Whitecaps Draw 3-3 Against Kansas City in Epic Comeback

Before the match against Sporting Kansas City, I wrote with great joy five reasons why the Whitecaps would defeat Kansas City. Yet, when the match started things weren't looking as positive as I had tried to make them out to be. And when the Whitecaps found themselves 1-0 down right before halftime, things were not looking good.

It was a wonderful strike by Bunbury which broke the deadlock. While the Whitecaps had started slowly, giving Kansas City the possession for the first 20 minutes of the first half, things changed as the first half wore on. Atiba Harris and Camilo began to make runs behind the SKC backline, and were often served deep balls to chase by Rochat and the lively Wes Knight. But no matter how many opportunities the Whitecaps created, Nielsen stopped everything for Sporting KC in between the sticks. Camilo would've scored at least three goals against any other goalkeeper, but Nielsen was saving everything. As the first half came to a close, the Whitecaps had created the most and best opportunities, and were caught sleeping when Bunbury smashed the ball into the far corner from outside the 18. It was a wonderful goal from the man who had been receiving plenty of boos from the Vancouver crowd. 

The second half began, and while I was expecting the Whitecaps to be well awake and ready to attack, the team wasn't. Things looked just like they did back at the beginning of the first half, with Kansas City easily retaining possession against a static set of white shirts. This time SKC capitalized on their good moment, Teal Bunbury scoring again (a wonderful piece of skill) in the 58th minute and then Kei Kamara (a well placed volley) scoring a third in the 62nd minute. And at 3-0 the Whitecaps heads dropped, SKC players smiled and Empire Field became silent.

Teitur Thordarson then decided to go for it, all or nothing. A minute after SKC's third goal, the Icelandic tactician replaced the hurting Janicki with Nizar Khalfan and then five minutes later brought on Davide Chiumiento for Wes Knight. These two changes were what ultimately caused the epic comeback all of Vancouver was about to experience. Nizar Khalfan tired out basically all of the Kansas City players and never stopped running, while Davide Chiumiento was dangerously inventive. The Whitecaps grew more and more, just like they had in the first half, slowly moving their way into the oppositions half. And in the 73rd minute, Khalfan's speedy run tore down the left wing right before the Tanzanian crossed for Atiba Harris to tap-in (more like a hump-in, as the ball was at an awkward mid-waist level).

Camilo scored two goals in a wonderful performance

Things didn't stop here as the Whitecaps continued pressing high up the field, hemming in SKC into their own half. But as the clock ticked down the idea of any points from this match seemed virtually impossible. For the final 20 minutes the Whitecaps launched continuous attacks on Kansas City which played with an arrogant nonchalance, already feeling as if the result was in the bag. When five minutes of added time were given, I had an inkling that the Whitecaps would pull one more goal back, just for the fans.

And the Whitecaps did, Davide Chiumento was slipped through the SKC defence, and he coolly squared theh ball to Camilo for a tap-in. The stadium erupted, and my dad (not a big MLS fan) who had been making fun of the Whitecaps all game said (albeit sarcastically), "Here they go for three". He was right, because just a minute later Nizar Khalfan crossed in for Camilo who produced a brilliant header into the top corner of the SKC net. The comeback was complete, and the 20,000 Whitecaps fans at Empire Field were cheering their hearts out.

It was a wonderful comeback, which really makes me proud to be a Whitecaps fan. While I am slightly disappointed that the Whitecaps conceded the first three goals, which probably shouldn't have been scored, they made up for their mistakes. It was a brilliant match, which will hopefully help turn even more people in Vancouver to attending a Whitecaps game. After all, I can't think of an MLS team with this much heart and spirit.