Staff Reporter.
Vancouver Whitecaps stunned Inter Miami 3-1 in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal on Wednesday night, spoiling Lionel Messi’s squad’s hopes of making the tournament’s final.
Miami entered Wednesday’s match trailing 0-2 in aggregate after being shut out in the first leg last Thursday. That meant they needed to win by at least three goals in regulation on Wednesday to advance.
The home crowd had reason to be hopeful at that moment and remained optimistic with a 1-0 halftime lead. But the Whitecaps were about to crush Miami’s spirit.
Brian White scored the equalizer in the 51st minute with an assist from Sebastian Berhalter (son of the former U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter), and two minutes later, Miami’s defense was exposed again when Ecuadorean Pedro Vite’s goal gave Vancouver the lead. Then, at the 71-minute mark, Berhalter made it 3-1. Vancouver took advantage of its speed in the counter-attack, won duels and found scoring opportunities when Miami’s defense was caught flat-footed.
The Whitecaps will meet the winner of Thursday’s other semifinal between Mexican clubs Cruz Azul and Tigres UANL which stands at 1-1 ahead of the second leg.
Whoever its Liga MX opponent will be in the single game final, the Whitecaps will go into the game full of confidence after outclassing the most hyped-up and expensive Major League Soccer team in history.
In contrast to Miami’s slow and ponderous play, Vancouver delivered crisp, positive attacking football allied with evident grit and determination with three second half goals earning the club its first appearance in the regional final.