Montero brace hands Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 win over Sounders

Ex-Sounder Fredy Montero led the Vancouver Whitecaps to victory against Cascadian rivals Seattle. Montero scored both goals as the ‘Caps ran out 2-1 winners on Friday night.

The game was on Good Friday, but Fredy Montero made sure it was a great Friday for Vancouver Whitecaps fans. The Colombian striker scored two headed goals in the second half of Vancouver’s Cascadia Cup clash against Seattle Sounders, where Montero spent four years. The ‘Caps survived some late scares to seal three much-needed points heading into a month-long road trip.

Vancouver got off to a slow start, allowing Seattle to control possession and struggling to create chances. As the first half progressed, the ‘Caps came into the match more. Cristian Techera found space down the left wing and got some good crosses into the box. Montero came close to breaking the deadlock after a good sequence of passes exchanged with Russell Teibert, but curled his shot wide of the net.

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Techera continued to find time and space in the second half, this time down the right wing, and he provided the assist for the first goal, curling a cross into the box in the 65th minute. Montero got a bit of head and a bit of shoulder on the ball, diverting it past Stefan Frei.

Fifteen minutes later Montero was at it again. Kendall Waston headed a Christian Bolaños corner kick down and Fredy finished it off.

David Ousted needed some help from his post, as well as from Teibert and Waston clearing off the line, but Vancouver managed to limit Seattle to an 89th minute goal by Will Bruin.

After a slow start the season, a win against the Sounders was vital for the ‘Caps. Here are the main points Vancouver can take away from this performance.

Fredy at the double

If Whitecaps fans had doubts about signing a former Seattle star, then Friday night’s performance should have silenced them. Montero had three good chances to score, and buried two of them. That’s a far more clinical level of finishing than any Whitecaps striker has shown since the Camilo days.

It’s not just his finishing, either. Montero also showed great awareness and movement to get into the right positions in the box. He even put in a solid performance defensively. The only regret ‘Caps fans should have is that he’s only on a season-long loan.

Solid defending (until the last ten minutes)

We’re starting to see a settled back four for Vancouver (aside from last week’s disaster of a 3-5-2 in the snow at RSL), and defensively the ‘Caps are benefiting from the stability. Tim Parker and Kendall Waston are building a solid partnership in central defense. In particular, Parker’s aerial battles with Jordan Morris were among the highlights of the first half. And Waston has played with far more confidence since being handed the captaincy.

It all got a bit scrappy towards the end, however. When Seattle was throwing everything at the ‘Caps backline during the last 10 or so minutes, we saw a return to the rushed clearances and miscommunication in the box that have burned Vancouver in the past. It took a goalline stop from Waston in the 95th minute to preserve the win.

Back to the 4-2-3-1

It looks like last week’s ill-fated experimentation with a three-man backline was just that, an experiment. It was business as usual on the tactics front for Carl Robinson. Teibert and Matías Laba started in central midfield, with Davies and Techera on the wings, Bolaños at #10, and Montero as lone striker.

The formation continued to suffer from many of the same limitations that have been on display in recent matches. Lining up with two defensive midfielders at home put the pressure on Davies and Techera to bring the ball forward, and resulted in another low possession match for the Whitecaps (38% this time). Davies was mostly shut down on his side of the field, although that opened space for Techera to see a lot of action on the opposite side.

Teibert had a busy game, doing a lot of running and even getting forward at times. However, Vancouver still lack creativity in midfield. And if they could have kept possession better at the end, they might have survived the last 15 minutes with fewer scares.

Next: CONCACAF Champions League Fog Clears for Competitors

Next up is another Cascadia Cup clash. The Whitecaps travel to Portland to kick off a four-match road trip.