The Whitecaps pushed past the league leading San Jose Earthquakes with a gritty, character driven performance that underlined the legitimacy of their playoff aspirations. Vancouver got off to a great start with a fierce shot by Jamaican Dane Richards who was sent in on goal by a terrific slide pass by YP Lee inside the San Jose defence. Richards was left one on one with the Earthquakes goalkeeper and proceeded to blast a hard shot over the surprised Jon Busch.

The imposing figure of Alan Gordon managed to head the equalizer past Joe Cannon after a tussle with fullback Alain Rochat, who was restored to the defence for this game by Coach Martin Rennie.

However, the ‘Caps went ahead for good when Camilo was tripped up in the penalty area by a desperate Sam Cronin tackle as he shaped up to shoot on the San Jose goal. It was the first spot kick given to Vancouver this year and Barry Robson pounced on the ball to dispatch it past Busch with a hammer of a shot. Camilo appeared disappointed that he did not have the chance to take his own shot at the penalty he earned.

Defence clams up San Jose attack

Vancouver`s defence then went on to clamp down with the lead, in contrast to giving up late goals as happened against LA. It was an encouraging sign from the Whitecaps back line, which had been subject to some criticism lately for loss of concentration.

YP Lee steps up again

The Korean international displayed his two way prowess yet again with his usual strong tackling, and he chalked up his fourth assist of the campaign, which is a superb number for a fullback.

Man of the Match

Jay DeMerit epitomized the right way to mark a player as he kept San Jose`s excellent striker Chris Wondolowski to a low key outing.

Play of the Match

Camilo`s somewhat controversial tumble frustrated the San Jose team, especially an irate Wondolowski, who felt it was a dive but it put the nail in the coffin with the resulting PK.