The Kenyan player’s team needed a win in order to dislodge Toronto FC at the top and maintain their continental football dream
Victor Wanyama’s dream of earning a Concacaf Champions League berth ended with a disappointing Montreal Impact 3-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday.
Montreal Impact – after the previous win against Vancouver Whitecaps – needed a win to dislodge Toronto FC at the top to book a place in the Canadian Championship en route to the Champions League tournament.
Wanyama’s teammate Rudy Camacho conceded a penalty – taken and scored by Fredy Montero for the home side – and was sent off in the 37th minute in what turned out to be a match-altering moment. Cristian Dajome scored in the 44th minute what became Vancouver Whitecaps’ second goal.
Romell Quioto scored the visitors’ lone goal in the 70th minute but Montero’s 78th-minute strike all but ended Montreal Impact’s chances of qualifying for the Canadian Championship.
Wanyama’s coach Thierry Henry expounded how the first-half red card had a dire impact on the match.
“It had a big impact on the game,” Henry said in his post-match assessment.
“[It was] a red and a penalty at the same time. It’s not like you went down to 10 men and it was still 0-0. You went down to 10 men and it’s 1-0.”
The World Cup-winning ace, however, was impressed by his team’s reaction in the second half.
“What I liked is the reaction in the second half,” the Frenchman added.
“Second half, we bossed the game. We got countered, as you can imagine because we’re throwing men forward and trying to put them under pressure but we bossed the second half. We won the ball all the time.
“What you saw, obviously, was a massive negative, but I like to stay with the positive.”
Wanyama’s teammate Samuel Piette said ‘stupid mistakes’ cost them and that on the night they were hopeful of beating the already eliminated Vancouver Whitecaps.
“I think we all knew what was at stake, so I think that’s very disappointing,” Piette said.
“We lost three points that, in my opinion, we should never lose. It was on us. Stupid mistakes and once again, I think in this season, a lot of points that we lost, we gave them away and again I think that was the case.”
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