Vancouver Whitecaps win Canadian Championship

Vancouver 2 (Rivero, Parker)- Montreal 0 (4-2 aggregate)

The Vancouver Whitecaps used goals from Octavio Rivero in the 1st half and Tim Parker in the 2nd to beat the Montreal Impact 2-0 to win the 2nd leg and the Canadian Championship 4-2 on aggregate at BC Place. The Whitecaps took advantage of a horrendous back pass by former Whitecaps Nigel Reo-Coker, with Cristian Techera doing the hard work to get it past Impact keeper Eric Kronberg before Octavio Rivero poked the ball home for the 1-0 lead. Tim Parker's effort came off a corner kick in the 2nd half as he rose to meet Pedro Morales's delivery to make 2-0. The Whitecaps would then control the ball for most of the 2nd half, seeing out the match for the victory.

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Match Recap

The Vancouver Whitecaps hosted the Montreal Impact in the 2^nd leg of the Canadian Championship Final, holding an away goals advantage after drawing 2-2 in Montreal last week. Whitecaps Head Coach Carl Robinson made one change to his starting lineup from the 1-0 win against FC Dallas on the weekend, giving Russell Teibert the start in defensive midfield instead of Matias Laba, who started on the bench. Pa-Modou Kah remained on the injury shelf with a fractured cheekbone, with Tim Parker partnering Kendall Waston in defense.

Kekuta Manneh would get the first chance of the match early from the right wing, his shot would be tipped over the bar by Impact keeper Eric Kronberg.

In the 21^st minute Montreal's Victor Cabrera would earn a yellow card for a foul on Octavio Rivero in the midfield circle. Soon after that Laurent Ciman would join Cabrera in the book for a foul on Cristian Techera on the right wing sideline. On the resulting free kick Pedro Morales would go short side, trying to catch the Impact defense napping but Kronberg was wise to the trick and collected the Morales effort.

In the 31^st minute Montreal went down to 10 men as Cabrera fouled Rivero again, right outside the box. Cabrera's 2^nd yellow card meant red for Cabrera as he was sent off. Dominic Oduro would also earn a yellow for dissent as he argued the call.

In the 40^th minute the Whitecaps would get on the board. Cristian Techera would latch on to a dreadful back pass from Nigel Reo-Coker and do the hard work getting it past the onrushing Kronberg, before Octavio Rivero poked home into the empty net to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead in the match and a 3-2 lead on aggregate.

Kekuta Manneh would also get the first chance of the 2^nd half, cutting in from the left before unleashing a shot which Kronberg parried out of play for a corner.

In the 52^nd minute the Whitecaps would make it 2-0 as Tim Parker headed home a Pedro Morales corner to double the Whitecaps lead.

In the 63^rd minute Montreal made a double substitution, with Dominic Oduro and Johan Venegas coming off and Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Andres Romero coming on.

The Whitecaps would respond by bringing on Mauro Rosales for Pedro Morales in the 67^th minute. Darren Mattocks would then come on for Octavio Rivero soon after.

Montreal would respond by bringing on Eric Alexander for Marco Donadel as their last throw of the dice to get back in the match.

The Whitecaps would then control possession for several minutes before bringing on Matias Laba for Gershon Koffie late in the match.

The Whitecaps expertly killed off the match, with the only concern being Darren Mattocks as he injured his shoulder late in the match and didn't partake in the celebrations with his teammates.

Canadian Russell Teibert was named tournament MVP, a trophy he almost dropped in his celebration.

With the win the Whitecaps hoist their first ever Canadian Championship and become Canada's lone entry into the 2016-2017 version of the Concacaf Champions League, a tournament which they're already playing in this year due to being the best Canadian MLS team last season.

Post Match Quotes:

Carl Robinson - On the strong performance of his team:

“Going into a cup final, 2^nd leg, I said to the guys it’s one game, we’re one game away from making history for the club, cause we've never won this tournament before, I didn’t know whether to put a bit of pressure on them or try and take the pressure off them, but I challenged them. They don’t come around too often, games like this. We’re at home in front of our 20,000 fans. It’s in our court. Time to step up, boys. And they certainly done that, each and every single one of them. What a professional performance that was. I’m so bloody proud of them.”

Drawing upon the experience for later on this season:

"I hope so, I hope they really do, it's difficult being a manager, you're there to get shot down if you rest a couple of starters or regular players which I have done, I've never underestimated this tournament, I've been fortunate enough to win it, it's not about me, its about the current group of players at this time. Hopefully it will stand us in good stead, I've told them to enjoy it tonight cause they deserve it, the performance, the way we managed the game, the way we didn't get caught up in anything, because I think it could have overboiled at times and we didn't, and for a group so young they showed a lot of maturity tonight, its still early stages and we're still building at this football club."

Russell Teibert - On finally winning the Canadian Championship:

“It’s hard to put into words. I’ve been through too many heartbreaks with this tournament, disappointment for fans, disappointment for us, and I say it’s about damn time we won. It’s about damn time we won it. I'm happy for the fans, happy for the club, happy for the team."

David Ousted - On Pa-Modou Kah's influence on the team today even when not playing:

"Pa is so vocal on and off the field, he's a big leader for us, and he said the thing we all knew that this cup was gonna stay here, it wasn't going to leave BC Place, it was our cup and our moment."

Gershon Koffie - On the match meaning more after losing previous finals: 

"It means a lot to me, I've been with the club all this time, this is my first trophy, I'm so excited, to come up with this result, I think a lot of guys inside will take it to the next game on Saturday."