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Posted by
Harjeet Johal,
August 6, 2016 |
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@HarJournalist
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VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps looked to conclude a tough three-match road trip with a victory over the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Newly acquired striker, Giles Barnes made his Whitecaps debut, but it was not nearly enough as Colorado claimed a convincing 2-0 win in front of 17,526 spectators. Marlon Hairston opened the scoring, added an assist, and Tim Howard had a picnic picking up his third clean-sheet of the season with a pair of saves.
Vancouver now moves to 8-10-6 on the season and Colorado holds an impressive 11-3-8 record.
Carl Robinson shared his thoughts on the match and how it got away from the Whitecaps in the end.
"I think we lacked a little bit of sharpness if I'm being honest," said Robinson. "We played some ok stuff in patches. We have to accept that, we will, and we know we have to be better."
David Edgar made his MLS debut with the Whitecaps and looked out of sorts at time. It will obviously take a time period for the Canadian international to adjust, and Carl Robinson agrees.
"Listen, you don't judge players on one game," said Robinson. "David played in Trinidad on Tuesday. I made the decision to play him because we wanted to get him minutes."
The Opening 45
The Caps started their strongest MLS lineup of the season with Canadians David Edgar and Marcel de Jong in the back-four. Christian Bolanos, Pedro Morales, Cristian Techera, and Giles Barnes also started in a 4-3-2-1 formation. The Whitecaps had a difficult task with scoring on the top defensive unit in Major League Soccer and U.S. international goalkeeper, Tim Howard.
It was quite a tentative opening forty-five as neither side gave up too much in the way of opposition scoring opportunities. Colorado had a dangerous free kick in the 29' minute after David Edgar picked up a yellow card for a challenge on Kevin Doyle. The subsequent free kick struck the Whitecaps wall.
Scoring chances were at a premium with neither side wanting to use too much energy in the high altitude air. Colorado was happy to defend and look to attack on the counter with crosses into the box, and using their speed and size. That's exactly what the hosts did just before the half to open the scoring.
Marc Burch came down the right flank and evaded Tim Parker's challenge before sending a low cross into the Vancouver box. Edgar was late to pick up his man, Marlon Hairston and the Rapids midfielder scored his third goal of the season by out-racing the Caps back-four and putting the ball past David Ousted.
Colorado held a 54% - 46% possession advantage, and that all important one goal advantage at the half.
The Second Half
In an effort to get Vancouver's struggling offense going, Carl Robinson elected to go with a rare double substitution in the 60' minute. Nicolas Mezquida, and Alphonso Davies entered the match for Andrew Jacobson, and Cristian Techera. Pedro Morales dropped back deeper with Mezquida moving into a number 10 role. The substitution proved to be too late as Colorado scored seconds later.
Rapids midfielder Dominque Badji was able to put home a cross in front of goal after Hairston did all the work. He beat Matias Laba before sending an inviting ball into the Vancouver box. For Badji, that was his second MLS goal of the season and a defensive lapse for the duo of Tim Parker and David Edgar.
Road warriors, the Vancouver Whitecaps are not. Vancouver completes a road swing through Houston, Dallas, and Colorado with an 0-2-1 record and no goals scored. They picked up one of nine points.
Vancouver can't afford to make defensive mistakes when they aren't consistently scoring. It will take some time for new faces like de Jong, Edgar, and Barnes to form chemistry. The Whitecaps will have to hope that they are quick learners if they are to remain in the hunt for the MLS playoff pace.
Man of the Match
Marlon Hairston was a man on a mission as he picked up a goal and an assist and lead the Colorado Rapids to a 2-0 victory. He was full of energy and played an instrumental part in breaking down the Whitecaps back-four. Hairston isn't a house hold name for Colorado, but he was able to step up, score the match winner and provide service on the insurance goal.
Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Tim Parker, David Edgar, Kendall Waston, Marcel de Jong; Andrew Jacobson, 60 (Nicolas Mezquida), Matias Laba; Christian Bolaños, 78 (Masato Kudo), Pedro Morales(C), Cristian Techera, 60 (Alphonso Davies); Giles Barnes. 4-2-3-1
Colorado Rapids Starting XI: Tim Howard, Marc Burch, Axel Sjöberg, Bobby Burling, Eric Miller; Dillon Powers, Sam Cronin; Dominque Badji, 74 (Sebastien Le Toux), Shkelzen Gashi, 90+1 (Jared Watts), Kevin Doyle, Marlon Hairston, 84 (Marco Pappa). 4-2-3-1
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