VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Whitecaps and the Sounders renewed their Cascadia rivalry at BC Place on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Vancouver have been in terrific form as they came into this match with a 4-2-4 record. The Sounders have been flying high in MLS, as they've compiled the best record after twelve matches. Sigi Schmid's side was able to rescue a point thanks to a controversial penalty call in the second half. This was another fantastic gem of a match as both teams played to a 2-2 draw in front of 21,000 fans.
Vancouver and Seattle both scored in each half as neither team could get a lead and run away with the match. Chad Barrett and Erik Hurtado scored minutes apart in the first half, and Osvaldo Pineda scored a penalty late in the second half after Gershon Koffie looked to have given Vancouver the win. The match was exciting from the first minute of action and featured plenty of yellows, controversy from the referee and a dreadful blunder from a keeper. Jay DeMerit was whistled for a penalty call against him for the second consecutive MLS home match and he was devastated when he talked to the media post match.
"It's devastating not only for myself, but to see guys put in the type of performance that they did. Guys put themselves on the line for ninety minutes, and for that to be taken away from us is disappointing. As players all we can do is play hard, and play committed, and work hard for our teammates. I thought all of us did that tonight."
Without naming anybody specific, the Whitecaps skipper voiced his concern regarding the lack of communication from some very important people. DeMerit was quite upset when he talked to the media, and he did well not to lose his composure.
"There needs to be communication from some people and obviously that's not going to be me right now. There needs to be open communication to make sure this continues to get better. For me I just have to make sure that I continue to fight with the same effort every week and next week hopefully that becomes a different result."
Carl Robinson started this match in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Nigel Re0-Coker making his first MLS start since March 22 at New England. Reo-Coker filled in at right back for Steven Beitashour who is with Iran preparing for the World Cup. Ethan Sampson would have started at right back, but unfortunately he is out with a significant knee injury. Robinson elected to go with Gershon Koffie and Matias Laba as his holding midfielders. The red-hot Erik Hurtado, who had scored in Vancouver's previous two matches, started as the Whitecaps lone striker, with Fernandez, Morales, and Manneh behind him with support.
The Sounders started off with a 4-4-2 lineup with Kenny Cooper, and Obafemi Martins as their strikers. Schmid's squad was missing quite a few players in action. Chad Marshall was left at the team hotel with food poisoning, while DeAndre Yedlin and Clint Dempsey did not play because they've made the U.S. World Cup team. Brad Evans will not being going to Brazil for the World Cup, and he returned to the Seattle lineup as a substitute in the second half.
The Opening 45
Vancouver started this match with an abundance of energy. The 'Caps created a trio of scoring chances in just the first 10' minutes of the match. Kekuta Manneh had a low shot that was saved by a diving Stefan Frei in the 4' and that seemed to grow the confidence of the home side. Vancouver kept coming, and in the 7' Gershon Koffie was mere inches away from opening the scoring.
The Ghanian midfielder was at the top of the Seattle Sounders box and it looked like he had lost control of the ball. Koffie quickly regained possession and fired a terrific strike that hit the underside of the cross-bar. The ball deflected down onto the pitch on the wrong side of the goal line for the 'Caps faithful. Vancouver had a subsequent corner and were unable to capitalize on a glorious scoring opportunity.
Moments later Pedro Morales broke through the Sounders defense as he looked to score. The Chilean international lost his footing and fell to the pitch on his own just as Frei scooped up the ball for the visitors. Vancouver kept coming with wave after wave of attacks, but could not find a goal in the first 20' minutes.
Although Vancouver was carrying the play and creating most of the scoring chances it would be the Seattle Sounders that would open the scoring. Kenny Cooper sent in a perfect cross from the left flank that gave the Whitecaps defenders all sorts of trouble. Unable to clear the cross, the ball found its way to the head of the Sounders attacker Chad Barrett. The San Diego, California native, rose about a lackluster Nigel Reo-Coker and headed the ball past an outstretched David Ousted. The 'Caps got caught ball watching, and Seattle nicked a goal from a terrific cross from Cooper in the 36'. The former Aston Villa man spoke to the media after the match and offered up these thoughts.
"It was unlucky today, but nevertheless I thought it was a great team performance. The first thirty minutes I thought we were fantastic, it's the best we've been all season as a team. The chances we created, the tempo, the passing, the movement, another day it could have been three or four nil for us and the game done. That's football, and I thought we were unlucky today."
The Sounders lead didn't last long because Erik Hurtado equalized in the 39'. Djimi Traore and Osvaldo Alonso were caught flat footed and ended up falling over each other as Hurtado faked them out of their boots. E-Money, as he is called by his teammates, hammered the ball past Frei who had zero chance to come up with a save because of the terrible defending by the players in front of him. Pedro Morales earned an asset on Hurtado's goal.
It took a while, but both teams found the back of the old onion bag after trading chances early in the match. Barrett and Hurtado both scored their second goals of the season. Vancouver held a 57-43% possession advantage after the opening forty-five and a two to one advantage in shots on target. Both teams went into halftime with the scored even 1-1.
The Second Half
Neither coach made substitutions before the start of the second half. Seattle played with more inspiration and gusto to start the second half. Vancouver defended well as the Sounders got forward more often than they did in the first half. Jay DeMerit and Andy O'Brien did well to stifle Obafemi Martins, and David Ousted was in the right place at the right time whenever a dangerous cross entered the Vancouver box.
Brad Evans made his first appearance for the Seattle Sounders since he was not named to the U.S. World Cup team. The 29 year old midfielder entered the match for an injured Djimi Traore in the 56'. Evans is on the stand by list for Jurgen Klinsmann should an injury strike the already named 23-man roster.
The Vancouver Whitecaps received a gift of a goal in the 66' thanks to a blunder of an error by Sounders keeper Stefan Frei. The Swiss goalkeeper went out to just about the right corner flag in an attempt to save the ball from going out of play. Frei then booted the ball into the middle of the pitch to Gershon Koffie.
"The goalie was the one who played the ball, so definitely he wasn't in the goal and if you can hit the target you will score. The manager told me I did well, and on my performance I could have had more than one goal."
The defensive midfielder chested the ball down and smashed it into the unguarded and open Seattle Sounders net. Frei was still running back to goal and no Seattle Sounders defender was even close to getting back to their net to potentially save Koffie's shot from 35 yards out. Frei was 100% responsible for his shambolic pass and he should have stayed in his net to fight another day or put it out for touch.
Referee Ismail Elfath made an impact on the match in the 82' with a controversial penalty call in favour of the Sounders. The supporters at the south end of BC Place were livid and Carl Robinson and his players were equally upset with the poor decision made by Elfath. Jay DeMerit went up to head the ball away, and in the challenge, Sounders forward Cam Weaver went down. DeMerit didn't do anything dangerous or malicious but it was enough for the referee because he pointed to the spot.
Gonzalo Pineda stepped up and delivered a cheeky chip past David Ousted. The Danish keeper guessed to the right, but the chip was sublime and placed perfectly behind the diving Ousted. He was already down before the ball entered the Vancouver net.
Moments after the Pineda goal, Obafemi Martins almost crushed Vancouver hearts as he got past Andy O'Brien and fired a shot off the far right post. Ousted was cleanly beat, but the post bailed him out. The incoming Sounders could not get to the rebound and the Whitecaps cleared the ball out of danger.
In stoppage time Gershon Koffie had a fantastic chance to win the game for Vancouver as he was at the top of the Sounders box with the ball on his foot. With the crowd yelling at him to shoot. He sent the ball squarely on goal but just over the cross-bar. Frei was in good position had Koffie's shot been under the bar.
It took a while for both teams to get into this match, but when they did, the full rivalry from these teams was there to see. Yellow cards were on display, a penalty was awarded, and both sides scored in each half. The crowd was heavily into the match from the get go and it failed to disappointed. Both Cascadia rivals added another brilliant chapter to the Vancouver and Seattle rivalry.
Man of the Match
Gershon Koffie
Koffie played without a question his best match of the season. He was all over the pitch for ninety minutes, and he could have easily had a hat-trick. Koffie had a scoring chance in the first 7' minutes of the match that hit the Sounders cross-bar and he kept coming with quality scoring chances. Koffie was able to get more involved with the Whitecaps because the team dominated possession and controlled the majority of the match. Although he was given a gift goal, Koffie earned at least one with his excellent play. After the Sounders tied the match 2-2, Koffie had a pair of chances to earn all three points for the Whitecaps. Koffie has no doubt planted himself permanently in Carl Robinson's starting lineup with his consistent play.
Honourable mention
Erik Hurtado seems to being growing and growing with confidence with each and every match he plays. Hurtado was hard footed with an early scoring chance in the first few minutes of the match, but he more than made up for that with his brilliant goal in the 39'. He completely faked out a pair of Seattle Sounders defenders and slotted in a beautiful goal past Frei. In all competitions Hurtado has now scored in three consecutive matches. Hurtado has been in great form in recent weeks, and he finally is beginning to show the promise the Whitecaps saw when they drafted him in 2013.
A disappointed Hurtado was looking forward to improving as the club next played on the road against the Portland Timbers on Sunday June 1st.
"I'm disappointed in the result, but nowhere near disappointed in the performance. We played great, the fans helped us out and we've just got to take the performance and push that forward though this week of training and take that into the Portland game. I feel real confident that our team will do really well on the road."
Vancouver Whitecaps Line-up
David Ousted; Nigel Reo-Coker, Andy O'Brien, Jay DeMerit(C), Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Matias Laba; Sebastian Fernández, Pedro Morales, Kekuta Manneh; Erik Hurtado. (4-2-3-1)
Seattle Sounders Starting XI:
Stefan Frei; Jalil Anibaba, Zach Scott(C), Djimi Traore, Leo Gonzalez; Chad Barrett, Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Marco Pappa; Obafemi Martins, Kenny Cooper. (4-4-2)
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