Showing posts with label Nutrilite Canadian Championships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nutrilite Canadian Championships. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
All on the line: Whitecaps - Impact live blog
"We search for the truth/We could die upon the tooth/But the thrill of just the chase/Is worth the pain" - Ronnie James Dio, The Last In Line
Tonight's Voyageurs' Cup game against the Montreal Impact may well be one of the most important matches of the Vancouver Whitecaps' season. Thanks to a pair of lacklustre draws at home, they must win on the road [Marc Weber, The Province] against their bitter rivals to maintain their hopes of claiming the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and its attendant berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. They have two points from two matches, while Toronto FC have seven from three. The teams play each other in the final clash of the competition next Wednesday, though, so the Whitecaps still have a shot at the title. In order to make that game relevant, though, they need to come away with three points tonight.
As I wrote at Fighting For Canadian Supremacy before the season started, this competition may be the crucial one for the Whitecaps. A return to the Division II title game would be nice, but that would likely mean less in the long run than a defeat of their Canadian rivals, the franchise's first Voyageurs' Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. That would give the Whitecaps a huge boost heading into their first Major League Soccer campaign next season. A Division II title would also help, but I'm not sure it would have as much of an effect. Moreover, the drawn-out regular season and playoffs of Division II make it much more difficult to reach that goal while developing young talent, which is still the club's top priority heading towards MLS. A short tournament like this should be easier to win with a younger side.
This won't be easy for Vancouver, though. They struggled at home against Montreal in recent clashes in both the Voyageurs' Cup (a late 1-1 draw thanks to a Marcus Haber penalty) and the league (a 0-0 draw where they couldn't find a way to beat Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan). Coming away with three points on the road in front of the Impact fans may be even more difficult. On the other hand, Montreal doesn't have anything to play for (and they famously rolled over against Toronto FC in similar circumstances last season). Vancouver captain Martin Nash told me Saturday that the Impact won't be an easy opponent even if they field a reduced lineup, though.
"Even if they don't play their best lineup, they still have good players," he said.
Don't write the Whitecaps off yet, though. They finally found their scoring touch Saturday against Rochester, notching two goals and breaking a 276-minute scoreless streak in the league and a 296-minute scoreless streak in all competitions. Even more impressively, their defence has been superb. Keeper Jay Nolly recorded his seventh shutout in all competitions Saturday, and the team hasn't allowed a goal in 274 minutes of league play and 419 minutes of all-competitions play. If they can keep that defensive intensity up today and find the net on their scoring opportunities, they might just come away with a win today and send the competition to a crucial final match next week in Toronto. Find out what happens in the live blog below, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The scoreline remains the same
For the Vancouver Whitecaps, the scoreline remained the same Wednesday night at Swangard Stadium as their third consecutive match there finished in a 0-0 draw. This had much more to it than previous USSF Division II efforts against Crystal Palace Baltimore [Simon Fudge, WhitecapsFC.com] and the Montreal Impact, though; the Voyageurs’ Cup and its accompanying berth in the CONCACAF Champions League were potentially on the line against hated rivals Toronto FC. The Whitecaps responded to the occasion and played a superb game against a Major League Soccer side, controlling possession, shutting down TFC’s attackers and creating their own chances. At the end of the day, though, that superior effort merely translated into another 0-0 scoreline.
Head coach Teitur Thordarson was pleased with his team's performance, though.
"I thought we played exceptionally well in all departments of the game," he said. "I thought we did well and controlled the game. For me, the only thing missing was the goal."
Thordarson said this kind of effort against Toronto FC bodes well for the Whitecaps' league play.
"We're creating chances against a team that's in the MLS," he said. "If we can do that, we can certainly create chances against the teams in our league."
Defender Wes Knight said the team's been more cohesive lately, which has helped.
"The last two games have been a breath of fresh air for us," he said. "We're coming together as a unit."
The Whitecaps dominated the first half of play and created several good chances. The best was a Ricardo Sanchez corner that found an unmarked Nelson Akwari at the far post in the seventh minute; Akwari headed wide, though. Vancouver picked up five first-half corners to TFC’s none and several dangerous free kicks, and they controlled the run of play, but were unable to break the deadlock.
The second half was much the same story, despite a few halftime adjustments from TFC. Vancouver controlled the possession and displayed a heightened sense of urgency, and they were rewarded with a plethora of solid scoring chances. A Marcus Haber cross just missed Justin Moose in the 50th minute, and a Sanchez effort from 20 yards out less than a minute later didn’t miss by much. Luca Bellisomo had a superb chance late in the half off another corner, but narrowly missed. TFC didn’t control much of the ball in the second half either, but they created a few notable chances on the counterattack. Amadou Sanyang fired high from 20 yards out in the 78th minute, though, and Dwayne De Rosario’s 83rd-minute effort was parried. Vancouver poured on the pressure late, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and the match finished 0-0.
The Whitecaps have now gone 279 minutes in all competitions without a goal. It's also the first time in club history (across the NASL, Canadian Soccer League, A-League and USL) that they've racked up three straight goalless draws. Their last tally was Haber's 81st-minute penalty against Montreal. Knight said he's not worried, though.
"I feel very confident in our squad and our defensive ability," he said. "The goals will come."
Thordarson said it's not any particular flaws in the Whitecaps' game that are keeping them off the scoresheet. In particular, he thinks they've done well to create so many chances off set pieces.
"The service off the corners is perfect," Thordarson said. "It's just a matter of luck."
Thordarson said nothing's changed since the Whitecaps' early-season goals; he feels they just aren't getting the bounces.
"You need a little bit of luck," he said. "Earlier we had that, later we didn't."
From a Toronto FC perspective, this was more of a disappointing outing. The Reds were outshot 10-6 and conceded 10 corners while only earning one of their own. Head coach Preki said he wasn't impressed with his team's showing.
"I don't think we played particularly well," he said. "I don't think we came ready to play today right from the first moment."
Preki said that might have been from a long road trip, or it could have been Toronto underestimating their opponents.
"It could be complacency, maybe a little bit of fatigue, but I don't want to make excuses," he said.
He did make some interesting lineup decisions, leaving the likes of Stefan Frei, Sam Cronin and Chad Barrett on the bench to start. Preki said he elected to go with Jon Conway rather than Frei in goal to give Frei a rest.
"We've got two good goalies," he said. "Sometimes, you've got to give Stefan a little break. I thought Jon did a good job tonight."
Vancouver now controls their own destiny in the chase for the Voyageurs' Cup. They have two points from two matches (home draws with Montreal and Toronto). Toronto has seven from three matches (two wins against Montreal and tonight's draw), and Montreal only has one. The remaining matches see the Whitecaps on the road against TFC and the Impact. If they win both, they claim the title with eight points; if they drop any points, TFC will clinch their second consecutive championship.
That's going to be a difficult challenge for Vancouver, though. They were 2-7-6 on the road in league play last year, and beat Montreal while losing to TFC in last year's Voyageurs' Cup road games. Thordarson thinks they can pull it off, however.
"It is doable," he said. "If we go into Montreal and play like this, we will create chances."
Knight isn't intimidated by the tough task ahead.
"It might be to our advantage," he said. "We go into Montreal with our backs against the wall. We have nothing to lose."
The Whitecaps' next Voyageurs Cup clash is May 26 at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern in Montreal. It will be live-blogged here. Come join me then!
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
Head coach Teitur Thordarson was pleased with his team's performance, though.
"I thought we played exceptionally well in all departments of the game," he said. "I thought we did well and controlled the game. For me, the only thing missing was the goal."
Thordarson said this kind of effort against Toronto FC bodes well for the Whitecaps' league play.
"We're creating chances against a team that's in the MLS," he said. "If we can do that, we can certainly create chances against the teams in our league."
Defender Wes Knight said the team's been more cohesive lately, which has helped.
"The last two games have been a breath of fresh air for us," he said. "We're coming together as a unit."
The Whitecaps dominated the first half of play and created several good chances. The best was a Ricardo Sanchez corner that found an unmarked Nelson Akwari at the far post in the seventh minute; Akwari headed wide, though. Vancouver picked up five first-half corners to TFC’s none and several dangerous free kicks, and they controlled the run of play, but were unable to break the deadlock.
The second half was much the same story, despite a few halftime adjustments from TFC. Vancouver controlled the possession and displayed a heightened sense of urgency, and they were rewarded with a plethora of solid scoring chances. A Marcus Haber cross just missed Justin Moose in the 50th minute, and a Sanchez effort from 20 yards out less than a minute later didn’t miss by much. Luca Bellisomo had a superb chance late in the half off another corner, but narrowly missed. TFC didn’t control much of the ball in the second half either, but they created a few notable chances on the counterattack. Amadou Sanyang fired high from 20 yards out in the 78th minute, though, and Dwayne De Rosario’s 83rd-minute effort was parried. Vancouver poured on the pressure late, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and the match finished 0-0.
The Whitecaps have now gone 279 minutes in all competitions without a goal. It's also the first time in club history (across the NASL, Canadian Soccer League, A-League and USL) that they've racked up three straight goalless draws. Their last tally was Haber's 81st-minute penalty against Montreal. Knight said he's not worried, though.
"I feel very confident in our squad and our defensive ability," he said. "The goals will come."
Thordarson said it's not any particular flaws in the Whitecaps' game that are keeping them off the scoresheet. In particular, he thinks they've done well to create so many chances off set pieces.
"The service off the corners is perfect," Thordarson said. "It's just a matter of luck."
Thordarson said nothing's changed since the Whitecaps' early-season goals; he feels they just aren't getting the bounces.
"You need a little bit of luck," he said. "Earlier we had that, later we didn't."
From a Toronto FC perspective, this was more of a disappointing outing. The Reds were outshot 10-6 and conceded 10 corners while only earning one of their own. Head coach Preki said he wasn't impressed with his team's showing.
"I don't think we played particularly well," he said. "I don't think we came ready to play today right from the first moment."
Preki said that might have been from a long road trip, or it could have been Toronto underestimating their opponents.
"It could be complacency, maybe a little bit of fatigue, but I don't want to make excuses," he said.
He did make some interesting lineup decisions, leaving the likes of Stefan Frei, Sam Cronin and Chad Barrett on the bench to start. Preki said he elected to go with Jon Conway rather than Frei in goal to give Frei a rest.
"We've got two good goalies," he said. "Sometimes, you've got to give Stefan a little break. I thought Jon did a good job tonight."
Vancouver now controls their own destiny in the chase for the Voyageurs' Cup. They have two points from two matches (home draws with Montreal and Toronto). Toronto has seven from three matches (two wins against Montreal and tonight's draw), and Montreal only has one. The remaining matches see the Whitecaps on the road against TFC and the Impact. If they win both, they claim the title with eight points; if they drop any points, TFC will clinch their second consecutive championship.
That's going to be a difficult challenge for Vancouver, though. They were 2-7-6 on the road in league play last year, and beat Montreal while losing to TFC in last year's Voyageurs' Cup road games. Thordarson thinks they can pull it off, however.
"It is doable," he said. "If we go into Montreal and play like this, we will create chances."
Knight isn't intimidated by the tough task ahead.
"It might be to our advantage," he said. "We go into Montreal with our backs against the wall. We have nothing to lose."
The Whitecaps' next Voyageurs Cup clash is May 26 at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern in Montreal. It will be live-blogged here. Come join me then!
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
Toronto FC - Vancouver Whitecaps live blog
I'll be live-blogging tonight's crucial Voyageurs Cup game [Marc Weber, The Province] between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC here and at The 24th Minute. It could be the game of the season for Vancouver, or it could give Toronto FC another Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Kickoff is at 7:37 p.m. Pacific/10:37 p.m. Eastern, but we'll kick off the coverage around 7:30. Come join me then!
Update: My game preview is posted over at Fighting For Canadian Supremacy. Check it out!
Update: My game preview is posted over at Fighting For Canadian Supremacy. Check it out!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Whitecaps: Chances, but where are the goals?
Saturday night’s 0-0 scoreless draw [Simon Fudge, WhitecapsFC.com] with the Montreal Impact saw the continuation of a disturbing trend for the Vancouver Whitecaps. They’ve now gone 259 minutes without scoring in league play since Nelson Akwari notched an 11th-minute goal against Portland on April 29. Following that, they went 79 minutes of the Portland game without scoring again, then held Crystal Palace Baltimore to a 0-0 draw [Marc Weber, The Province] last weekend before tonight's scoreless clash.
Of course, Vancouver did get one goal during that span, but that came against Montreal in last week's Voyageurs' Cup game, though, not in USSF Division II competition. They're still doing reasonably well in the league and lead the NASL Conference with eight points, but that's unlikely to continue unless the goals start to come.
Tonight's game was a little more promising on the offensive end, however, as head coach Teitur Thordarson commented post-match.
"I think it was a good game in all aspects, except scoring goals," he said. "We were a bit unlucky. We definitely were the best team today."
The first half was a largely lacklustre affair. Vancouver held the majority of the possession, but they weren’t able to do much with it. They did create some stellar chances off free kicks and corners, including a Ricardo Sanchez blast from 25 yards out that was parried by the outstretched fingertips of Matt Jordan at the last possible instant. Montreal had better chances from the run of play, including a Rocco Placentino effort that Jay Nolly punched off the bar, but they weren’t able to capitalize either and the teams went into the break with the score knotted 0-0.
There were a few more scattered chances here and there in the second half, but neither team really took over the play. Most of the scoring opportunities came off set pieces, and Nolly and Jordan put on a spectacular exhibition of keeping to maintain the 0-0 scoreline. Montreal probably had the best chance of the half after a superb Leonardo Di Lorenzo run down the right flank where he beat two defenders and crossed it in, but a flick-on from Hicham Aaboubou was cleared by Greg Janicki just in time. Vancouver’s best chance came off a long Wes Knight throw in the 87th minute that was loose in the box, but shots from both Janicki and Marcus Haber were parried by defenders and the ball was cleared. In the end, the match ended without an offensive tally by either side.
Vancouver did well on the stat sheet, though. They won seven corners and countless offensive free kicks, and looked particularly dangerous on many of them. They fired eight shots at the net and forced Jordan into three saves, as well as countless plays where he had to rush out and intercept crosses. In the end, the goals just weren't coming, though.
Sanchez made his first Whitecaps' start in place of the injured Martin Nash and created several chances, particularly from set pieces. He said it's difficult to stay focused when you're not playing regularly, but he took it as a challenge.
"It's hard, but you have to be prepared, you have to keep working and and wait," he said.
Sanchez said he felt the Whitecaps turned in a solid performance, even if they didn't come away with three points.
"It was a good game," he said. "I thought everyone played real well tonight."
Vancouver now gets set to host Toronto F.C. in a crucial Nutrilite Canadian Championship clash Wednesday night (10:30 p.m. Eastern, 7:30 p.m. Pacific, televised on Rogers Sportsnet and will be live-blogged here). Thordarson said he's unsure if Nash and injured striker Marlon James will be recovered in time for that one.
"With any of these guys, we don't know that they'll be ready," he said. "We're hopeful they will. Nash is still a question mark, and so is Marlon."
Thordarson said the Whitecaps can gain some momentum from tonight's game, though, as he thought was a good performance. He said that may be crucial.
"It's huge," Thordarson said. "It's always easier to come off a good game than a bad one."
It may have been a good game, but at the end of the day, the opposition's net remained empty. Vancouver will have to change that Wednesday if they want to keep their hopes of winning the Voyageurs' Cup alive.
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
Of course, Vancouver did get one goal during that span, but that came against Montreal in last week's Voyageurs' Cup game, though, not in USSF Division II competition. They're still doing reasonably well in the league and lead the NASL Conference with eight points, but that's unlikely to continue unless the goals start to come.
Tonight's game was a little more promising on the offensive end, however, as head coach Teitur Thordarson commented post-match.
"I think it was a good game in all aspects, except scoring goals," he said. "We were a bit unlucky. We definitely were the best team today."
The first half was a largely lacklustre affair. Vancouver held the majority of the possession, but they weren’t able to do much with it. They did create some stellar chances off free kicks and corners, including a Ricardo Sanchez blast from 25 yards out that was parried by the outstretched fingertips of Matt Jordan at the last possible instant. Montreal had better chances from the run of play, including a Rocco Placentino effort that Jay Nolly punched off the bar, but they weren’t able to capitalize either and the teams went into the break with the score knotted 0-0.
There were a few more scattered chances here and there in the second half, but neither team really took over the play. Most of the scoring opportunities came off set pieces, and Nolly and Jordan put on a spectacular exhibition of keeping to maintain the 0-0 scoreline. Montreal probably had the best chance of the half after a superb Leonardo Di Lorenzo run down the right flank where he beat two defenders and crossed it in, but a flick-on from Hicham Aaboubou was cleared by Greg Janicki just in time. Vancouver’s best chance came off a long Wes Knight throw in the 87th minute that was loose in the box, but shots from both Janicki and Marcus Haber were parried by defenders and the ball was cleared. In the end, the match ended without an offensive tally by either side.
Vancouver did well on the stat sheet, though. They won seven corners and countless offensive free kicks, and looked particularly dangerous on many of them. They fired eight shots at the net and forced Jordan into three saves, as well as countless plays where he had to rush out and intercept crosses. In the end, the goals just weren't coming, though.
Sanchez made his first Whitecaps' start in place of the injured Martin Nash and created several chances, particularly from set pieces. He said it's difficult to stay focused when you're not playing regularly, but he took it as a challenge.
"It's hard, but you have to be prepared, you have to keep working and and wait," he said.
Sanchez said he felt the Whitecaps turned in a solid performance, even if they didn't come away with three points.
"It was a good game," he said. "I thought everyone played real well tonight."
Vancouver now gets set to host Toronto F.C. in a crucial Nutrilite Canadian Championship clash Wednesday night (10:30 p.m. Eastern, 7:30 p.m. Pacific, televised on Rogers Sportsnet and will be live-blogged here). Thordarson said he's unsure if Nash and injured striker Marlon James will be recovered in time for that one.
"With any of these guys, we don't know that they'll be ready," he said. "We're hopeful they will. Nash is still a question mark, and so is Marlon."
Thordarson said the Whitecaps can gain some momentum from tonight's game, though, as he thought was a good performance. He said that may be crucial.
"It's huge," Thordarson said. "It's always easier to come off a good game than a bad one."
It may have been a good game, but at the end of the day, the opposition's net remained empty. Vancouver will have to change that Wednesday if they want to keep their hopes of winning the Voyageurs' Cup alive.
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Whitecaps: A wild draw
(L to R: Martin Nash, Teitur Thordarson, and Marcus Haber address the media after Wednesday's match).
Wednesday's Voyageurs Cup game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact felt rather like an episode of 24, starting slowly and building to a chaotic and hard-to-believe 1-1 final. In between, there were a couple of goals, plenty of cards and much more entertainment than that other Vancouver team offered.
The match offered little at first, with both teams electing to start defensive lineups; Montreal fielded a 4-5-1 with Peter Byers as the lone striker, while Vancouver opted for a 4-4-1-1 with Marcus Haber supported by attacking midfielder Jonny Steele. The Whitecaps controlled most of the early possession, but only created a few chances, and the score remained level until Byers slipped one by Jay Nolly in the 31st minute. Montreal then took over the game for the next fifty minutes until a bizarre sequence of events unfolded.
With time dwindling, the Whitecaps began to apply more pressure, and they were helped by a dubious foul called just outside the Montreal penalty area. That led to a free kick swung in by Martin Nash, and Impact defender Adam Braz lost his mind. Already on a yellow card, he saw Vancouver central back Greg Janicki slip by him as the ball soared into the air, and responded by bull-rushing Janicki and knocking him out of the way before the cross got there. That resulted in Braz's ejection and a penalty kick for the Whitecaps, which Marcus Haber coolly converted for his first goal of this year in the 81st minute.
Thanks to the score being knotted at one and Montreal being reduced to 10 men, Vancouver turned the pressure on even more. They had several further chances, but were foiled by excellent keeping from Matt Jordan, who grabbed every cross that came anywhere near him. Marlon James actually managed to sneak through the defence and beat an onrushing Jordan, but his shot trickled wide. You have to think Vancouver may regret that missed opportunity down the road.
Right at the end, there was a further complication. A clash between Montreal's Reda Agourram and Vancouver's Chris Williams saw Agourram sent off with a straight red card. It was difficult to tell what exactly happened, but the result means Montreal could face a couple suspensions for the upcoming tournament games. Already missing Roberto Brown after a foolish punch against Toronto FC, they could be even more shorthanded for the rest of the tournament, a difficult prospect considering that they have only one point from two games.
Head coach Marc Dos Santos is convinced that they're not out of it yet, however. In the post-match press conference, he pointed out that the Impact came back to win the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship under identical circumstances in 2007.
"If we've done it once, we can do it again," he said.
They will need plenty of help from both Vancouver and Toronto FC, though, as the most Montreal can now finish the tournament with is seven points.
"We can't depend on ourselves anymore," Dos Santos said.
He was rather displeased with the way the match turned out.
"I really felt we deserved the full three points until the 80th minute," he said. "Until the 80th minute, Vancouver didn't have a real chance."
His Whitecaps' counterpart, Teitur Thordarson, also wasn't happy with the end result.
"I'm a little disappointed we didn't get more than one point," he said.
Thordarson was pleased with Vancouver's early play, but disappointed with their second half performance.
In the end, the draw was probably a fair result. The shots were 7-7, with Vancouver putting three on net and Montreal responding with four. It was a chippy game as well, with 14 fouls for the Impact and seven for Vancouver. Neither side will be completely happy with their showing, and the draw does give Toronto FC a leg up on the competition, but there are still plenty of matches to be played. If the rest of the tournament is anything like this, it won't be lacking in drama.
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
(Wednesday's Voyageurs Cup game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact felt rather like an episode of 24, starting slowly and building to a chaotic and hard-to-believe 1-1 final. In between, there were a couple of goals, plenty of cards and much more entertainment than that other Vancouver team offered.
The match offered little at first, with both teams electing to start defensive lineups; Montreal fielded a 4-5-1 with Peter Byers as the lone striker, while Vancouver opted for a 4-4-1-1 with Marcus Haber supported by attacking midfielder Jonny Steele. The Whitecaps controlled most of the early possession, but only created a few chances, and the score remained level until Byers slipped one by Jay Nolly in the 31st minute. Montreal then took over the game for the next fifty minutes until a bizarre sequence of events unfolded.
With time dwindling, the Whitecaps began to apply more pressure, and they were helped by a dubious foul called just outside the Montreal penalty area. That led to a free kick swung in by Martin Nash, and Impact defender Adam Braz lost his mind. Already on a yellow card, he saw Vancouver central back Greg Janicki slip by him as the ball soared into the air, and responded by bull-rushing Janicki and knocking him out of the way before the cross got there. That resulted in Braz's ejection and a penalty kick for the Whitecaps, which Marcus Haber coolly converted for his first goal of this year in the 81st minute.
Thanks to the score being knotted at one and Montreal being reduced to 10 men, Vancouver turned the pressure on even more. They had several further chances, but were foiled by excellent keeping from Matt Jordan, who grabbed every cross that came anywhere near him. Marlon James actually managed to sneak through the defence and beat an onrushing Jordan, but his shot trickled wide. You have to think Vancouver may regret that missed opportunity down the road.
Right at the end, there was a further complication. A clash between Montreal's Reda Agourram and Vancouver's Chris Williams saw Agourram sent off with a straight red card. It was difficult to tell what exactly happened, but the result means Montreal could face a couple suspensions for the upcoming tournament games. Already missing Roberto Brown after a foolish punch against Toronto FC, they could be even more shorthanded for the rest of the tournament, a difficult prospect considering that they have only one point from two games.
Head coach Marc Dos Santos is convinced that they're not out of it yet, however. In the post-match press conference, he pointed out that the Impact came back to win the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship under identical circumstances in 2007.
"If we've done it once, we can do it again," he said.
They will need plenty of help from both Vancouver and Toronto FC, though, as the most Montreal can now finish the tournament with is seven points.
"We can't depend on ourselves anymore," Dos Santos said.
He was rather displeased with the way the match turned out.
"I really felt we deserved the full three points until the 80th minute," he said. "Until the 80th minute, Vancouver didn't have a real chance."
His Whitecaps' counterpart, Teitur Thordarson, also wasn't happy with the end result.
"I'm a little disappointed we didn't get more than one point," he said.
Thordarson was pleased with Vancouver's early play, but disappointed with their second half performance.
In the end, the draw was probably a fair result. The shots were 7-7, with Vancouver putting three on net and Montreal responding with four. It was a chippy game as well, with 14 fouls for the Impact and seven for Vancouver. Neither side will be completely happy with their showing, and the draw does give Toronto FC a leg up on the competition, but there are still plenty of matches to be played. If the rest of the tournament is anything like this, it won't be lacking in drama.
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
Whitecaps - Impact live blog
The Vancouver Whitecaps kick off their Voyageurs’ Cup schedule tonight against the Montreal Impact. The two clubs have always had a strong rivalry, but last year's events took it to a new level; first, Montreal's 6-1 loss to Toronto in the final game of last year's competition cost the Whitecaps the championship, and the Impact made things worse by beating Vancouver again in the USL-1 championship. There's going to be a lot on the line tonight, as Sam pointed out in his preview; with Vancouver heading to MLS next season, this tournament may be even more important for them than the league. Tonight's game starts at 7:30 p.m. Pacific (10:30 p.m. Eastern) and can be seen on whitecapsfc.com. I'll be live-blogging it here and at The 24th Minute come join me then!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Appearance on Feuerstein's Fire
I was on Daniel Feuerstein's excellent soccer show, Feuerstein's Fire, earlier today to discuss the Whitecaps, B.C. Place and the Nutrilite Canadian Championship (speaking of which, I'll be live-blogging the Whitecaps - Montreal Impact match here tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. Pacific) with Daniel and my 24th Minute colleague Duane Rollins. The entire show is well worth a listen, touching on Toronto FC, the Montreal Impact and Canadian soccer generally. My segment starts about 45 minutes in. You can check out the show here.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Previewing the Whitecaps
The start of the Vancouver Whitecaps' soccer season is almost upon us, as they kick things off on April 11 against the NSC Minnesota Stars. They're also preparing for the Voyageurs Cup, where they'll be facing domestic rivals Toronto and Montreal; their first match in that competition will be May 5 against Montreal. I'll have plenty of Whitecaps coverage here and at The 24th Minute all season, but I'm also covering the team for Fighting For Canadian Supremacy, a site started by Sam Gregory of The Canadian Stretford End that will look at the Voyageurs Cup through local perspectives from writers in each city. My team preview for that site, focusing on what that competition might mean to the Whitecaps this year, is up; check it out here!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Soccer: A tale of three cities
The seemingly-impossible 6-1 victory Toronto FC pulled off against the Montreal Impact tonight gives them the Voyageurs Cup, the one fact everyone can agree on. Apart from that, there's no clear lesson or moral to draw from this one, though. It means drastically different things to fans of all the teams involved, and there's no one right answer. Read on for my thoughts on what this result means to fans in each city.
Toronto: It's a great day to be a Toronto FC fan. Almost everyone wrote them off after the Vancouver game; sure, they've got a solid team, but a four-goal victory on the road is hard for any side. For a team that's suffered some significant setbacks recently, including a brutal home loss to the L.A. Galaxy, a series of fan protests and a recent roster makeover, this is a huge step forward. They finally have the CONCACAF Champions League berth they've coveted for so long, and they have some tangible silverware to show their fans. The load on Mo Johnston's shoulders just got significantly lighter; regardless of how TFC do in the remainder of the MLS season, this year will be seen as at least a partial step forward thanks to tonight's events.
Vancouver: For Vancouver fans, it's the opposite. The championship seemed in their grasp, and it would have been a perfect stepping stone on the road to MLS as well as a way to bring some well-deserved Eastern media attention to the Whitecaps. To have that ripped away by a stellar TFC performance would have been bad enough. However, the way this went down was much worse. Their old archrivals, the Montreal Impact, first decided to dress a B-squad, including former Whitecaps' backup goalkeeper Srdjan Djekjanovic. That B-squad then went on to roll over and play dead (after notching the game's first goal on a penalty) in a manner that made the Montreal Screwjob look positively fair, all but assuring TFC's triumph. The faces of head coach Teitur Thordarson and the Whitecaps in the stands told the story of the night; first joy, then cautious optimism, then worry and then disbelief.
In the end, though, Vancouver fans don't have anything to be ashamed of. Their side put in a great tournament and may have deserved the trophy. With a credible effort from Montreal, they might even have won it. There's no point in kicking themselves or their franchise over something that in the end was out of their hands. You can bet they'll be fired up for Saturday's USL game against the Impact, though.
Montreal: In many ways, Montreal fans come out of this in the worst situation. They just watched their side demonstrate that they don't care about the Voyageurs Cup when they don't have a chance to win it. The appalling effort shown by the Impact tonight gives Montreal fans nothing to be proud of, and that's made worse by their lacklustre performance handing the championship to their Toronto-based rivals. Montreal's going to take a lot of criticism over the next few days, and much of it will be deserved. That's not the fans' fault, but it's going to be awfully tough for them to defend their franchise at the moment. Tonight's showing brought back horrible memories of the Santos Laguna defeat, and perhaps was even worse. That was an Impact team that had overachieved; just making it to that point was an accomplishment, and getting any sort of result in Mexico is always difficult. Losing by six goals at home to an MLS team with a poor recent run of form? It's hard to find a way to rationalize that.
In the end, I don't think it necessarily means much for Canadian soccer as a whole. Toronto FC will make a great representative for the country in the CONCACAF Champions League, but as I argued a while ago, Vancouver would have as well. Each would bring a different audience to the table, and a run by either will be good for the game. For Toronto, their focus now shifts to the CCL; for Vancouver and Montreal, the mission's now to succeed in the USL and come back hungry for the Voyageurs Cup title next year. It's been a great, thrilling, dramatic tournament, and it's really shown that these sides at their best can compete with each other and give us some fantastic soccer to watch. In my mind, that's the most important thing to take away from this one.
[Cross-posted to Out of Left Field].
Toronto: It's a great day to be a Toronto FC fan. Almost everyone wrote them off after the Vancouver game; sure, they've got a solid team, but a four-goal victory on the road is hard for any side. For a team that's suffered some significant setbacks recently, including a brutal home loss to the L.A. Galaxy, a series of fan protests and a recent roster makeover, this is a huge step forward. They finally have the CONCACAF Champions League berth they've coveted for so long, and they have some tangible silverware to show their fans. The load on Mo Johnston's shoulders just got significantly lighter; regardless of how TFC do in the remainder of the MLS season, this year will be seen as at least a partial step forward thanks to tonight's events.
Vancouver: For Vancouver fans, it's the opposite. The championship seemed in their grasp, and it would have been a perfect stepping stone on the road to MLS as well as a way to bring some well-deserved Eastern media attention to the Whitecaps. To have that ripped away by a stellar TFC performance would have been bad enough. However, the way this went down was much worse. Their old archrivals, the Montreal Impact, first decided to dress a B-squad, including former Whitecaps' backup goalkeeper Srdjan Djekjanovic. That B-squad then went on to roll over and play dead (after notching the game's first goal on a penalty) in a manner that made the Montreal Screwjob look positively fair, all but assuring TFC's triumph. The faces of head coach Teitur Thordarson and the Whitecaps in the stands told the story of the night; first joy, then cautious optimism, then worry and then disbelief.
In the end, though, Vancouver fans don't have anything to be ashamed of. Their side put in a great tournament and may have deserved the trophy. With a credible effort from Montreal, they might even have won it. There's no point in kicking themselves or their franchise over something that in the end was out of their hands. You can bet they'll be fired up for Saturday's USL game against the Impact, though.
Montreal: In many ways, Montreal fans come out of this in the worst situation. They just watched their side demonstrate that they don't care about the Voyageurs Cup when they don't have a chance to win it. The appalling effort shown by the Impact tonight gives Montreal fans nothing to be proud of, and that's made worse by their lacklustre performance handing the championship to their Toronto-based rivals. Montreal's going to take a lot of criticism over the next few days, and much of it will be deserved. That's not the fans' fault, but it's going to be awfully tough for them to defend their franchise at the moment. Tonight's showing brought back horrible memories of the Santos Laguna defeat, and perhaps was even worse. That was an Impact team that had overachieved; just making it to that point was an accomplishment, and getting any sort of result in Mexico is always difficult. Losing by six goals at home to an MLS team with a poor recent run of form? It's hard to find a way to rationalize that.
In the end, I don't think it necessarily means much for Canadian soccer as a whole. Toronto FC will make a great representative for the country in the CONCACAF Champions League, but as I argued a while ago, Vancouver would have as well. Each would bring a different audience to the table, and a run by either will be good for the game. For Toronto, their focus now shifts to the CCL; for Vancouver and Montreal, the mission's now to succeed in the USL and come back hungry for the Voyageurs Cup title next year. It's been a great, thrilling, dramatic tournament, and it's really shown that these sides at their best can compete with each other and give us some fantastic soccer to watch. In my mind, that's the most important thing to take away from this one.
[Cross-posted to Out of Left Field].
Toronto FC - Montreal Impact live blog
Note: Post-game piece is here.
It's the final game of the Voyageurs Cup tonight, with Toronto FC taking on the Montreal Impact. TFC have their backs against the wall and need to win by four to take the title; otherwise, the Vancouver Whitecaps will claim the championship. Montreal have nothing to play for but pride, but don't underestimate that motivation; they certainly won't roll over and play dead against their bitter archrivals from Ontario.
It should be an interesting one with plenty of offence; Toronto will be going for it, and that might provide Montreal with some counterattack opportunities. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on all regions of Rogers Sportsnet. I'll be live-blogging the game here and at The 24th Minute as well, so come join in the fun then!
It's the final game of the Voyageurs Cup tonight, with Toronto FC taking on the Montreal Impact. TFC have their backs against the wall and need to win by four to take the title; otherwise, the Vancouver Whitecaps will claim the championship. Montreal have nothing to play for but pride, but don't underestimate that motivation; they certainly won't roll over and play dead against their bitter archrivals from Ontario.
It should be an interesting one with plenty of offence; Toronto will be going for it, and that might provide Montreal with some counterattack opportunities. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on all regions of Rogers Sportsnet. I'll be live-blogging the game here and at The 24th Minute as well, so come join in the fun then!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
What a Whitecaps win could mean
That Vancouver Whitecaps - Toronto FC clash on Tuesday was quite the match. Both sides had plenty of chances and played some excellent soccer. With a few different bounces, it could have been a very different result; a draw was very possible, and even a TFC win could have happened. Still, Vancouver played a fantastic match and deserved the win in my books.
It was a 2-0 final score in favour of the Whitecaps that could pave the way for a Voyageurs Cup title (if Toronto can't beat Montreal by four in the final match), but what it all means is still very much in dispute. Some see this as a dramatic shift in the USL/MLS balance of power, while others argue that it just demonstrates that the leagues were always closer than many thought. Others, like Duane, see it as more of an outlier. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to draw absolute conclusions from one match, but looking at the games over the last couple of years can be more meaningful.
Last year's matches would seem to suggest that the Canadian USL teams (Montreal and Vancouver, historically some of the better USL sides) aren't that far behind the Canadian MLS team (Toronto FC, one of the weaker MLS teams last season). This year's competition is actually a better sign for USL fans, though, as you have two sides in Vancouver and Montreal that seemed to have taken a step back towards the middle of the USL pack this season and a Toronto FC side that seemed to have improved considerably. It's a reasonably small number of matches, so drawing absolute conclusions still isn't a good plan, but I'd suggest that the MLS - USL talent gap isn't as huge as many people think. MLS is still the better league in my mind and certainly has the more talented top-end players, but the top USL players are pretty close to the middle-to-bottom MLS players. Also, USL teams tend to be more about a solid lineup top to bottom rather than one focused around a few stars, which benefits them in discussions of league quality. MLS is a higher-quality league, but the gap isn't that terribly wide.
Another aspect to consider is what this means for Canadian soccer. Duane laid out a good defence of his belief that it's negative in the comments of his post. I don't agree with him that Toronto FC would necessarily attract far more viewers or attention in the CONCACAF Champions League, though. For one thing, TFC have struggled to draw viewers all year; they recently got 76,000 viewers [Chris Zelkovich, The Toronto Star] on CBC for the match against New England a couple of weeks ago, better than some of their broadcasts this year (they've barely surpassed 50,000 at times and didn't crack Zelkovich's weekend Top 10 last week). That's not to bash TFC, but merely to show that they aren't any sort of huge national draw yet. They have a lot of support in Toronto itself, the GTA and to some extent in the rest of Ontario, but they aren't exactly pulling in masses from across the country.
You could argue that all of that will change in the CONCACAF Champions League, but I'm not sure it will. For all the hype around this tournament, it's hardly accessible to the casual fan; even many committed soccer fans haven't heard of the clubs or players involved, so it's not the world's easiest sell. Sure, you can also claim that it's a tournament that ends in the winner getting to face off against clubs like Barcelona. We had quite the debate on that in the May 27 Montreal - Vancouver live blog, and my point remains the same; the World Club Championship is not the club championship of the world in my mind. That's decided in Europe each spring between some of the best teams in the world; the WCC is more of an opportunity for clubs from other regions to play against those squads, and that's interesting in its own right, but not a pure championship.
That's not to diminish the CONCACAF Champions League. It's a great initiative and a very cool chance to see a Canadian side take on clubs from other CONCACAF countries. I just think it would be a harder sell in Toronto and across the country than some would argue. Getting current Toronto FC fans on side would not be a problem at all, but there's always so much going on in the city that it's tough to mobilize a vast amount of interest in any one particular event. The best quote I've ever heard on the matter is from Gordon Smeaton, vice-president of NFL International, who I profiled for a piece in the Queen's Alumni Review last fall. We were discussing some of the issues around NFL games in Toronto, and he commented that "Toronto isn't a sports city, it's an entertainment city." The hardcore fans will follow their teams through thick and thin, but much of the city's population is only about the big-ticket athletic events, the ones that promise spectacle that transcends the realm of sport into entertainment. I don't think the CONCACAF Champions League is at the point where it can be sold that way yet. CONCACAF matches in Toronto would be important, but I'm not sure they'd rise that far above regular TFC matches.
The other side of that is it's very difficult to sell a Toronto sports team to the rest of the country. It does sometimes work; the Blue Jays had a truly national following in the early 1990s and maintain some of that today, and the Raptors have recently made strides in that area, plus the Leafs still have fans across the country. Anyone who's lived in parts of Canada outside of Toronto knows there's a lot of resentment towards the Big Smoke, though. That resentment's perhaps especially acute in soccer given how Toronto nabbed an MLS team before Montreal or Vancouver, two cities with arguably better records of supporting North American soccer. Whether that's fair or not is up for debate, but the point is that I doubt you'd see masses of Canadians across the country suddenly falling in line to cheer for TFC in the CONCACAF Champions League.
That doesn't mean that Vancouver will necessarily draw more support from across the country if they manage to claim this year's Voyageurs Cup title, but there is a chance they might. For one thing, there's a lot less hostility towards Vancouver in general and the Whitecaps in particular. Plenty of soccer fans across the country admire what Greg Kerfoot and Bob Lenarduzzi have done in Vancouver, particularly with regards to the outstanding academy system and the team's upcoming entry to MLS. For another thing, I'd argue that the Whitecaps have a bigger presence across B.C. than Toronto FC do across Ontario. Part of that is because they've been around for a longer period of time and are closely tied to clubs across the province; another part of it is because cities in the B.C. interior and on Vancouver Island have historically shown a lot of support for Vancouver teams, whether in the NHL, CFL or USL. I've got a feeling that people from across B.C. will be eager to watch a team from their province take on ther rest of North America. That support could extend eastward as well; the Whitecaps have a good relationship with fans in Edmonton from the various matches they've played there over the years, and plenty of Canadian soccer fans from the prairies are also interested in the club.
Even fans from Montreal and points east may get on the Whitecaps bandwagon; there was a good deal of West Coast support for the Impact last year despite the historical rivalry between the clubs, and that will be remembered. Moreover, the team's success is a good underdog story, and everyone loves those. Duane sarcastically commented that the Whitecaps "slayed big, bad TFC", but there's an element of truth to that depiction. Toronto FC have been the 800-pound gorilla on the Canadian soccer landscape since their inception, and there are plenty of people who are happy to see them taken down a peg. For many Canadian soccer fans outside the GTA, it may be easier to get behind an underdog team like the Whitecaps than the disliked TFC.
Moreover, the timing of this is almost perfect given Vancouver's upcoming entry into MLS. There's already a lot of buzz around their MLS debut in 2011, but what better way to build interest could there be than a run in the CCL? The team already gets a lot of coverage in the local media outlets; expect that to intensify during this tournament, and expect the team to become an even bigger deal in the city than they already are. Yeah, the timing of the Olympics will detract a bit from that, but keep in mind that professional and amateur sport fans are rather distinct; there should still be plenty of interest in the Whitecaps despite the hubbub around the Olympics.
In the end, I don't think you can really say absolutely that a Vancouver triumph in the Voyageurs Cup would be bad for the game in Canada. It will certainly help soccer out West and should build interest in the Whitecaps ahead of their MLS debut. It's certainly up for debate if a win by TFC or Montreal would have helped Canadian soccer more, and I don't think there's really a definitive answer to that question at this point. A championship for any of the Canadian teams brings a unique set of benefits and challenges, and it's difficult to weigh them against each other, especially as many of the elements involved (fan interest locally, fan interest nationally, TV ratings, etc) are highly hypothetical at the moment.
I do have one final thought on the matter, though. In my mind, one of the things that holds Canadian soccer back is that the different groups of fans are always clashing. There's plenty of belittling of Vancouver and Montreal from the TFC side, and the USL fans respond with MLS and TFC-bashing. You get supporters of the men's national team criticizing the resources given to the women's team and vice-versa. In some ways, it reminds me of the provincialism that's held the CSA back for so long. That's a big part of the reason why I don't consider myself a fan of any one Canadian side at the moment; I grew up supporting the Whitecaps and initially cheered for TFC when they joined MLS, but I've tried to become more objective now that I'm regularly covering the sport. In my mind, that gives me a more balanced perspective and allows me to think more analytically, and it helps to see where fans of both sides are coming from.
That's not to say that everyone should abandon partisan interests altogether; that passion's great, and it's fantastic to see it represented at games such as the Vancouver - Toronto clash. Rivalries help to sell the sport, and that's always a good thing. It can lead to great writing as well; Duane does a fantastic job of covering TFC from a fan's perspective, and he brings a different form of insight to the game in the process, one that's highly valuable.
I do think that some fans allow the rivalries to colour their whole thinking, though, and in my mind, that's not a good thing. Being a Toronto FC fan doesn't mean that you have to hate the Whitecaps and Impact, and the reverse applies as well. All three clubs are doing great things for the sport in Canada.
If the Whitecaps do happen to win this competition, I'm not saying that everyone should jump on the bandwagon. I've always found the "Canada's team" logic highly artificial in hockey, and the same applies to soccer. If you feel the urge to root for any group of Canadians against outsiders, great; if you don't, that's just fine as well.
What I would like to see is a bit of a moderation in the tone on all sides. For Toronto fans, it's not the end of the world that TFC didn't pull this one off. Vancouver and Montreal are still good teams even if they don't play in the same league as your side, and upsets do happen. For Vancouver fans, there's no need to gloat or start claiming that the USL's better than MLS; the Whitecaps' performance thus far is impressive enough for what it is on its own without further embellishment or extrapolated conclusions. For Montreal fans, there's no need to glory in TFC's downfall. In the end, each of the clubs is doing good things for Canadian soccer, and fans of each side should appreciate that the others have important roles to play as well.
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
It was a 2-0 final score in favour of the Whitecaps that could pave the way for a Voyageurs Cup title (if Toronto can't beat Montreal by four in the final match), but what it all means is still very much in dispute. Some see this as a dramatic shift in the USL/MLS balance of power, while others argue that it just demonstrates that the leagues were always closer than many thought. Others, like Duane, see it as more of an outlier. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to draw absolute conclusions from one match, but looking at the games over the last couple of years can be more meaningful.
Last year's matches would seem to suggest that the Canadian USL teams (Montreal and Vancouver, historically some of the better USL sides) aren't that far behind the Canadian MLS team (Toronto FC, one of the weaker MLS teams last season). This year's competition is actually a better sign for USL fans, though, as you have two sides in Vancouver and Montreal that seemed to have taken a step back towards the middle of the USL pack this season and a Toronto FC side that seemed to have improved considerably. It's a reasonably small number of matches, so drawing absolute conclusions still isn't a good plan, but I'd suggest that the MLS - USL talent gap isn't as huge as many people think. MLS is still the better league in my mind and certainly has the more talented top-end players, but the top USL players are pretty close to the middle-to-bottom MLS players. Also, USL teams tend to be more about a solid lineup top to bottom rather than one focused around a few stars, which benefits them in discussions of league quality. MLS is a higher-quality league, but the gap isn't that terribly wide.
Another aspect to consider is what this means for Canadian soccer. Duane laid out a good defence of his belief that it's negative in the comments of his post. I don't agree with him that Toronto FC would necessarily attract far more viewers or attention in the CONCACAF Champions League, though. For one thing, TFC have struggled to draw viewers all year; they recently got 76,000 viewers [Chris Zelkovich, The Toronto Star] on CBC for the match against New England a couple of weeks ago, better than some of their broadcasts this year (they've barely surpassed 50,000 at times and didn't crack Zelkovich's weekend Top 10 last week). That's not to bash TFC, but merely to show that they aren't any sort of huge national draw yet. They have a lot of support in Toronto itself, the GTA and to some extent in the rest of Ontario, but they aren't exactly pulling in masses from across the country.
You could argue that all of that will change in the CONCACAF Champions League, but I'm not sure it will. For all the hype around this tournament, it's hardly accessible to the casual fan; even many committed soccer fans haven't heard of the clubs or players involved, so it's not the world's easiest sell. Sure, you can also claim that it's a tournament that ends in the winner getting to face off against clubs like Barcelona. We had quite the debate on that in the May 27 Montreal - Vancouver live blog, and my point remains the same; the World Club Championship is not the club championship of the world in my mind. That's decided in Europe each spring between some of the best teams in the world; the WCC is more of an opportunity for clubs from other regions to play against those squads, and that's interesting in its own right, but not a pure championship.
That's not to diminish the CONCACAF Champions League. It's a great initiative and a very cool chance to see a Canadian side take on clubs from other CONCACAF countries. I just think it would be a harder sell in Toronto and across the country than some would argue. Getting current Toronto FC fans on side would not be a problem at all, but there's always so much going on in the city that it's tough to mobilize a vast amount of interest in any one particular event. The best quote I've ever heard on the matter is from Gordon Smeaton, vice-president of NFL International, who I profiled for a piece in the Queen's Alumni Review last fall. We were discussing some of the issues around NFL games in Toronto, and he commented that "Toronto isn't a sports city, it's an entertainment city." The hardcore fans will follow their teams through thick and thin, but much of the city's population is only about the big-ticket athletic events, the ones that promise spectacle that transcends the realm of sport into entertainment. I don't think the CONCACAF Champions League is at the point where it can be sold that way yet. CONCACAF matches in Toronto would be important, but I'm not sure they'd rise that far above regular TFC matches.
The other side of that is it's very difficult to sell a Toronto sports team to the rest of the country. It does sometimes work; the Blue Jays had a truly national following in the early 1990s and maintain some of that today, and the Raptors have recently made strides in that area, plus the Leafs still have fans across the country. Anyone who's lived in parts of Canada outside of Toronto knows there's a lot of resentment towards the Big Smoke, though. That resentment's perhaps especially acute in soccer given how Toronto nabbed an MLS team before Montreal or Vancouver, two cities with arguably better records of supporting North American soccer. Whether that's fair or not is up for debate, but the point is that I doubt you'd see masses of Canadians across the country suddenly falling in line to cheer for TFC in the CONCACAF Champions League.
That doesn't mean that Vancouver will necessarily draw more support from across the country if they manage to claim this year's Voyageurs Cup title, but there is a chance they might. For one thing, there's a lot less hostility towards Vancouver in general and the Whitecaps in particular. Plenty of soccer fans across the country admire what Greg Kerfoot and Bob Lenarduzzi have done in Vancouver, particularly with regards to the outstanding academy system and the team's upcoming entry to MLS. For another thing, I'd argue that the Whitecaps have a bigger presence across B.C. than Toronto FC do across Ontario. Part of that is because they've been around for a longer period of time and are closely tied to clubs across the province; another part of it is because cities in the B.C. interior and on Vancouver Island have historically shown a lot of support for Vancouver teams, whether in the NHL, CFL or USL. I've got a feeling that people from across B.C. will be eager to watch a team from their province take on ther rest of North America. That support could extend eastward as well; the Whitecaps have a good relationship with fans in Edmonton from the various matches they've played there over the years, and plenty of Canadian soccer fans from the prairies are also interested in the club.
Even fans from Montreal and points east may get on the Whitecaps bandwagon; there was a good deal of West Coast support for the Impact last year despite the historical rivalry between the clubs, and that will be remembered. Moreover, the team's success is a good underdog story, and everyone loves those. Duane sarcastically commented that the Whitecaps "slayed big, bad TFC", but there's an element of truth to that depiction. Toronto FC have been the 800-pound gorilla on the Canadian soccer landscape since their inception, and there are plenty of people who are happy to see them taken down a peg. For many Canadian soccer fans outside the GTA, it may be easier to get behind an underdog team like the Whitecaps than the disliked TFC.
Moreover, the timing of this is almost perfect given Vancouver's upcoming entry into MLS. There's already a lot of buzz around their MLS debut in 2011, but what better way to build interest could there be than a run in the CCL? The team already gets a lot of coverage in the local media outlets; expect that to intensify during this tournament, and expect the team to become an even bigger deal in the city than they already are. Yeah, the timing of the Olympics will detract a bit from that, but keep in mind that professional and amateur sport fans are rather distinct; there should still be plenty of interest in the Whitecaps despite the hubbub around the Olympics.
In the end, I don't think you can really say absolutely that a Vancouver triumph in the Voyageurs Cup would be bad for the game in Canada. It will certainly help soccer out West and should build interest in the Whitecaps ahead of their MLS debut. It's certainly up for debate if a win by TFC or Montreal would have helped Canadian soccer more, and I don't think there's really a definitive answer to that question at this point. A championship for any of the Canadian teams brings a unique set of benefits and challenges, and it's difficult to weigh them against each other, especially as many of the elements involved (fan interest locally, fan interest nationally, TV ratings, etc) are highly hypothetical at the moment.
I do have one final thought on the matter, though. In my mind, one of the things that holds Canadian soccer back is that the different groups of fans are always clashing. There's plenty of belittling of Vancouver and Montreal from the TFC side, and the USL fans respond with MLS and TFC-bashing. You get supporters of the men's national team criticizing the resources given to the women's team and vice-versa. In some ways, it reminds me of the provincialism that's held the CSA back for so long. That's a big part of the reason why I don't consider myself a fan of any one Canadian side at the moment; I grew up supporting the Whitecaps and initially cheered for TFC when they joined MLS, but I've tried to become more objective now that I'm regularly covering the sport. In my mind, that gives me a more balanced perspective and allows me to think more analytically, and it helps to see where fans of both sides are coming from.
That's not to say that everyone should abandon partisan interests altogether; that passion's great, and it's fantastic to see it represented at games such as the Vancouver - Toronto clash. Rivalries help to sell the sport, and that's always a good thing. It can lead to great writing as well; Duane does a fantastic job of covering TFC from a fan's perspective, and he brings a different form of insight to the game in the process, one that's highly valuable.
I do think that some fans allow the rivalries to colour their whole thinking, though, and in my mind, that's not a good thing. Being a Toronto FC fan doesn't mean that you have to hate the Whitecaps and Impact, and the reverse applies as well. All three clubs are doing great things for the sport in Canada.
If the Whitecaps do happen to win this competition, I'm not saying that everyone should jump on the bandwagon. I've always found the "Canada's team" logic highly artificial in hockey, and the same applies to soccer. If you feel the urge to root for any group of Canadians against outsiders, great; if you don't, that's just fine as well.
What I would like to see is a bit of a moderation in the tone on all sides. For Toronto fans, it's not the end of the world that TFC didn't pull this one off. Vancouver and Montreal are still good teams even if they don't play in the same league as your side, and upsets do happen. For Vancouver fans, there's no need to gloat or start claiming that the USL's better than MLS; the Whitecaps' performance thus far is impressive enough for what it is on its own without further embellishment or extrapolated conclusions. For Montreal fans, there's no need to glory in TFC's downfall. In the end, each of the clubs is doing good things for Canadian soccer, and fans of each side should appreciate that the others have important roles to play as well.
[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Toronto FC - Vancouver Whitecaps live blog
It's almost time for what could be the crucial match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Both Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps enter tonight's clash in Vancouver with six points, but Vancouver's played three matches and TFC only two. If Toronto wins or ties, they claim the Voyageurs Cup. For Vancouver to claim the trophy, they have to win tonight and then have Montreal either lose by a small margin or get a result against TFC in the final match. You can check out the full tie-breaking process in Duane's post here. This rivalry's been getting better all the time, so it should be a great match tonight! Join me in the live blog below for more coverage.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Vancouver Whitecaps - Montreal Impact live blog
It's time for the crucial fourth game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, featuring the Vancouver Whitecaps against the Montreal Impact. If Vancouver wins, they're in good position to challenge Toronto FC; any other result and TFC looks good to go through. Join in the live blog below!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Vancouver Whitecaps - Montreal Impact live blog
It's the third game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, with the Montreal Impact hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Both sides really need to go for the win here, as they each lost their first match against Toronto FC. English audio can be found here, and there's a French video webcast here. For match previews, check out this one from Duane and this one from Simon Fudge of whitecapsfc.com. Come join me in the live blog below!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Toronto FC - Montreal Impact live blog
I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact here and at The 24th Minute. It's the second clash of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship; Toronto pulled off a 1-0 home win against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first match, so they'll be in very good shape if they win this one. Montreal enters the tournament as defending champions, but they're probably underdogs heading into this one given their USL struggles so far this year and the intimidating atmosphere of BMO Field won't make it any easier. You can check out Duane's preview here, and for any of the Impact fans looking for bulletin board material, you can't do much better than this piece he reposted from February. The game isn't on television thanks to Rogers Sportsnet deciding to place a baseball game on all four of their channels, but it will be streamed live at Toronto FC's website. Come join me at 8 for the live blog!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders live blog
I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders here and at The 24th Minute. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific, and the game will be webcast on USL Live. It should be a good one; these are two of the top USL teams, and they met in the USL final last year, so there's a great rivalry there. The Islanders took the last meeting 2-1 at home, so Vancouver will also be out for revenge.
Both of these teams are coming off busy and somewhat disappointing weeks as well; Vancouver lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on the road Wednesday, while the Islanders tied the Austin Aztex 1-1 in Texas on Friday. Neither side's had the start to the year they envisioned, either; Vancouver's 2-1-2 through five games and in fifth place, while Puerto Rico's 2-0-2 in four games and in fourth. There's lots of time left in the USL season, but tonight's match could mark a big turnaround in the fortunes of either side. Come join in the live blog tonight to see what happens!
Both of these teams are coming off busy and somewhat disappointing weeks as well; Vancouver lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on the road Wednesday, while the Islanders tied the Austin Aztex 1-1 in Texas on Friday. Neither side's had the start to the year they envisioned, either; Vancouver's 2-1-2 through five games and in fifth place, while Puerto Rico's 2-0-2 in four games and in fourth. There's lots of time left in the USL season, but tonight's match could mark a big turnaround in the fortunes of either side. Come join in the live blog tonight to see what happens!
Friday, May 01, 2009
Upcoming live blogs
A quick note that I'll be live-blogging today's Toronto FC - Columbus Crew match (4:00 p.m. Eastern/1:00 p.m. Pacific) and tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Minnesota Thunder match (8:05 p.m. Eastern/5:05 p.m. Pacific) here and at The 24th Minute. Toronto and Vancouver will face each other on Wednesday in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship (which I'll also live-blog), so this weekend's matches should provide a good preview of that game. Stop on by for one or both games!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The GBU: Whitecaps draw with TFC
Photo: The Vancouver Whitecaps take on Toronto FC at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium. [Andrew Bucholtz photo].
A bit late getting to this one due to the other work I've had to do, but I was at the Vancouver Whitecaps - Toronto FC match on Wednesday, so I figured I'd better write about it briefly here. This was of course the Whitecaps' final match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championships, and came on the heels of their stunning Canada Day victory [myself, Out of Left Field] over TFC at BMO Field [myself, this blog]. Unfortunately, the pair of eggs they laid against Montreal meant that they needed to win by a landslide to have any hope, and there wasn't much of a chance of that happening. There was plenty of pride on the line, though, and the Whitecaps played their hearts out, earning a draw in the end [Matthew Sekeres, The Globe and Mail]. Here's the breakdown, in classic GBU style:
Final score: Whitecaps 2, TFC 2
How I saw it: In person
The Good:
Eduardo Sebrango: Cuba's greatest export other than cigars or rum again proved his value to the Whitecaps, scoring two stunning goals. His 87th minute equalizer in particular was a thing of beauty, as he stole the ball, broke in on goal and beat a sliding tackle from Tyrone Marshall and a diving Greg Sutton before gently slotting a drive into the back of the net. He had plenty of other chances as well, including one in stoppage time that was called back for offside and a stellar opportunity just before his second goal where he stole the ball and was in prime shooting position, but took too long and was promptly dispossessed.
Jay Nolly: The Whitecaps' keeper, who stole the show on Canada Day, was again in fine form. He made several crucial saves, including a brilliant one in the 64th minute on the speedy Jeff Cunningham who was in all alone. Nolly dove headfirst for the ball right at Cunningham's feet, always a risky play and one that would have undoubtedly resulted in the award of a penalty if he had missed, but he pulled it off, hit the ball first, and left a bemused Cunningham flopping to the ground in vain and then sitting there for a minute awaiting a call that would never come. He also did superbly well to keep out an Amado Guevara blast on a 27th-minute rebound after TFC winger Rohan Ricketts drilled the ball off the underside of the Whitecaps' crossbar.
Justin Moose: The speedy little winger turned in another stellar performance and created several noticeable chances down the flank. Perhaps the best one was his blasted shot in the 44th minute, where he collected his own rebound off a superb diving save by Sutton and calmly set up Sebrango for the Whitecaps' first goal. Even more impressive, though, was the defensive job he did on Laurent Robert, who is usually one of TFC's strongest offensive players but was barely noticeable Wednesday night.
Omar Jarun: The tall American central defender hasn't featured too prominently for the Whitecaps this year, at least in the matches I've been to or watched, but he turned in a fantastic performance Wednesday and should be worthy of future consideration in manager Teitur Thordarson's future squad selections. He won countless battles in the air against TFC's shorter strikers, Jeff Cunningham and Amado Guevara, and made several key tackles on the ground as well. One of his strongest efforts of the night was his well-timed slide to block a dangerous cross from the speedy Marvell Wynne in the 22nd minute.
The fans: It was a capacity crowd of over 5,600 that packed Swangard Stadium, the only time I've ever seen it quite that full. Perhaps more impressive was that the vast, vast majority of them were decked out in Whitecaps jerseys or colours: often, you see more European jerseys at Caps' games than local ones. There were a few Toronto fans in attendance as well, and the Vancouver fanbase treated them perfectly: they were given full respect on the concourse and in the stands, but their cheers were shouted down properly by the assemblage of West-Coasters. In fact, it was great having some visiting supporters along: their chants seemed to galvanize the crowd into further and louder support for the local side against the team from "The Centre of the Universe".
There's plenty of good reasons for Whitecaps fans to resent Toronto besides the typical stereotypes and East-West controversy: many still think it's a bit unfair that they got an MLS franchise and a largely publicly-funded "National Soccer Stadium" that's rarely used for national matches despite Toronto's historical lack of support for its soccer teams, while the Vancouver area's long history of passionate support for its soccer teams was seemingly overlooked. Now, granted, that probably has more to do with Vancouver city council making it difficult to build a soccer-specific stadium (that they wouldn't even have to pay for, by the way) than with any fanbase issues, but there are a lot of Vancouver fans who resent the way Toronto seemingly got a franchise on a silver platter, and they were out in force Wednesday night. Overall, that's probably a good thing, as those sentiments would help to create a fantastic rivalry if Vancouver ever gets into MLS.
The massive fan support also had one other significant impact: it was one of the best advertisements for the idea of an MLS franchise in Vancouver. It certainly demonstrated that the city's fans (and those from its outlying suburbs where I hang my hat) care about MLS-calibre games even when there's no Beckham [Dan Stinson, Vancouver Sun via canada.com] to be found, and it should demonstrate to the league that there's a bona fide rivalry here waiting to be exploited (there's actually two great rivalries ready and waiting if Vancouver gets into the league, as they've been warring with the Seattle Sounders since recorded history began, and there would be a third one if Montreal joins the party). Even one John Carver, who happened to be coaching their rivals on this day, is in the Vancouver-for-MLS camp: he told the Globe's Matthew Sekeres that the competition and Vancouver's fan support demonstrated that the city deserves an MLS team, along with Montreal.
"Over the two games between ourselves and Vancouver, it shows us how much this competition means to people," TFC head coach John Carver said.
Carver added that the tournament showed him that both Vancouver and Montreal belong in the more prestigious Major League Soccer loop, where TFC competes.
"That's the biggest thing that came out of this competition," he said. "It would be a great rivalry."
That ever-expanding camp also includes one Steve Nash, by the way, and possibly even MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, who recently told Eric Koreen of the National Post that "the Canadian markets clearly would be successful for an MLS soccer team to come up here." Gazidis qualified his statement by talking about how the league can't promise anything yet as they're evaluating their expansion policy, but even that's hopeful for those who dream of an MLS Whitecaps franchise: it sounds like perhaps they aren't as firmly stuck on only adding two more teams as they had previously stated.
The Bad:
Steve Kindel: The Whitecaps' midfielder turned in a rather lacklustre performance Wednesday night: many of his passes missed the mark while others were intercepted, and he wasn't able to do much to shut down Toronto's attack. Granted, it's certainly difficult to deal with the likes of Carl Robinson (who has graced Swangard Stadium before, by the way: he was one of Sunderland AFC's prized new signings when they stopped by a few years ago for a friendly before their first recent trip up to the Premiership) and Maurice Edu, but Kindel's performance was still below average for him and the play in the middle of the park was probably the biggest difference between the sides, despite a strong performance from Kindel's fellow inside midfielder Martin Nash (brother of the aforementioned Steve).
Nicholas Addlery: Sebrango's Jamaican striking partner proved rather disappointing on this day. He had several good chances, but invariably squandered them, notably in the 50th minute where Sebrango set him up in the box and he elected to blast the ball wide from a sharp angle instead of sliding it over to Alfredo Valente, who had a wide-open net to shoot at. He was replaced by Jason Jordan in the 72nd minute, who was much more effective.
The Ugly:
Jeff Cunningham: No, this is not a comment on Cunningham's physical attractiveness or lack thereof, which I am singularly unqualified to judge. Rather, it's a comment on his diving, which he displayed so prominently that you'd think he was practicing for the 10-metre platform event at this summer's Olympics. Cunningham is a tremendously skilled forward and one of the fastest players in MLS, but he'd be much more likeable if he didn't fall over in pain every time someone breathed on him. I felt referee Carol Anne Chenard did a great job of calling the actual fouls while refraining on the more overdone performances (Cunningham's flying leap and subsequent sulking on the ground after losing the ball to Nolly on a breakaway come to mind), but Cunningham should have been booked for diving at least once in my mind. It's performances like that that make it tough to sell many North Americans on soccer.
Toronto's second goal: TFC's first goal was a thing of beauty, as Edu brilliantly volleyed a mishit shot from Robert past a surprised Nolly, who had no chance. Their second goal wasn't anywhere near as nice, though, and really shouldn't have happened. The Vancouver defence was asleep at the switch and left Ricketts all alone in the box near one side of the goal, and he made no mistake, firing the ball home from a sharp angle almost immediately after he received it and before Nolly could get across the goal.
FC references:
The Vancouver Province's Marc Weber, a skilled soccer writer on the Whitecaps beat, had his excellent article on the game almost ruined by an incompetent editor who clearly knows nothing about soccer and gave it the horrible title "Caps put pressure on FC". We saw this with the inital wave of articles about Toronto FC, but most journalists have learned by now that "FC" could refer to any one of a million clubs, as it simply stands for "Football Club" (indeed, the Whitecaps' full name is Vancouver Whitecaps FC). Weber clearly knows this, as his article refers to the Toronto side by the proper TFC acronym throughout. Unfortunately, whoever wrote that headline must have missed the memo.
Looking ahead: The draw eliminates Vancouver from contention for the championship, but it means that Montreal only needs a tie with TFC in the final game [BMO Field, July 22] to advance. It also shows that Vancouver's win on Canada Day wasn't just a one-off fluke, and demonstrates that the calibre of play between MLS and the USL isn't as vast a gulf as many MLS-centric fans would have you believe. Interestingly, many of these people will forever argue that MLS isn't that far below the EPL in the face of their own league's detractors (an assumption I support, by the way), but still believe that they have the right to dump all over any other pro soccer in North America. If you're sick of people bashing your own league, don't perpetuate the cycle of detraction by going after the guys below you on the totem pole. MLS fans and USL fans ultimately have the same goal: promoting soccer in North America, and many, like myself, enjoy both leagues. In any case, I still like TFC when they're competing in MLS, but I'll be firmly rooting for the normally-hated Montreal Impact to strike a further blow for the USL on July 22.
Related:
- Duane's take on the game from a Toronto fan's perspective. [Out of Left Field].
- Simon Fudge's game recap. [WhitecapsFC.com].
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Nutrilite Canadian Championships: Toronto v. Vancouver liveblog
Today sees another clash in the Nutrilite Canadian Championships, the home-and-home series between all three USL-1 and MLS Canadian clubs to see who gets the CONCACAF Champions League qualifying berth. So far, Montreal's beaten Vancouver twice and Toronto knocked off Montreal once. Today, in a perfect Canada Day tilt, Vancouver and Toronto face off at BMO Field. I'll be live-blogging the action from my home in Surrey, and Eric Koreen of the National Post has a good blog from the stadium.
Here's the lineups:
Toronto FC:
Keeper: Greg Sutton
Defenders: Marvell Wynne, Marco Velez, Tyrone Marshall and Jim Brennan
Midfielders: Rohan Ricketts, Carl Robinson, Maurice Edu and Laurent Robert
Strikers: Amado Guevara and Danny Dichio
Vancouver Whitecaps:
Keeper: Jay Nolly
Defenders: Steve Kindel, Omar Jarun and Lyle Martin
Midfielders: Jeff Clarke, Martin Nash, Alfredo Valente, Takashi Hirano and Justin Moose
Strikers: Nicholas Addlery and Eduardo Sebrango
1st Half:
5: A couple of early free kicks for both sides, but little comes of it.
7: A free kick blasted by TFC's Laurent Robert, right to Jay Nolly though.
10: Bit of a shoving match between Martin Nash of the Whitecaps (Steve's little brother) and TFC's Jim Brennan, but no bookings. Certainly some passion here.
11: Pretty even so far: not too many offensive chances.
13: Vancouver corner kick, but headed away.
18: Brennan breaks through on the left, shot wide though.
22: Alfredo Valente makes a run through on the left, but TFC's speedy Marvell Wynne tracks back and dispossesses him.
23: Long kick in for the Whitecaps, but Addlery heads it wide.
25: Robert unleashes a long blast, punched wide by Nolly. His subsequent corner is cleared.
27: Carl Robinson finds Guevara with a great through ball, but the Whitecaps clear before he can get a shot.
29: Marco Velez takes down Addlery close in, but Valente's free kick goes past everyone to Kindel, who can't get a shot off.
34: Nash fires a pass into the Toronto box, but no one can get on the end of it.
36: PENALTY! Corner kick in by Vancouver, referee calls a penalty for obstruction. A highly unusual call, as the CBC commentators point out.
37: GOAL, Vancouver: Martin Nash makes no mistake, slotting the ball past Greg Sutton beautifully. 1-0 Whitecaps.
38: The commentators confirm that the call went against Jim Brennan, who gave Jeff Clarke a bear-hug outside of the first camera shot. I agree that it seems to be a fair call when you see the angle that includes it.
40: Hirano is left all alone down the left and lets fly from 25 yards, barely missing the corner. Sloppy defending by TFC there: it could have been 2-0.
42: Justin Moose takes a corner, cleared by TFC. A quick counterattack featuring a long run from Marvell Wynne, but well-defended by the Caps. Impressive considering that they no longer have defensive stalwart Adrian Cann, the Caps' only player who regularly appears for Canada: he's off to Europe.
43: Toronto corner, in to Ricketts, but he can't get a shot off.
45: Lovely run by Valente down the left flank and a great cross in for Sebrango who hits it first time. Sutton makes a difficult leg save and the Caps earn the corner, but they should have scored there. The corner's cleared by the Toronto defence.
45: Justin Moose takes Laurent Robert down from behind, and earns a yellow card for his trouble.
That ends the first half. Vancouver's outplayed Toronto thus far, which doubtless will shock all the MLS stalwarts who think the USL is crap. The difference between these leagues isn't as great as many claim. Vancouver might live to regret missing a couple of those easy first-half chances though, as TFC is definitely still in the match.
Halftime: CBC has a cool feature on Martin and Steve Nash. I love the rumours about Steve Nash becoming a part owner of the Whitecaps: he's got a great flair for promoting soccer (just consider his charity game [The New York Times]) and I'm sure MLS would look more favourably at Vancouver's bid to join if he was involved: he'd be a great promoter for their league.
2nd half:
46: Multiple changes for TFC. Jeff Cunningham in for Danny Dichio, Jarrod Smith in for Laurent Robert and Julius James in for Rohan Ricketts. John Carver is obviously an unhappy manager at the moment.
48: A brilliant save by Nolly: he was way out of position after coming out to challenge a shot, but dived back across the goal to punch the ball clear off a second effort.
51: Julius James takes down Moose: free kick.
51: Nash takes the kick, Vancouver works it in to Hirano, but his shot is blocked. A much better effort from the Whitecaps thus far than what I saw in person last week against Montreal.
54: Jarrod Smith breaks in for TFC and goes up against Jeff Clarke. He goes to ground and appeals for a penalty, but the referee refuses to hear his case, much to the dismay of the red-clad hordes in BMO Field. The right call, in my mind: he went down like a straw blowing in the wind.
56: A good ball in for Smith, but Hirano comes through with a key defensive header. Corner, TFC.
57: Guevara delivers a strong corner and a scramble in the box ensues, but Nolly stops Maurice Edu's eventual weak header.
58: Cunningham breaks through for Toronto, but is called offside.
59: Sebrango is played through brilliantly by Alfredo Valente and is in alone, but just drills the ball low and into Sutton. Poorly taken: if he had put it up higher, it would have been 2-0. Nash then fires a long shot right at Sutton. These squandered chances may come back to haunt the caps.
60: Corner in by Guevara, but Sebrango heads clear.
61: Maurice Edu played in just onside: a good call by the linesman. Nolly has to come forward and make a good save. I agree with the CBC commentators: the officiating's been excellent so far, in my mind.
62: Hirano seems to be hurt: he's receiving treatment on the side. Vancouver's down to ten men for the moment.
64: Sideline reporter Brenda Irving adds a hilarious note: apparently Toronto manager John Carver and Vancouver manager Teitur Thordarson were yelling at each other about the officiating in the tunnel at half-time. Extra security's been added and the two have been asked to avoid crossing paths at the end of the match.
65: Toronto corner, but nothing comes of it.
66: Brennan breaks through on the left, comes up against Clarke and goes down in the box appealing for a penalty, but none is called. Interestingly, it was a Brennan foul on Clarke that led to the Vancouver penalty. This was a good non-call in my mind, though: Brennan went down reasonably easily. A bit of a clash between Clarke and Brennan after the fact.
67: Hirano can't return and comes off. He's replaced bu Diaz Kambere, a solid defender from my hometown of Surrey, B.C.
69: A good TFC buildup goes for naught as Guevara drills one a mile over the bar into the stands.
71: Good cross by Brennan, but Smith heads it far over the bar.
75: New Whitecap Charles Gbeke on, Sebrango comes off.
77: Gbeke makes a quick impact, sneaking in behind the defense, and Vancouver earns a long free kick.
78: Nash fires the kick wide from 30 yards out.
80: Cunningham breaks through and scores, but it's called back for offside. He takes his shirt off and jumps into the crowd before he realizes that it won't count. I think this is the first one the officials got wrong: he looked onside to me, although it was close. TFC's really putting on the pressure now.
83: A James shot hits a defender on the way through, and the ball falls to Guevara at the top of the box. He lets fly, and Nolly makes a great punch to clear it.
84: Corner to Robinson, sets up Brennan, but the shot goes wide.
84: Gbeke almost adds another for the Caps against the run of play, ringing a header off the post. We should be in for a great finish: both sides are going for it.
85: Maurice Edu sends a brilliant chip in for Cunningham, but he can't finish.
86: Goalline scramble, Smith rings it off the underside of the bar and another shot hits a defender and goes out for a corner. Toronto is really piling it on here.
87: Guevara's corner is cleared to Robinson at the top of the box, but he drills it into the stands. As Nigel Reed just said on CBC, "Honestly, the last four or five minutes, I can't remember the last time I got so excited at a soccer game." This has been brilliant. For all those soccer snobs who think only European soccer is worth watching, you don't know what you're missing!
88: Martin Nash gets a great chance in close off a pass by Addlery, but he hesitates too long and Guevara makes a brilliant sliding tackle to save the day for TFC.
89: Steve Kindel gets another good chance for Vancouver, but he's stopped by Sutton.
90: Great cross in by Brennan, but Nolly makes a fantastic save. Two minutes of stoppage time to go.
91: A shot from Edu hits a defender and doesn't make it through.
91: Addlery called for an obvious offside. Toronto running out of time here.
93: This stoppage time is going on forever: much longer than the suggested 2 minutes.
93: They've clarified it: it's four minutes that have been added.
94: Another TFC blast from Smith and Nolly makes a great save. Corner TFC.
94: Corner in, Sutton comes forward and gets his head on it, but pushes it just wide.
95: TFC pushes forward once more, but the ball's cleared. They're out of time, and the Whitecaps have struck a historic blow for the USL. More to come later on this win's significance.
Here's the lineups:
Toronto FC:
Keeper: Greg Sutton
Defenders: Marvell Wynne, Marco Velez, Tyrone Marshall and Jim Brennan
Midfielders: Rohan Ricketts, Carl Robinson, Maurice Edu and Laurent Robert
Strikers: Amado Guevara and Danny Dichio
Vancouver Whitecaps:
Keeper: Jay Nolly
Defenders: Steve Kindel, Omar Jarun and Lyle Martin
Midfielders: Jeff Clarke, Martin Nash, Alfredo Valente, Takashi Hirano and Justin Moose
Strikers: Nicholas Addlery and Eduardo Sebrango
1st Half:
5: A couple of early free kicks for both sides, but little comes of it.
7: A free kick blasted by TFC's Laurent Robert, right to Jay Nolly though.
10: Bit of a shoving match between Martin Nash of the Whitecaps (Steve's little brother) and TFC's Jim Brennan, but no bookings. Certainly some passion here.
11: Pretty even so far: not too many offensive chances.
13: Vancouver corner kick, but headed away.
18: Brennan breaks through on the left, shot wide though.
22: Alfredo Valente makes a run through on the left, but TFC's speedy Marvell Wynne tracks back and dispossesses him.
23: Long kick in for the Whitecaps, but Addlery heads it wide.
25: Robert unleashes a long blast, punched wide by Nolly. His subsequent corner is cleared.
27: Carl Robinson finds Guevara with a great through ball, but the Whitecaps clear before he can get a shot.
29: Marco Velez takes down Addlery close in, but Valente's free kick goes past everyone to Kindel, who can't get a shot off.
34: Nash fires a pass into the Toronto box, but no one can get on the end of it.
36: PENALTY! Corner kick in by Vancouver, referee calls a penalty for obstruction. A highly unusual call, as the CBC commentators point out.
37: GOAL, Vancouver: Martin Nash makes no mistake, slotting the ball past Greg Sutton beautifully. 1-0 Whitecaps.
38: The commentators confirm that the call went against Jim Brennan, who gave Jeff Clarke a bear-hug outside of the first camera shot. I agree that it seems to be a fair call when you see the angle that includes it.
40: Hirano is left all alone down the left and lets fly from 25 yards, barely missing the corner. Sloppy defending by TFC there: it could have been 2-0.
42: Justin Moose takes a corner, cleared by TFC. A quick counterattack featuring a long run from Marvell Wynne, but well-defended by the Caps. Impressive considering that they no longer have defensive stalwart Adrian Cann, the Caps' only player who regularly appears for Canada: he's off to Europe.
43: Toronto corner, in to Ricketts, but he can't get a shot off.
45: Lovely run by Valente down the left flank and a great cross in for Sebrango who hits it first time. Sutton makes a difficult leg save and the Caps earn the corner, but they should have scored there. The corner's cleared by the Toronto defence.
45: Justin Moose takes Laurent Robert down from behind, and earns a yellow card for his trouble.
That ends the first half. Vancouver's outplayed Toronto thus far, which doubtless will shock all the MLS stalwarts who think the USL is crap. The difference between these leagues isn't as great as many claim. Vancouver might live to regret missing a couple of those easy first-half chances though, as TFC is definitely still in the match.
Halftime: CBC has a cool feature on Martin and Steve Nash. I love the rumours about Steve Nash becoming a part owner of the Whitecaps: he's got a great flair for promoting soccer (just consider his charity game [The New York Times]) and I'm sure MLS would look more favourably at Vancouver's bid to join if he was involved: he'd be a great promoter for their league.
2nd half:
46: Multiple changes for TFC. Jeff Cunningham in for Danny Dichio, Jarrod Smith in for Laurent Robert and Julius James in for Rohan Ricketts. John Carver is obviously an unhappy manager at the moment.
48: A brilliant save by Nolly: he was way out of position after coming out to challenge a shot, but dived back across the goal to punch the ball clear off a second effort.
51: Julius James takes down Moose: free kick.
51: Nash takes the kick, Vancouver works it in to Hirano, but his shot is blocked. A much better effort from the Whitecaps thus far than what I saw in person last week against Montreal.
54: Jarrod Smith breaks in for TFC and goes up against Jeff Clarke. He goes to ground and appeals for a penalty, but the referee refuses to hear his case, much to the dismay of the red-clad hordes in BMO Field. The right call, in my mind: he went down like a straw blowing in the wind.
56: A good ball in for Smith, but Hirano comes through with a key defensive header. Corner, TFC.
57: Guevara delivers a strong corner and a scramble in the box ensues, but Nolly stops Maurice Edu's eventual weak header.
58: Cunningham breaks through for Toronto, but is called offside.
59: Sebrango is played through brilliantly by Alfredo Valente and is in alone, but just drills the ball low and into Sutton. Poorly taken: if he had put it up higher, it would have been 2-0. Nash then fires a long shot right at Sutton. These squandered chances may come back to haunt the caps.
60: Corner in by Guevara, but Sebrango heads clear.
61: Maurice Edu played in just onside: a good call by the linesman. Nolly has to come forward and make a good save. I agree with the CBC commentators: the officiating's been excellent so far, in my mind.
62: Hirano seems to be hurt: he's receiving treatment on the side. Vancouver's down to ten men for the moment.
64: Sideline reporter Brenda Irving adds a hilarious note: apparently Toronto manager John Carver and Vancouver manager Teitur Thordarson were yelling at each other about the officiating in the tunnel at half-time. Extra security's been added and the two have been asked to avoid crossing paths at the end of the match.
65: Toronto corner, but nothing comes of it.
66: Brennan breaks through on the left, comes up against Clarke and goes down in the box appealing for a penalty, but none is called. Interestingly, it was a Brennan foul on Clarke that led to the Vancouver penalty. This was a good non-call in my mind, though: Brennan went down reasonably easily. A bit of a clash between Clarke and Brennan after the fact.
67: Hirano can't return and comes off. He's replaced bu Diaz Kambere, a solid defender from my hometown of Surrey, B.C.
69: A good TFC buildup goes for naught as Guevara drills one a mile over the bar into the stands.
71: Good cross by Brennan, but Smith heads it far over the bar.
75: New Whitecap Charles Gbeke on, Sebrango comes off.
77: Gbeke makes a quick impact, sneaking in behind the defense, and Vancouver earns a long free kick.
78: Nash fires the kick wide from 30 yards out.
80: Cunningham breaks through and scores, but it's called back for offside. He takes his shirt off and jumps into the crowd before he realizes that it won't count. I think this is the first one the officials got wrong: he looked onside to me, although it was close. TFC's really putting on the pressure now.
83: A James shot hits a defender on the way through, and the ball falls to Guevara at the top of the box. He lets fly, and Nolly makes a great punch to clear it.
84: Corner to Robinson, sets up Brennan, but the shot goes wide.
84: Gbeke almost adds another for the Caps against the run of play, ringing a header off the post. We should be in for a great finish: both sides are going for it.
85: Maurice Edu sends a brilliant chip in for Cunningham, but he can't finish.
86: Goalline scramble, Smith rings it off the underside of the bar and another shot hits a defender and goes out for a corner. Toronto is really piling it on here.
87: Guevara's corner is cleared to Robinson at the top of the box, but he drills it into the stands. As Nigel Reed just said on CBC, "Honestly, the last four or five minutes, I can't remember the last time I got so excited at a soccer game." This has been brilliant. For all those soccer snobs who think only European soccer is worth watching, you don't know what you're missing!
88: Martin Nash gets a great chance in close off a pass by Addlery, but he hesitates too long and Guevara makes a brilliant sliding tackle to save the day for TFC.
89: Steve Kindel gets another good chance for Vancouver, but he's stopped by Sutton.
90: Great cross in by Brennan, but Nolly makes a fantastic save. Two minutes of stoppage time to go.
91: A shot from Edu hits a defender and doesn't make it through.
91: Addlery called for an obvious offside. Toronto running out of time here.
93: This stoppage time is going on forever: much longer than the suggested 2 minutes.
93: They've clarified it: it's four minutes that have been added.
94: Another TFC blast from Smith and Nolly makes a great save. Corner TFC.
94: Corner in, Sutton comes forward and gets his head on it, but pushes it just wide.
95: TFC pushes forward once more, but the ball's cleared. They're out of time, and the Whitecaps have struck a historic blow for the USL. More to come later on this win's significance.
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