Vancouver (AFP) – Inter Miami suffered a 2-0 defeat at the Vancouver Whitecaps in Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final, first leg, leaving Lionel Messi’s team with a huge task in next week’s return game. Goals from Americans Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter gave the Canadian team a deserved victory in front of a sold-out 53,837 crowd at BC Place.
Both teams are looking to reach the continental final for the first time, but the star-studded Miami team struggled against Jesper Sorenson’s fired-up side, who were deadly on the break. Vancouver threatened early with their speed down the flanks, with White setting up a chance for Daniel Rios, whose shot was blocked by Marcelo Weigandt. The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Pedro Vite chipped the ball into the box and White timed his run perfectly to head home his 10th goal in 15 games in all competitions this season.
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Messi’s impact was limited; he was quickly closed down by Vancouver and was restricted to an optimistic long-range effort in the 29th minute that flew high over the bar. The Whitecaps continued to apply pressure, and Rios saw a header from a corner saved by Oscar Ustari as the home side went in 1-0 up at the break. Miami coach Javier Mascherano clearly demanded a response from his team at the break, and they came out with determination in the second half.
However, their approach play was slow and their attacks predictable, with Messi limited to a free-kick from outside the box that took a deflection but was easily dealt with by the Whitecaps’ Japanese keeper, Yohei Takaoka. Berhalter, the son of former USA coach Gregg, was tireless in his running and intelligent in his distribution, but he wasted a good chance to add a second when, after driving forward, he received a return pass in a promising position but fired over the bar.
Then, with five minutes remaining, Vancouver broke again, and winger Jayden Nelson’s low cross rolled to the back post to the arriving Berhalter, who this time made no mistake with an emphatic finish. Miami pushed forward in the latter stages in search of an ‘away goal,’ but Vancouver held firm and took a two-goal advantage to South Florida for Wednesday’s second leg.
“It feels good, but we have got one more game and we can’t get ahead of ourselves…we have to take care of business,” said Berhalter, who praised the team’s approach. “Just the resilience, the character, the fight to keep going. We talked about this all week; we know we can do this, and it is not a surprise to us.” The other semi-final, between Mexican clubs Tigres UANL and Cruz Azul, stands at 1-1 ahead of Thursday’s second leg in Mexico City.
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