Vancouver Whitecaps advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal defeating Central FC from Trinidad last night at BC Place before 17,038 supporters. leading the way for the Caps was Cristian Techera with a pair of goals in a 4-1 decision as they moved to 4-0 in their group C play the win also secured home field advantage in next years quarter finals in 2017 also sharp was Paolo Tornaghi allowing only a Sean De Silva free kick to elude in the opening half in recording the victory.
The Whitecaps opened strong right from the opening kickoff taking the game to their Central FC opponents getting chances early Masato Kudo in the 9th minute struck a shot at the edge of the box that just missed by inches. Two minutes later Blas Perez scored on a nice set up from Masato Kudo hammering home the shot past a help-less Jan-Michael Williams of Central FC to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Caps kept up the pressure and it paid off when Cristian Techera scored his first of two on the evening. Techera was hauled down by a Central defender Keion George who was booked by referee Luis Enrique of Mexico. On the ensuing penalty kick, Techera made no mistake hammering it home past Williams of Central to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
Central FC made things interesting late in the half as they were awarded a free kick just outside the Caps penalty area. Sean De Silva converted a great goal curling the ball around the Vancouver defense to cut the lead to 2-1 at halftime.
Vancouver continued their solid game in the second half adding to their lead over Central FC as Masato Kudo converted a nice feed from Techera. The Japanese international cut in at the edge of the box and buried the chance past Williams to give them a 3-1 lead.
The Caps continued to dominate the match as goalkeeper Tornagahi for Vancouver had a quiet night while watching his teammates carry the play on offence and provide support at the back in a clean sheet the rest of the way.
Cristian Techera added his second of the night and 5th of the tournament in 2016 in Champions league play in the 72nd minute taking a Marcel de Jong pass and hammering it home to extend the lead to 4-1.
In reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in a history solidifies the teams accomplishment on the evening the football match.
The man of the match was Cristian Techera with the two goal performance in the game. By putting away Central early it allowed coach Carl Robinson to use some of the Whitecaps FC2 players to get in some playing time.
