MLS Vancouver 0 - 0 Seattle

“Derby games are the ones you love and remember, provided you do things right,” as said by Vancouver Whitecaps coach, Martin Rennie. Rennie would know a lot about this, as he is a part of a three-way derby in the northwest of the United States, known as the Cascadia Derby. This derby between Pacific Northwest neighbors is much more than any other derby in the MLS, however, because the collective winner in the matches between the three teams wins the Cascadia Cup. Between Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle, this derby, which is so special to the supporters of both sides, added another chapter to its history, as Seattle traveled northwards to face-off against their Canadian counterparts, Vancouver. The first half of the match was a chippy affair, with Freddie Montero going down a couple times, one from a wayward elbow early on and the other from taking a freekick straight to the face. The heaviest challenge of the first half would have to have been Gspurning’s charge out on Vancouver’s Mattocks. Both players were on the ground for quite a time after that nasty challenge. Mattocks came out on the bad end of that tackle, as he was unable to carry on and was replaced by Camilo in the 42nd minute. This kind of match was to be expected though, as both sides want to win more than anything. The majority of the first half was dominated by counterattacking pressure from both sides, with shots being blocked by defenders and no clear cut chances for either side. The second half was a continuation of this trend, as the ball was knocked around and knocked forward with increasing intensity as a goal looked to be all that was needed to change the tide in either direction in the deadlock. This was not to be though, as there was a numerous amount of shots, but the goalkeepers were on their A-game tonight and denied each and every attempt, parrying most shots around the post for a corner. Tonight was not the night for either side, but it was entertaining to see these two battle it out, tooth-and-nail, to get the potential game winning goal. Next up for Seattle is a home game against the third team in the Cascadia Derby, Portland. Vancouver will be facing off against Chivas USA in four days time as the playoff picture begins to emerge for MLS.