Tyrell Burgess and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC were held to a 1-1 away draw by Carolina RailHawks in USL First Division action on Tuesday evening.
Substitute Marcus Haber gave Vancouver the lead midway through the second half at WakeMed Soccer Park, but they were denied the road win after Carolina substitute striker Andriy Budnyy equalized in the dying stages to earn the RailHawks a second-straight stalemate with Vancouver.
Tuesday's draw takes the Whitecaps record in USL-1 to 7W-9L-6D and leaves them in sole possession of seventh place in the league standings, with Vancouver's winless run now extended to five matches. Carolina, meanwhile, draw level on points with second-place Charleston Battery, as the RailHawks take their record to 13W-5L-5D after extending their unbeaten run in the league to six games.
Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made three changes from the side that faced Carolina at Swangard Stadium on Saturday night. Marco Reda replaced Chris Pozniak at centre back, while Ansu Toure replaced Burgess to play on the left-hand side of midfield. In attack, Charles Gbeke initially took the place of Haber to partner Marlon James up front.
The early evening heat seemed to have an impact on the pace of play in the first half, with spells of even play unfolding towards the break. Vancouver's Nizar Khalfan and Carolina's Josh Gardner each struck shots on target that came to no harm on 38 and 39 minutes respectively.
The second half saw a strong spell of pressure by Vancouver soon after the restart, with Reed called into action on 50 minutes. The former California Victory and Cleveland City Stars keeper dove well to stop Gbeke's downward header after the Canadian international had connected with Wes Knight's throw-in from the right.
The course of the match then turned on 66 minutes, as the Whitecaps took the lead through a fine individual effort by Haber. From Reda's forward header, the young striker got on the end of Trafford's flicked header before turning Rusin on the edge of Carolina box. With only the onrushing Reed to beat, Haber slotted his finish past the Carolina keeper to give the Blue and White a 1-0 advantage
As Carolina pressed, the home side left spaces at the back that the Whitecaps tried to expose on the counter-attack. In the 74th minute, substitute Burgess played a give-and-go with Gbeke before making a run and shot that Reed confidently saved.
With the RailHawks mounting more pressure, they eventually found their way past the Whitecaps rearguard on 87 minutes. Substitutes John Cunliffe and Plotkin played a give-and-go on the left side of the Whitecaps box before Cunliffe found Budnyy facing goal. He skillfully side-stepped Trafford - who was now playing at centre back - before slipping his finish past Nolly to make it 1-1.
The final whistle confirmed another draw between these two USL-1 clubs, though the Whitecaps will rue the fact they did not come away from North Carolina with all three points.
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