Vancouver Whitecaps FC's Tristan Blackmon (right) celebrates with teammates Ranko Veselinovic (left) and Cristian Dajome after scoring a goal against Real Espana during first half CONCACAF Champions League soccer action in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, March 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rich Lam
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps kicked off their CONCACAF Champions League campaign with a decisive 5-0 victory over Honduran side Real CD Espana on Wednesday.
Tristan Blackmon, Ryan Raposo, Pedro Vite and Brian White all scored for Vancouver, who enter the tournament between the top clubs in North America, Central America and the Caribbean as winners of last year’s Canadian Championship.
Espana midfielder Devron Garcia added an own goal in the 64th minute.
Goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both on-target shots he faced to collect his first clean sheet for the Whitecaps and Luis Lopez had nine saves for the visitors.
Espana earned their way into the tournament with a top-six finish in CONCACAF League play last season.
The second leg of the two-game aggregate round-of-16 series will take place at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on March 15.
Wednesday’s result was a big one for the ‘Caps, who’ve dropped back-to-back 2-1 decisions to start the Major League Soccer season.
White sealed the score at 5-0 in the 78th minute, sprinting down the field and working his way around Espana defender Junior Garcia before firing a ball in past Lopez.
A series of quick passes helped the ‘Caps go up 4-0 in the 70th minute.
White put the ball on the foot of Ryan Gauld and the Scottish attacking midfielder wasted no time dishing it off to Vite, who popped a quick shot into the visitor’s net.
The Whitecaps took a 3-0 advantage in the 64th minute thanks to an Espana own goal.
Gauld sent a pass into the box and Cristian Dajome got a touch before the ball caromed into the back of the net off Devron Garcia.
Vancouver boosted its lead to 2-0 in the 59th minute when Gauld sliced a ball to Raposo and the defender dribbled a few steps before unleashing a rocket from the top of the penalty area. The shot seemed to catch Lopez off guard and the ball skittered under the goalkeeper’s arm as he dove across the goal line.
The Whitecaps were the dominant side across the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the visitors 8-1 and putting away the lone goal of the first half.
Dajome came within inches of boosting Vancouver’s advantage to 2-0 moments before halftime. Sergio Cordova delivered the Colombian forward a nice ball near the penalty spot and Dajome sent a header skimming over the crossbar.
A similar shot opened the scoring in the 21st minute.
Vite took the ‘Caps first corner of the night, dishing a short ball to Julian Gressel, who sent a cross into the box. Blackmon leapt up from the crowd and sent a headed shot soaring past Lopez into the Espana net to make it 1-0.
The visitors had a flurry of chances early in the game, including their lone on-target shot of the first half.
Junior Garcia blasted a shot from the top of the penalty area in the eighth minute, only to see a diving Takaoka punch the ball out of harm’s way.
The Whitecaps return to MLS action Saturday when they host FC Dallas.
NOTES: Real CD Espana currently sit fifth in the Liga Nacional. “¦ Midfielder J.C. Ngando and defender Karifa Yao both made their debut for the ‘Caps, coming on as substitutes in the 79th minute. “¦ This year marks the third time the Whitecaps have played in CONCACAF Champions League. The club’s longest run came in 2016-17 when Vancouver reached the semifinals. “¦ An announced crowd of 13,644 took in the game at B.C. Place.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2023.
