Article author:
Reuters
On Saturday night, host Vancouver Whitecaps beat league leader Los Angeles FC 1-0 and Andres Kubas scored his first MLS goal in the 89th minute.
It was an extraordinary defensive performance by Whitecaps (7-8-3, 24 points) who held LAFC (11-4-3, 36 points) without hitting the goal.
The winning goal came after a selfish cross to the LAFC's 18-yard box.
Ilie Sanchez tried to clear the ball, but went straight into Cubas' chest. The ball fell to his feet and a shot from a distance of 20 yards defeated LAFC goalkeeper Maxine Crepo and stayed just inside the left post.
"It's worth winning," Whitecaps coach Vanni Saltini said in a post-match interview with TSN. "We shut them down. We are the best team in the league. We can build confidence, but we need to keep winning."
Whitecaps will have LAFC later this season. Became the first team to surpass.
Vancouver dominated the scoring chance after the break, and Crepo had to make a dive save with Tristan Blackmon's heading shot in the 64th minute.
Brian White put out Whitecaps almost forward in the 75th minute. He took a pass from Pedro Bite on the right side and shot from a sharp angle on Kurepo's left shoulder, but the ball shook the near post and went out of bounds.
Los Angeles beat Vancouver 4-2 in the first half, but failed to reach the goal.
Half's best attempt was made 12 minutes after the Whitecaps turnover went deep into the end of itself. Francisco Hinera's shot was blocked by defender Javane Brown, who rebounded to Latif Blessing's left foot at the top of the 18-yard box. A blessing blast rang from the top of the crossbar and crossed the net.
Los Angeles Cristian Arango left the field in the 78th minute and scored four games in a row.
– Field-level media
