 20.A.J. DeLaGarza, 4.Omar González, 21. Tommy Meyer (9.Alan Gordon 78′), 2.Todd Dunivant (16.Edson Buddle 64′); 24.Stefan Ishizaki, 19.Juninho, 3.Mika Väyrynen (14.Robbie Rogers 40′), 6.Baggio Husidic; 11.Gyasi Zardes, 7.Robbie Keane

Substitutes not used
12.Brian Rowe, 15.Ignacio Maganto, 25.Rafael Garcia, 33.Dan Gargan

Photos by Harman Singh