Vancouver Whitecaps top Oxford United FC 4-0 in Pre-Season

The Vancouver Whitecaps earned their first pre-season victory of 2017, topping the Oxford United FC U-23 squad 4-0 in the UK on Monday morning. The format was a tad different, with the two sides playing three, 30 minute periods.

Head Coach Carl Robinson went with the same starting lineup as Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Cardiff City U-23’s, including David Ousted in net, and Tim Parker and Christian Dean pairing at Center Back. Rookie Jacob Nerwinski and the veteran Jordan Harvey took their spot on the wings, with Matias Laba and Andrew Jacobson in the defensive midfield. Alphonso Davies, Marcel De Jong, and Kektua Manneh made up the attacking mid, with Erik Hurtado getting another start up top.

In the 13th minute, the Whitecaps opened the scoring. Marcel De Jong crossed to Hurtado, who was able to put the ball in the cage for the 1-0 lead. In the 56th minute, Hurtado repaid the favor, playing a ball to De Jong that the Canadian was able to put in for the 2-0 lead.

Robinson made some changes to his lineup in the 60th minute; Paolo Tornaghi took the cage for Ousted, while rookie Francis De Vries took over at Center Back with Christian Dean. Tim Parker stayed in the match, but moved out to Right Back. Also entering the match were Daniel Lovitz, Ben McKendry, Russell Teibert, Marco Bustos, Nico Mezquida, Cristian Techera, and Kyle Grieg.

In the 80th minute, the Whitecaps struck again, this time the veteran Grieg getting on the board. The Whitecaps would add one more in the 87th minute, when Techera tapped it home to make it 4-0.

The Whitecaps conclude their pre-season, UK adventure on Thursday, when they take on Bristol City FC.