VANCOUVER, B.C. – Vancouver Whitecaps put aside talk of their struggles at home to produce a comfortable 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes at BC Place on Sunday evening.
It was a dominant performance from start to finish with first-half goals from Mauro Rosales and Kendall Waston setting Vancouver on their way. Octavio Rivero added a third from the spot in the second half as the 'Caps cruised to victory and ended their three-game winless streak for their first home win since May 30, with the only blip being a last-minute Quincy Amarikwa goal that denied David Ousted his eighth clean sheet.
The win sees Vancouver (11-8-3; 36 points) move into second place in the Western Conference, two points behind leaders FC Dallas and 11 ahead of San Jose (7-9-4; 25 points), who remain in ninth place in the Western Conference after now losing four in a row.
It didn't take long for the Whitecaps to find their groove.
They took the game to San Jose from kick off and got their reward just five minutes on a strong Kekuta Manneh run. San Jose defender Clarence Goodson stuck out a foot to stop the speedster, but the ball broke to Rosales who coolly drilled it home low from 20 yards out.
Rivero nearly doubled the lead minutes later when he broke free and did well to chip the ball over Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham, but, under pressure, he just couldn't get his head fully on the falling ball.
San Jose had to adjust at the back after losing Goodson to injury 10 minutes in, forcing them to play a deep defensive line that Vancouver initially struggled to get behind.
After consistent pressure, the home side eventually doubled their lead when Waston rose to powerfully head home a Rosales corner in the 32nd minute. It was the Costa Rican's first goal of the season and gave the 'Caps some breathing space.
Vancouver continued to pressure San Jose after the break, and Rivero and Manneh each had chances to increase their lead.
Rivero finally got the goal that his play deserved, picking himself up from being brought down in the box to fire home a 56th-minute penalty.
The Earthquakes had a chance to grab a late consolation when Shea Salinas beat Ousted from distance, but his rasping shot crashed off the bar and bounced off the goal line.
San Jose did finally get one when Amarikwa buried a Salinas cut back in the final minute.
Vancouver now head to Seattle next Saturday night in a big Cascadian derby, looking to increase their lead over the Sounders to seven points. San Jose will host the third member of the Cascadian rivals, with Portland Timbers coming to town next Sunday.
