Vancouver Whitecaps crush Messi and Inter Miami with second-half surge

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The singing and chanting rang from stand to stand in a sold-out Chase Stadium, loud and clear. There was dancing, joy and jubilation.

And none of it for the home side.

There was no joy in Messi-ville. The mighty Herons had struck out.

Coming in holding a 2-0 aggregate lead, the Vancouver Whitecaps talked about how they would have to play offensively in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal against Inter Miami. Their three second-half goals checked that box.

Now check on availability for tickets for the tournament final, as for the first time in team history, they’ve qualified for the championship game thanks to their 3-1 victory over Miami on Wednesday night. They won both games against the highly rated Herons, and piled up the goals on aggregate (5-1).

Brian White and Pedro Vite scored two minutes apart in the second half, while Sebastian Berhalter added a dagger in the 71st. The Herons started brightly on Jordi Alba’s ninth-minute goal, but couldn’t solve the Caps defence the rest of the night.

The Caps were disrespected in the pre-season power rankings, and that malfeasance continued Wednesday when Miami chose to forgo the Canadian national anthem before the game. But the team that’s now unbeaten in nine straight games across all competitions is heading to the Champions Cup championship game.

The Whitecaps have a chance to host the final, but it’s a small one.

Cruz Azul and UANL Tigres are playing their second leg Thursday night, with Azul grabbing an away goal in their 1-1 first leg in Monterrey last week.

The team with the most points since the round of 16 earns the right to host the game. If tied on points and goal difference, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, followed by away goals scored.

After Wednesday, the Caps have 10 points, have a plus-four goal differential, 11 goals for and seven away goals. Cruz Azul (9 PTS, +4 GD, 7 GS, 1 AGS) is second, followed by Tigres (9 PTS, +3 GD, 8 GS, 1 AGS).

For Whitecaps FC to host the final, they need Cruz Azul and Tigres draw their second leg in regulation, and finish with a greater goal difference than the Mexican teams.

Even if they must travel south, Mexico no longer holds any fear for the Whitecaps. They’ve gotten past two Liga MX powerhouses in Pumas and Monterrey already this tournament, and now have taken down a team led by the greatest player in history.

But again, they will likely be considered underdogs in the final. They will be without Berhalter — who’s scored in two straight Cup games and was among the best players in both — because of yellow card accumulation.

Ryan Gauld, who watched Wednesday from the stands, is still a question mark as he recovers from his knee injury. Matthias Laborda is also still on the injured roster.

The Caps, however, have shown uncanny depth and cohesiveness throughout their lineup. Whether it will be Ralph Priso or JC Ngando stepping in for Berhalter, there has always been a next man up — and up for the challenge.

Wednesday’s game started with Miami taking a 1-0 lead on the Alba goal before many had even filtered into their seats, but the Whitecaps — while wobbly for a short span — found their legs. The possession tilt from last week, where they had 31 per cent of the ball, was a more equitable split until they began to protect their two-goal lead.

White’s goal in the 51st minute was a gut punch for the Herons. Vite’s, two minutes later, was a knockout blow. And Berhalter’s 71st minute score was just an extra kick in the stomach of a Miami side that was barely conscious by that point.

Messi tried to defibrillate his team with a few chances later, but even the game’s GOAT couldn’t haul them out of the hole they were in. After Berhalter scored to make it 3-1, they needed five goals in 17 minutes to advance.

Knowing their 1-0 lead after the first half wasn’t enough, Miami threw bodies forward in the second half, opening them up to the Caps’ speed on counters on one-on-one situations.

“We did ourselves a very good favour last week, because we didn’t need to to rush things, and we didn’t need to go panicking,” said Vancouver coach Jesper Sørensen. “What we said in the second half was that the pitch was open. … We just needed to play the extra pass when we broke through.”

All three goals came off those extra passes, whether it was Ali Ahmed’s cutbacks, Berhalter passing instead of shooting on Vite’s goal, or the Daniel Rios shot that was set up by Ahmed, blocked, then bounced to a waiting Berhalter.

The Caps have never shown signs of panic this season, even when the deck was stacked against them. In their second leg against Pumas, an 88th-minute goal from Ignacio Pussetto appeared to have ended their magical run. But Tristan Blackmon equalized in the third minute of extra time, putting Vancouver through on away goals.

This time, the Whitecaps were in another hostile environment, facing some of the game’s greats, and they again stayed calm and executed when they needed to.

“There are some things that you can work on in daily practice. There’s something that you can train, that you can try and simulate in the daily work. But there are also things that you can’t you need experience,” said Sørensen. “You need to go down to Monterrey and need to perform, to get a result, to get that confidence that you can do it again. You need to score in the last minute against Pumas, to not go in panic when (Miami) score early here in this game.

“It comes from the opportunities we have to be in those moments, get that kind of confidence out of having been there and having prevailed in moments that are very, very tough for the team. …

“Today was different. I think that this team has built confidence, has built belief. I think they got a growing confidence out of those experiences. That’s good, because it’s difficult to manage the emotions when you have not been really in them. The more you get into those moments, the more you manage your emotions, and play the way that you actually are capable of doing instead of rushing things.”

Messi was held in check, or at least off the scoresheet, with Andres Cubas’ record of never surrendering a goal to Messi remaining intact. Luis Suarez was dangerous, but also blanked.

The Whitecaps were outshot 16-10 (8-6 on target) but were far more lethal in their final moments, the difference between losing in the semifinals — like they did in 2016, the Champions Cup high-water mark for the club — and being in the final.

It’s been years of mediocrity, and now, in a season when more of the same was expected, they have evolved into a force. They’re top of the MLS table and playing for the rights to be the best in the entire region.

“I’m relatively new and I’ve not had the struggle to come this far with the club, but I know that a lot of people have a lot of people are working for many, many years in the club, have not seen this moment,” Sørensen said post-game. “It’s great for everybody in the club, for the fans. Maybe we can also rally in the city of Vancouver behind the team even more and hopefully excite people.”

jadams@postmedia.com

@jjadams.bsky.social

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