Waston brace gives Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 win over Atlanta United

Captain Kendall Waston put in a man-of-the-match performance as the Vancouver Whitecaps turned around an early deficit to defeat Atlanta United 3-1.

The Vancouver Whitecaps official Twitter account attracted the ire of many ‘Caps fans in the Twitterverse during the week by choosing to promote the attacking prowess of Atlanta United’s forward line as a way of advertising this weekend’s match.

The general consensus among Whitecaps fans was that the effort might have been better spent, you know, advertising their own team. But central defender and team captain Kendall Waston seems to have taken it personally.

Waston has been one of Vancouver’s most improved players this season. He’s developed a solid understanding with partner Tim Parker in central defence. More importantly, whether his responsibilities as captain have helped him keep his head, or whether the armband simply gives him more leeway when talking to referees, he’s mostly stayed out of the book this season. Two yellow cards and no reds in 12 appearances is an enormous improvement compared to last year.

Against Atlanta, however, Waston was on another level. Not content with simply keeping Atlanta’s high-powered forward line off the scoresheet, he scored two goals and was involved in the third. He also made a goalline clearance, to show he can defend and attack in equal measure. Oh, and also got a yellow card, just for old times’ sake.

The Equalizer

The match started poorly for the ‘Caps, as their slow passing struggled to cope with Atlanta’s pressing. In the 7th minute, left-back Greg Garza put Atlanta in front. But the Whitecaps slowly found their way back into the game, mainly through set pieces. And it was after a set piece that they found the equalizer.

Waston hung around up front after the ball was cleared and was the beneficiary of a pass from Andrew Jacobson. With the ball too low for a header, Waston chested it down, held off a defender, and finished past Alec Kann. In a bizarre season that’s already seen Matías Laba score a header, it was only fitting that Waston’s first goal of the year would be his first ever scored with his foot.

The Winning Goal

Waston was at it again just before halftime. Reverting to more conventional methods, he out-jumped the Atlanta defence to get to a Cristian Techera corner.  His header bounced off the turf and into the net for what would prove to be the winning goal.

The Insurance Goal

Atlanta are always liable to score (just ask the Whitecaps social media team), and so fans were breathing a little easier when the third goal finally showed up with just over 20 minutes to go.

Again, it was a set piece. Again, Waston was involved. Tim Parker thought he had scored when he connected on the ball his fellow centre-back headed across the goal. Kann, however, clawed the ball out of the net, with Parker wheeling away to celebrate and the smoke machine behind the goal going off.

Replays showed that the ball had crossed the line, and Parker should have been awarded the goal. But while everyone else was either appealing or celebrating, Fredy Montero’s striker instinct took over. The Colombian forward finished into the roof of the net to remove all doubt.

The Whitecaps managed to survive a late onslaught from Atlanta, including a moment of confusion when referee Robert Sibiga gave a penalty to Atlanta before changing his mind and giving the Whitecaps a free kick. The three points lift Vancouver into fifth place in the Western Conference.

Next: Top 3 Overpaid and Underpaid Whitecaps Players

Next Up

Waston and compatriot Christian Bolaños now head off to represent Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying. The Whitecaps will take a week off for the international fixtures, before facing FC Dallas on June 17th at BC Place.