CHESTER, Pa. – The storybook ending was there for Vancouver forward Sebastien Le Toux, and it still weighed on his mind well after the game ended.
Le Toux had a golden chance against his old team in the 83rd minute, but he forced a rushed shot high and the Whitecaps finished with a scoreless draw against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
“It was a great ball from Davide (Chiumiento),” said Le Toux of the late chance. “He played me perfectly. I just missed a little bit my first touch, and the ball stayed in my feet. I wanted more time to judge (Philadelphia goalkeeper) Zac (MacMath) when he came out. He did a very good job, but I should have done better.”
A game-winning goal would have been a fitting return to PPL Park for the 28-year-old Le Toux, who scored or assisted on 46 of the 80 MLS and playoff goals in Union history. He was surprisingly traded to Vancouver for allocation money on January 31.
Le Toux received loud cheers from the crowd of 17,189 during pre-game introductions and did not deny the emotion of the afternoon.
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“I’ve never really experienced something like that,” Le Toux said. “Lots of people were saying my name and saying good things. It’s very nice for a player, and I’m very thankful, and I appreciate what they did for me.”
Le Toux started in a different role for Vancouver (2-0-2) on Saturday, playing as one of two forwards alongside Atiba Harris, who returned from injury in place of the injured Eric Hassli.
In the second half, the Whitecaps reverted to a one-forward alignment with Le Toux as one of three attacking midfielders playing behind Harris. Even though Vancouver finished without a shot on goal for the second consecutive game – it has been 202 minutes since Jay DeMerit scored against Chivas USA on March 17 – Le Toux was encouraged by aspects of the performance.
“We found me more today in space and behind the defence,” Le Toux said. “It was good for the confidence, so now we know we can do it, and I have to be better.”
One part of the Whitecaps’ game that cannot get much better is the defence, which recorded its fourth consecutive shutout. Vancouver’s streak of 360 shutout minutes is just 61 minutes short of the MLS record for season-opening shutout streak, set by the New York Red Bulls in 2007.
Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie was pleased that his players, while taking pride in the shutouts. However, he was not satisfied with the tie.
“That shows some progress with the club: that there’s no satisfaction with a point on the road,” Rennie said. “(Clean sheets) are positive things, but to build the kind of team we want to build, we’ve got to have higher expectations than that, and we didn’t quite do it today.”
The Union (0-3-1) picked up their first point this season following three straight losses. Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto FC are the three remaining winless teams in the league.
The Whitecaps will try to stay unbeaten in another road game next Saturday against San Jose.
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