Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - A second-half goal from Gershon Koffie was
enough to hand Vancouver Whitecaps FC a 1-0 season-opening win against Toronto
FC at BC Place on Saturday.
The match marked the first for new Toronto boss Ryan Nelsen, but he saw his
team produce little in attack, and in the end it was the goal from Koffie,
which capped a nice build up, that was the difference.
There was little to choose between the sides in the first half, and neither
goalkeeper was very busy.
But after the break, Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik was called into action in
the 51st minute when Alain Rochat's free kick needed to be parried to safety.
However, Bendik was unable to keep out Koffie's shot eight minutes later,
which came after Lee Young-Pyo threaded a pass into the penalty area for Daigo
Kobayashi. He then laid the ball off for Koffie to smack first-time inside the
right post.
Nelsen tried to infuse his side with some offense toward the end of the game
with the introduction of Taylor Morgan and Emery Welshman, but Vancouver
easily saw out the rest of the contest.
Toronto has now won just one of its seven MLS openers, and the club's last win
in league play came on July 18, 2012.
The Sports Network