Whitecaps seeking more firepower after draw with TFC

Now, the decisions begin for Marc Dos Santos.
The Vancouver Whitecaps coach has begun a search for more firepower in advance of the international transfer window that opens July 7. Vancouver's need for more offensive talent was evident in Vancouver's 1-1 tie Friday with Toronto FC.
"The run they've made (in May) has been fantastic," said Dos Santos, noting the Caps (4-6-6) have earned 17 points in their last 11 games. "There's a lot of positives. But, now, it's obvious that you need to reinforce what's here already."
Toronto FC (5-6-3) rallied to tie the game in the 90th minute as second-half substitute Nick DeLeon's attempted cross deflected in off a Vancouver defender. The goal came after Fredy Montero had given the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead on a penalty-kick in the 84th minute.
He suggested the Whitecaps were fortunate to earn a point .
"We have to admit that the tie is fair," he said. "That's a fair result for both teams. If we don't admit that, then we're delusional and we don't progress as a team."

Vancouver's offence was disjointed most o the night, even though the Caps held an edge in ball possession (approximately 52 per cent to 48 per cent) in the first half. Toronto enjoyed a 63-per-cent to 37 per cent edge in the second half.

"I have to rewatch the game, but looking at it and thinking about it quickly, I think that once we got possession in their half (of the pitch), especially in the first half, it was sloppy, bad decision-making on the ball, missed passes," said Dos Santos. "It wasn't good, in my opinion. I think it was probably our worst first half this year, and that made it obvious that it was difficult for us then to create chances."
Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau prevented Toronto from turning the game into a rout as he made three difficult saves in a three-minute span in the second half before any scoring occurred. DeLeon's goal came at a time when Dos Santos was looking to sub off midfielder Hwang In-Beom, who had been hurt in the first half and was cramping and very fatig

Dos Santos said he wanted to sub off Hwang In-Beom because he "was cramping a lot and was very fatigued" before Toronto scored, but he was not able to because the ball did not go out of play.

"And then there's a lack of pressure on our left side, their right side," said Dos Santos. "From there, the play comes in. I didn't see the goal yet. I think it got deflected, and it's unfortunate because we wanted to make the sub. ... I felt they got in easy there and got the cross in that deflected in."

"We're solid defending crosses and I don't have no words for this play when the ball is on DeLeon's foot coming in, Ali (Adnan) is doing his job trying to block the cross and then it's going past me (and) kisses the post really close," said Crepeau. "It's difficult to end up the game like that. It's heartbreaking."

Vancouver received a chance to steal a win as Montero converted his penalty-kick after second half substitute Yordy Reyna was taken down in the Toronto box on a breakaway by Reds defender Drew Moor. But the Whitecaps let up in the five minutes after the goal as the Reds became much more desperate, and DeLeon emerged as the hero.

“A loss really would have deflated a lot of guys," said DeLeon.  'Just to fight back with how much time was on the clock, I think, was big for us.” 

He said the Reds, who have struggled for much of the season while star striker Jozy Altidore battled injury, can build off the comeback tie heading into the three-week international break.. In the meantime, the Whitecaps were left to ponder what might have been on a night when they feted their 1979 Soccer Bowl championship team.

Many of the 1979 team's stars, including Willie Johnston and former coach Tony Waiters, were honoured before the game.

"It was a special night," said Dos Santos. "Unfortunately, we didn't give them the win."  .

 

Shea's ejection hurts Whitecaps

Brek Shea picked a bad time to have a brain cramp Saturday.
With the Whitecaps and Toronto FC locked in a scoreless battle, the Vancouver midfielder was sent off in the 70th minute for protesting his foul for putting Nick Hagglund down. Shea got a yellow card for the infraction and a second one for continuing to mouth off.
Forced to play a man down, the Whitecaps were never the same and the Reds won 2-0 on goals four minutes apart by Victor Vazquez and Jozy Altidor in a Major League Soccer game at B.C. Place Stadium.

Turning point

“It was a turning point, because the game was pretty even,” said Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson of the ejection. “It played out exactly as I thought it would – not much action in the first half and then, the second half, we tried to get into the troops a little bit to have an impact and play on our front foot. We did.
“For 20-plus minutes, we were trying to engineer the game and trying to get that goal, and then, obviously, Brek’s sending off out of nowhere, totally affects you.”
Robinson claimed that such comments by Shea are commonly heard throughout ever game. It was also implied that Toronto captain Michael Bradley, who was cautioned later for his role in a scrum involving several players in midfield, routinely gets away with more indiscretions. But those points were moot.
Shea needed to zip his lip, but he didn’t, and the Whitecaps suffered the consequences soon afterward. Second-half substitute Vazquez headed in a header from Altidore after another substitute, Raheem Edwards, made a sublime cross from the left flank – where Shea would have been covering him if he were still in the game.
Reds coach Greg Vanney deliberately put in Edwards, who is more comfortable with his left foot than defender Nick Hagglund, who was subbed out for him.
“Sometimes, you make moves and you look smart,” said Vanney. “Sometimes, you make moves and you don’t. It worked out for us today.”

Reds take advantage of situation

Four minutes later, Altidore closed out the scoring as he took a pass from Jonathan Osorio, turned with the ball while Kendall Waston tried to mark him, and scored from about 12 yards out.
“Obviously, it was difficult for them (with) the man down,” said Vanney. “What’s nice for us is, last year, we were a man up on a number of occasions and didn’t score a goal, so I’m happy for the guys that we took advantage of the situation. It was an unfortunate situation, but we took advantage of it and took the points.”
As a result, TFC, who stole the CONCACAF Canadian championship from the Whitecaps last season on a last-minute away goal, improved to 1-0-2 in league play with all games occurring on the road. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps (0-2-1) remained winless.
"First half wasn't that good. (We needed) more energy, more enthusiasm," said Whitecaps striker Fredy Montero. "Second half, we came and we tried to play more with the ball. We got more space and, unfortunately, the red card changed the game for us."
The official cause of Shea’s ejection was listed as dissent. Robinson vowed to confirm exactly why referee Ismail Elfath decided to send him off, but the coach’s effort will likely not shed much light on the matter. And, really, what difference will it make?
The point, as Vancouver goalkeeper Spencer Richey indicated, was not to put yourself is such situations in the first place.
 “We’ve had two sending-offs,” said Richey. “Finish the game with 11 guys. Whether it’s poor choice of the referee or on us, we’ve gotta find ways to not put ourselves in jeopardy of the decisions which are being made to change the number of guys on the pitch.”

Spoiled debut

Richey, a 24-year-old Seattle native, made his first MLS start. He got the call after No. 1 goalkeeper David Ousted was red-carded last weekend, and automatically suspended, for colliding with a San Jose player outside of his box as both were going after a loose ball. A red card and, subsequent suspension, are is automatic; however, Ousted's infraction, was perhaps forgivable, because he sought to prevent a goal.
Shea’s ejection was simply unacceptable, especially after Robinson called for the team to be more disciplined at the outset of the season..
The temperamental midfielder deprived the Caps of a chance to beat a Canadian rival and make up for the league loss to San Jose and a setback in Mexico to Tigres UANL in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League series.
 "It's kind of a funny one because, obviously, I wanted to get my debut," said Richey. "I felt like halfway through the second half we were pushing it, the match was going our way and then that sending off obviously changes things. It's disappointing to not get one point at least."
The first half was a tight yawner as TFC managed only one shot on target and the Whitecaps did not have any. But the flow of play became more interesting in the second half as both coaches went to their benches and made substitutions.Shea’s lack of discipline aside, the Whitecaps continued to struggle to get scoring chances. Their best chance came in the 60th minute – on the club’s first on-target shot of the game – as Russell Teimbert’s one-timer was collared by Toronto goalkeeper Alex Bono.
Later, Teibert put another good chance over the net and substitute Erik Hurtado shot wide on a break along right wing. Robinson, who is thinking about bringing in more offensive talent, called for his club to connect on more scoring chances.
“We need to hit the target more to have those chances,” said Robinson.

Johnson steals show, helps Canadian soccer grow

A Canadian played the role of villain as Toronto FC stole the Voyageurs Cup from the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night.
As 19,376 Vancouver fans were on their feet, chanting and getting ready to celebrate what they thought would be a successful title defence,  Will Johnson's last-second goal gave TFC the 2016 Amway Canadian championship. The away goal was the tiebreaker after Johnson knotted the two-leg, total-goals series 2-2 on aggregate.
"Every time you dodge a bullet down here, you think: Maybe we will get a chance, and we did," said Johnson, a Toronto native who suffered a fractured leg on the play and is expected to miss six weeks. "Fortunately, it went in and it worked out. I'm not sure you can put it into words and describe it."Actually, the goal defied belief, but it was not that difficult to describe. Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted and central defender Kendall Waston collided as they both went up for Tsubasa Endoh's lob into the box. Ousted dropped the ball and Johnson fired it high over Vancouver players into the net.
"You just take a chance," said Johnson. "When the ball was in the air, I had a good feeling it might bounce. ... I just wanted a look. I just put my foot through it, tried to connect well."
He literally gave Vancouver's title hope the boot in the fourth and final minute of added time as all goals came in the second half.
Johnson nullified nice goals by Vancouver's Nicolas Mezquida, who put home a header in the 47th minute, and defender Tim Parker. Mezquida scored only two minutes after coming on for injured Canadian midfielder Russ Teibert (quad strain) at the start of the second half. Parker was in front of the opposition for a rare time after a Vancouver corner-kick was cleared and Caps midfielder Matias Laba sent the ball back into the Toronto penalty area.
Vancouver goalkeeper Ousted blamed himself for the loss after Waston did not hear him call for the ball.
"Not what we wanted to happen," said Ousted. "I cost us that one. I cost us the championship. It's heart wrenching ... Do I have to come (out of the net) on that one. Definitely, I do. If you want a 'keeper that is going to stay on his line and not take responsibility, I'm not your guy. That's my ball. Should I punch it? Maybe. I would make that decision again. It's my ball. If I hold it, its over. That's the job. Some days that happens, and one mistakes can be the difference."
Ousted called the loss devastating, underscoring a unique irony of this Canadian championship competition. Clearly, Canada's MLS teams place less emphasis on winning a Canadian title, because the competition falls in the middle of their league season, adding to a busy week. So coaches routinely start players who would other wise be backups.
But Ousted's comments, and devastation, underscored the fact that players still hold a Canadian title close to their hearts, even if they are not from Canada. As Teibert's emotional reaction after Vancouver claimed its first title in 2015 indicated, Canadian players treasure a national championship even more.
Even coaches, who use the contests for the dual purpose of developing young talent and building a championship culture, can get pretty emotional, as Toronto's Greg Vanney and Vancouver's Carl Robinson confirmed Wednesday.
"It's just a huge swing emotionally," said Vanney, referring to TFC being behind and then pulling out the win. "For me, I let loose for a second (after Johnson's goal) and probably did something stupid. But then I pulled myself together and realized that Will, one of our key guys, was on the ground. I didn't realize he took a bit of a knock when he hit that ball."
Countered Robinson:  "I'm absolutely gutted for the guys, because they gave me and the club and the organization absolutely everything. We deserved to win, but we didn't win."
The Reds claimed their fifth Voyageurs Cup since 2008, the most by any team, while the Whitecaps placed second for the sixth time, also a record. But the real winner was Canadian soccer. The game offered another example that Canadians can stand out at times against international-calibre talent.
The entire competition showed that Canada is starting to develop quality young talent on a wider, if not reasonably consistent, basis. And, young Canadians are playing at the highest level in North America earlier. Vancouver's 15-year-old midfielder Alphonso Davies, an Edmonton native, was a revelation as he shined at times against Toronto and Ottawa in the semi-final series.  
Granted, many more of these examples are needed and, arguably, Canadians might not have stood out as much as they did last year, when Teibert was chosen the most valuable player of the competition. But more than 19,000 fans still bothered to show up for a mid-week game, and the entire Canadian championship competition exceeded 100,000 in attendance for the first time, according to a Soccer Canada spokeswoman. That accomplishment may not seem like much in comparison to European Cup and World Cup single-game crowds.
But for a country whose men's team has not qualified for the World Cup since 1976 and is still marred at times by the effects of original North American Soccer League's troubles, 100,000 fans represent progress. And, it also shows that soccer enthusiasts are starting to care about a Toronto-Vancouver rivalry, which helps to grow the game.
"(Wednesday's result) probably adds another level to (the Toronto-Vancouver rivalry), for sure," said Johnson, who helped the Portland Timbers win their first MLS Cup last season before he was traded to Toronto. "Vancouver is a great team. For us to come in here and get thee result we need is no small feat. We are proud of that. It will add fuel to the fire. It's good for the sport. This was a good Canadian soccer match between two good teams. There (were) a lot of good Candian players on the field, too.
I was proud to be part of it."
Perhaps more importantly, Johnson's never-say-die effort gave a lot of people, including players and fans, a reason to be proud of Canadian soccer. In the grand scheme of things, that is a good thing for a country whose men's program has been lurching along for 30 years since its last World Cup appearance. Truth be told, Canada's men's side might not get back to the World Cup anytime soon, but Wednesday's game and others in the Canadian championship competition showed that the chances of qualifying might, just might, be stronger in coming years than it has lately.
And save for the feelings of 19,000-plus Whitecaps supporters, it did not hurt that a Canadian stole the show in a national final that featured players from all over the world.

Whitecaps striker Blas Perez finding form after slow start

Blas Perez is making a minor trade look like a masterpiece.

After an innocuous start to his first season with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Perez has two goals and and unofficial assist for distraction in the past two games. He is likely to figure more prominently from Saturday, when the Whitecaps (5-5-2) visit Toronto FC (4-3-2) onward as the Whitecaps battle key injuries and inconsistency at the striker spot.

Masato Kudo is out of the lineup indefinitely with a broken jaw – and Octavio Rivero, the subject of trade speculation before a transfer window closed during the past week, missed their last game with an ankle injury. Rivero, a designated player, remains an enigma when he is on the pitch.

Perez, 35, is making his acquisition from FC Dallas for Mauro Rosales in February look like a steal, especially after scoring on a bicycle kick in the 89th minute to give Vancouver a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night. The goals came after Perez subbed in for Kudo following a collision with Chicago goalkeeper Matt Lampson in the 11th minute. Kudo lay on the pitch for seven minutes before he was transported off the field on a power cart.  A Whitecaps spokesman said Kudo during the game that Kudo suffered a concussion and facial cuts.

But Perez, a Panama native who spent four seasons with Dallas and has also toiled in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Colombia, Uruguay and his homeland, took his heroics in stride.

"Any time you see a colleague, a friend, a brother of yours on the field hurt, obviously it's a little surprising and it's not nice," he said through a Spanish interpreter. "You've got to be ready when you're on the bench. You've just got to be ready to come on and do your job."

That attitude should help the Whitecaps as Kudo, a former Japanese League star who is in his first MLS season, remains out for an extended period. While Rosales was a popular figure with his Whitecaps teammates and media, his minimal offensive production and relatively low playing time did not pay sufficient dividends on the pitch.

Perez, known for his physical play and unpopular with fans before he arrived in Vancouver, provides a mean streak not seen among Whitecap strikers previously. And, with 38 career MLS goals, he also has a nice finishing touch – as demonstrated by Wednesday’s winning tally.

“I thought the referee called the foul, so I was a little surprised because normally balls like that high up in the air, the referee sometimes calls fouls for high feet,” he said. “But that’s what I normally wanted to do, when I saw my teammates coming towards me, that’s when I realized the ball had gone in.”

Perez said the planned bicycle-kick goal ranks among the best of his career. On his first goal, which provded the Whitecaps with a 1-0 lead at half-time, he sneaked in behind a defender and tapped in a Christian Balonos pass inside the far post.

The goals were a nice follow-up to last weekend, when the six-foot-one Perez distracted Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson and Bolanos gave the Caps a 2-1 comeback win over the defending MLS-champion Timbers. Bolanos was actually attempting to lob a pass to Perez for a header, but the ball skipped through Gleeson’s legs instead as he was kneeling down to get it.

But Perez was not about to rave about his recent performances after a slow start.

 “I always come to work and do my job,” he said. “I just support my team. I just haven’t scored goals and I was working hard and that’s the result.”

Such a low-key approach was no longer good enough for the FC Dallas brain trust as Perez was sent packing. But Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson had no problem adding him to Vancouver’s roster.

"He's an exceptional, experienced professional — and he's still going," said Robinson. "Every time we played against him, he caused us problems. That's why I wanted to bring him to the club. I did my research on him with his character."
Physical play and some hard fouls aside, there seems to be little debate about Perez’s character. But there has been ongoing debate about the Whitecaps’ scoring ability for some time – and he might help mute it for a while.

Whitecaps remain a mystery as season begins

The Vancouver Whitecaps gave fans what they wanted in the first half of their 2015 MLS season opener.
In the second half? Not so much.
Sheer excitement turned into utter disappointment in the second half as the Whitecaps fell 3-1 to Toronto FC before a sellout crowd of 21,210 at B.C. Place.
“First half, there was really only one team in it,” said Vancouver coach Carl Robinson. “We could have scored a couple of goals, didn’t, scored one goal. Second half, I think they used their experience to keep the ball, and we just didn’t react right in the second half, so we take it on the chin.”
As a result, the Whitecaps lost an MLS season opener for the first time in five campaigns, while also suffering their first-ever home loss to TFC.
“I actually enjoyed watching it after 45 minutes,” said Robinson. “I’m probably like you. In the second half, I was pulling my little bit of hair that I’ve got left.”
Newcomer Raul Octavio Rivero scored a spectacular goal in the 19th minute as he ran onto a lead ball from defender Pa-Modou Kah and beat Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik with a left-footed strike. The goal made up for a chance earlier when a wide open Rivero stumbled on the ball after running onto it for a clear chance just steps from the net.
The Whitecaps dominated even after Jozy Altidore scored the first of his two goals, in the 32nd minute as he ran on to a through ball in the box and then went around Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted. But, after posting eight attempts on goal in the first half, the Whitecaps managed only five in the second half – while Toronto had 10 and finished with 15 compared to Vancouver’s total of 13.
“They take their chances and we don’t take our chances – and that’s what the game is about,” lamented Robinson. “The game is not about what you do in the middle third. It’s about what you do in the box.”
The outcome was effectively decided when Robbie Findley put in Sebastian Giovinco’s pass from along the goal line in the 59th minute. Altidore’s second goal of the game, which came on a penalty-kick in the 85th minute after Kah took him down with a high tackle in the Vancouver area, was akin to a kick in the gut.
“If I sat here and said to you that I’m going to win every game this year, you’d look at me funny, because we’re not gonna win every game,” said Robinson. “But we’ll try and play the right way, and in the first half, we played the right way. We played the way I wanted to play – an attacking brand of soccer. Second half, we didn’t. It was like we were void of ideas in certain areas.”
Kah could have been more imaginative as he tried to defend Altidore on the the play that led to Altidore’s goal. The Whitecaps centre back disputed the call, contending that Altidore leaned into him, but Kah really did not have much of an argument, considering how high his legs were on Altidore.
He did not refute his team's sub-par play in the final 45 minutes, though.
“In the first half, we played very good,” he said. “We played a high-pressing line. We were winning the balls. But in the second half, we forgot to play which is part of our game. We didn’t play well enough. We allowed them to play, and when you allow teams to play …
“Toronto are quality players, and they will start to play and dominate. I think we let ourselves down, because we didn’t finish our chances in the first half.”
Accordingly, Kah took little consolation from his assist on Rivero’s goal.
“I’m delighted that I did assist, but for me that doesn’t count – because we didn’t win the game,” said Kah.
Robinson said teams learn much more from a loss than a win, and he will have plenty of things to consider, including: A supposedly high-powered offence that quickly became anemic, poor passing that he cited as a concern and the failure of players to link up effectively as Vancouver attempted to move forward.
Captain Pedro Morales was off form, Kekuta Manneh showed flashes of brilliance as he attempted to run at players with the ball – but had no teammates to dish it off to. Meanwhile, Vancouver's midfield was out of sync, Rivero became obscure after his early heroics and three Vancouver substitutions generated little in the way of energy or scoring chances.
But, fortunately, the Whitecaps, who returned to the playoffs last season after a one-year absence, have 33 more games to get things right. Canadian international midfielder Russell Teibert said the Caps strayed from the things they do well – making good passes, creating scoring chances and being clinical in the final third of the pitch, but he is willing to be patient.
“We can break down teams,” said Teibert. “We showed that in the first half we can do it at will, and we dominated in the first half of the game. Those are all positive things. If we can do that over the course of 90 minutes, we’ll give ourselves a good chance (to win.)”
But until they can do so consistently, the 2015 edition of the Whitecaps will remain a mystery without a good ending.

TFC and Whitecaps glad to avoid MLS players strike

Members of Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps felt the usual excitement before the day before the start of a new Major League Soccer season Friday – but they were also relieved to have narrowly avoided a players strike.
“There were a number of times when we all thought that we weren’t going to be playing this weekend,” said TFC midfielder Michael Bradley.
The MLS players union and league agreed to a new collective agreement Wednesday after players prepare to vote on a work stoppage, enabling Saturday's season opener between TFC and the Whitecaps to go ahead.
“It’s been a long process – in every way – preparing our union, our group of players -- to be ready for what was going to transpire this last week,” said Bradley. “It has felt like an eternity. I was only in D.C. Monday and came back and was in Toronto with the group. Joe (Bendik) and Stevie (Caldwell) were there (in Washington) all week, and I can only imagine how long it felt for them.”
Highlights of the deal include an elevated minimum salary and unrestricted free agency for players based on age and number of seasons played in MLS Bradley indicated that neither players nor owners came away from the bargaining table happy with the new deal.
“There’s a lot that goes into it from every angle – the players, the league, to the owners,” he said. “And in the end, I feel that there probably isn’t anybody that thinks it’s a perfect deal on any side. But at the end of the day, it still is a deal that allows for football to be played and for the league to continue to grow. And, at the end of the day, that’s what matters most. The fans are the real winners.”
Caldwell said the negotiations were very difficult and intense. MLS has numerous restrictions on salary, designated player status and playing rights. For example, players who are released can go back into a draft and be picked up by another team.
“(The CBA in MLS) is so alien to the guys that it’s hard for them to wrap their heads around,” said Caldwell. “It’s a completely different experience playing here with it being a similar league, and having the difficulties that we have, to try and increase salary caps and minimums – and allow players to choose where they play football for fair market value. And that’s been a difficult process for everybody concerned, and that includes the MLS and the clubs.”
The new deal means that MLS will begin in its 20th season on time, and labour negotiations players and owners will probably never be the same.
“It seems they wanted to avoid a work stoppage, which we’re pleased to say that we have,” said Caldwell. “It would not have been a good experience for everybody involved, but we were willing to undertake that, if we had to, to get to an agreement which was acceptable.”