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Posted by
Matthew Low,
July 21, 2013
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Matthew Low
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@LowMatthewJ
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Vancouver Whitecaps 1 – 2 Los Angeles Galaxy
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Prelude to Battle
Riding a six game unbeaten streak, hopes were running high going into Saturday’s match against Los Angeles. With the team seemingly in fine form, a win on the road was not out of the question.
With the combined return of Russell Teibert to the Whitecaps starting eleven, and the absences of Landon Donovan (international duty) and Robbie Keane (injury), Vancouver had a prime opportunity to some more distance between themselves and Los Angeles in the standings.
The First Forty-Five
Proving more they’re more than just a team of two big name stars, Los Angeles established their dominance early in the match, with chances from Marcelo Sarvas, Gyasi Zardes and Hector Jimenez all threatening the Vancouver goal in the opening minutes.
Despite riding their luck, Vancouver mustered an attack of their own, and with their first real chance, struck first. Teibert, showing no ill effects from a sickness he had been dealing with, flicked the ball on to Camilo, who advanced on goal and kept his composure to finish past Carlo Cudicini for the game’s opener.
Los Angeles were undeterred however and pushed back with fervor, getting rewarded for their efforts just ten minutes later, however in controversial fashion. A free kick into the Whitecaps’ box was headed on by Omar Gonzales and easily slotted home from close range, but the goal was immediately whistled down due to an offside. Replays showed that neither Zardes, who narrowly missed the ball, and Villareal were neither offside, and the referees saw fit to reverse the call on the field.
The decision appeared to have a deflating effect on the Whitecaps and they were unable to mount much offense before halftime, lucky to escape to the change rooms with a 1-1 draw.
The Second Half
The break did nothing to improve Vancouver’s outlook on the match, and after a non-descript few minutes, Zardes broke the deadlock with a wonderful individual effort, flicking the ball past Brad Rusin on the touchline and firing past Brad Knighton at the near post.
They nearly added to the lead minutes later, but Villareal’s ambitious effort from well out just grazed the bar.
Vancouver had a couple of opportunities to equalize, their best chance coming from substitute Kekuta Manneh and Kenny Miller who combined brilliantly, only too see Miller’s shot safely saved by Cudicini.
A free kick in scoring range was given to Camilo in stoppage time, but no late game heroics were to be had as his effort was deflected away from goal, and denying Vancouver any points in L.A. as they fell 2-1 to the Galaxy.
The Final Word: Whitecaps need to shuffle lineup to get back to winning ways.
Let’s tackle the most controversial issue first. Los Angeles’ first goal was not offside, was the result of some (unsurprisingly) poor marking on a set-play, and was an inevitability with the way the Galaxy were playing. Was the referee’s decision to overturn the original call was the correct one, but that doesn’t make it any less surprising.
Such a decision certainly sets a precedence for future occasions that could warrant a correction and Saturday’s goal will no doubt be used as an example if or when this happens again. It was unfortunate for it to happen to the Whitecaps, but if they happen to be on the other side of that call in the future, then they’ll certainly have a case to be made.
The more important issues remain with the starting line up. Though he didn’t exactly play himself out of the starting job, Brad Knighton will, and should likely give way to David Ousted next weekend against Philadelphia. The near-post goal he conceded to Zardes will likely have been the deciding factor, but with Ousted being paid a lot of money, the smallest errors go a long way in expediting his first start.
In the outfield, some decisions need to be made in the middle. For a team that wants to entertain, the continued appearances of Jun Marques Davidson contradict that very idea. He provides very little going up the pitch, and if the team wants someone to play that deep-lying role, why not have Gershon Koffie in that spot.
That of course would leave a hole in the midfield that would ideally be filled by Daigo Kobayashi, but other than a few flashes of brilliance early in the season, it’s hard to warrant playing him for an extended amount of time.
The void could be filled by signing a player, but with that seemingly unlikely to happen in the near future, one route available to the Whitecaps involves their younger players. Kekuta Manneh has shown a lot of promise and is steadily making a case for a starting spot. If Vancouver truly wanted to entertain, one option they could have in attack is to use Manneh and Teibert on the wings, with Miller and Camilo in interchangeable center forward and striker roles. The formation would provide Vancouver with flexibility in attack and keeps the more offensive minded players on the pitch.
Changes like these need to be made if Vancouver is to get back to their winning ways after such an unconvincing performance this past weekend.
Vancouver Whitecaps Lineup
18.Brad Knighton
12.Young-Pyo Lee (29.Tommy Heinemann 89')
3.Brad Rusin
16.Johnny Leveron
2.Jordan Harvey
13.Nigel Reo-Coker
27.Jun Marques Davidson (23.Kekuta Manneh 62')
28.Gershon Koffie
31.Russell Teibert (14.Daigo Kobayashi 76')
7.Camilo Sanvezzo
9.Kenny Miller
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