VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC vs NEW YORK RED BULLS
BC PLACE, Vancouver, B.C.
June 20, 2012 (WEEK 16, MLS Game #137)
8 p.m. PT (TSN/RDS; TEAM 1410 radio)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be aiming to make it a clean sweep of their three-game homestand when they entertain the New York Red Bulls at BC Place on Wednesday evening. Whitecaps FC won their second in a row on their home ground at the weekend, a 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids. The Red Bulls saw their six-game unbeaten run put to an end to start a two-game road swing, falling 3-1 to the Chicago Fire.
REFEREE: Chris Penso. SAR (bench): Kevin Duliba; JAR (opposite): Marco Arruda; 4th: Paul Ward
MLS Career: 20 games; FC/gm: 22.3; Y/gm: 3.1; R: 5; pens: 10
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LINE-UPS
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Joe Cannon; 12.Young-Pyo Lee, 15.Martin Bonjour, 6.Jay DeMerit, 4.Alain Rochat; 28.Gershon Koffie, 27.Jun Marques Davidson, 11.John Thorrington; 37.Camilo Sanvezzo, 7.Sebastien Le Toux, 20.Davide Chiumiento
Substitutes not used: 18.Brad Knighton, 3.Jordan Harvey, 13.Michael Nanchoff, 19.Carlyle Mitchell, 23.Long Tan, 26.Floyd Franks, 29.Eric Hassli
New York Red Bulls
18.Ryan Meara; 25.Brandon Barklage, 5.Markus Holgersson, 3.Heath Pearce, 7.Roy Miller; 11.Dax McCarty, 8.Jan Gunnar Solli, 20.Joel Lindpere, 16.Connor Lade; 19.Dane Richards, 33.Kenny Cooper
Substitutes not used: 24.Jeremy Vuolo, 2.Wilman Conde, 12.Jonathan Borrajo, 13.Ryan Maduro, 22.Stephen Keel, 27.Jhonny Arteaga, 44.Victor Palsson
INJURY REPORT: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC – OUT: FW Atiba Harris (R knee surgery recovery); FW Omar Salgado (R foot fracture); GK Brian Sylvestre (R knee surgery recovery); DOUBTFUL: MF Matt Watson (R ankle sprain) … NEW YORK RED BULLS -- OUT: MF Teemu Tainio (R knee sprain); FW Jose Angulo (R knee sprain); FW Thierry Henry (R calf strain); MF Rafa Marquez (R thigh contusion)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: VAN: Darren Mattocks (through June 20)
WARNINGS:
- SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: VAN: Jun Marques Davidson … NY: Dax McCarty, Dane Richards
- SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: VAN: Martin Bonjour, Eric Hassli,, Gershon Koffie, Darren Mattocks
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (2 meetings): Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 2 goals … Red Bulls 0 wins, 2 goals … Ties 2
AT VANCOUVER (1 meeting): Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 1 goal … Red Bulls 0 wins, 1 goal … Ties 2
LAST YEAR
5/28: VAN 1, NY 1 (Hassli 24 – Rodgers 34)
9/10: NY 1, VAN 1 (Chiumiento 23 – Agudelo 68)
• This is the only league meeting between the clubs this season.
• The teams played to a pair of draws in Whitecaps FC’s inaugural season, reaching 1-1 results both at Empire Field (May 28) and Red Bull Arena (Sept. 10).
• Coaches record: Martin Rennie vs. NY: first game … Hans Backe vs. VAN: P0 W0 L0 D2
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC won for the second game on the trot in their homestand, going a man down yet coming away with a 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at BC Place. Whitecaps FC are in third place in the Western Conference with 25 points from 14 games.
HIGHLIGHTS: Vancouver defeat Colorado, 1-0
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LAST MATCH
• Vancouver played the last half an hour down a man after a double booking for Darren Mattocks within a minute, the first one of which was for simulation, with the second for a late tackle on Drew Moor.
• But Whitecaps FC took the lead in the 80th minute, when Sebastien Le Toux got on the end of a wonderful crossfield ball from Davide Chiumiento to volley home and give the short-handed home side the only goal they would need.
• Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie made no changes to the team that defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 at BC Place.
• VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-3-3): Joe Cannon - Lee Young-Pyo, Jay DeMerit, Martin Bonjour, Alain Rochat - Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, John Thorrington (Eric Hassli 86) - Sebastien Le Toux, Darren Mattocks (sent off 60), Davide Chiumiento (Jordan Harvey 83).
TEAM NEWS
• Whitecaps FC are unbeaten in their last five league games at BC Place, with four wins in that time.
• “It was a big turning point when Darren went down in the box, and we had a chance to score – but the referee pulled the play back and gave a yellow card,” head coach Martin Rennie said. “A little bit harsh, and then almost immediately right after it he gets a second yellow. It put us in a position where we had any excuse we wanted to lose the game, and I think a lot of teams will take that excuse all day and accept a hard-fought, blame the referee, 1-0 defeat. But the players on our team showed a lot of character, incredible work rate and a desire to come out with something better than that.”
• They also surpassed the win total of their inaugural MLS campaign with their seventh win.
• “It was something we talked about and motivated us going into this game. We want to keep the momentum of winning going and stay on a good run of wins and good performances,” said Rennie. “It’s significant because it’s the seventh and it’s more wins than the team has had before in a season and hasn’t been done before.”
• For Sebastien Le Toux, it was his first goal since April 18 – a span of seven games without a goal. He has played all but one minute of league play this season.
• “For a while it can be in your head,” Le Toux said. “For a long time I didn’t score. It was great for me, great for my confidence and great for the team to get another win tonight, especially against Colorado – a big rival in our league and our conference.”
• Whitecaps FC recorded their first shutout since April 28 in the win, their seventh of the season to lead MLS.
• “(Goalkeeper Joe Cannon has) done very well for us this season, not just on the field but off the field he is someone that has really bought into the ideas we’ve wanted to bring to the club and he’s helped present them to the other players,” said Rennie. “He made some great saves, as did Matt Pickens who made some fantastic saves off certain goals. Both goalkeepers played well.”
• After scoring his first three goals as a professional in the last two games, Darren Mattocks saw the other end of footballing life when he was sent off with two yellow cards in the space of a minute.
• “The sending off was a big decision but people can draw their own conclusions on that and I think if I give my opinion it can detract from the game and end up being something that people talk about more than what we achieved tonight,” said Rennie. My main focus is on how we respond to those decisions and I’m very pleased with that.”
NEW YORK RED BULLS
The New York Red Bulls saw their undefeated streak come to an end after six games, falling to a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Fire on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park. The Red Bulls are in third place in the Eastern Conference, with 26 points from 14 games.
HIGHLIGHTS: New York fall to Chicago, 3-1
LAST MATCH
• The Fire opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Sebastian Grazzini corraled a loose ball, cut to the left of the area and floated a left-footed cross to the right side of the box, where a wide-open Patrick Nyarko powered a header past New York goalkeeper Ryan Meara and into the back of the net.
• But 10 minutes after halftime, the Red Bulls tied the game when Dax McCarty’s header from a Mehdi Ballouchy’s corner kick slipped through to the back of the net after the midfielder found a pocket of space in the area.
• The Fire regained the lead for good in the 68th minute when Gonzalo Segares sent a rolling ball goalward than Dominic Oduro just clipped back away from goalkeeper Meara, Segares racing on ahead of a defender to smash the ball into the goal.
• Chicago's Chris Rolfe sealed the win in the 81st minute when he tapped in Nyarko’s goalmouth cross, after Nyarko had turned the corner with a juking run on the right flank.
• Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe made two changes to the team that reached a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA at Red Bull Arena. Wilman Conde and Jan Gunnar Solli came into the team for the injured Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry.
• NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-1-3-2): Ryan Meara - Brandon Barklage (Connor Lade 71), Markus Holgersson, Wilman Conde, Roy Miller (Mehdi Ballouchy 46) - Heath Pearce - Jan Gunnar Solli, Dax McCarty (Victor Palsson 89), Joel Lindpere - Dane Richards, Kenny Cooper.
TEAM NEWS
• The Red Bulls suffered a defeat in league play for the first time since a 4-1 loss at D.C. United on April 22.
• “We need to defend better. That has to be the starting point. We need to track different. We need to start better. We have to alter our attacking game and be braver when we crosses and it was too easy for both center backs to win those 50/50 balls,” said Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe. “It’s a lot of things that just have to be better. The passing game, too many unforced errors, the pressure. It happens sometimes in games every now and then and it’s still frustrating.”
• The three goals allowed were the second-most by the Red Bulls this season, after the loss at D.C. Since recording three consecutive shutouts April 25-May 9, the Red Bulls have allowed seven goals in the last four games.
• “When you don’t give up goals, you win games. When you give up three goals, it’s almost impossible to win games,” said goalkeeper Ryan Meara. “We almost have to go back to the basics a little and start doing the stuff we did during that run when we were winning games.”
• With Rafa Marquez sidelined with an injury suffered while on international duty with Mexico, Backe deployed Heath Pearce in a defensive midfield role. Pearce had played in central defense in his first two appearances with New York after his acquisition from Chivas USA.
• “Normally he’s a solid defender and he can protect the center back position, Dax the same, but we aren’t playing the same since we are missing some players,” said Backe. “His best position is center back, or left back. But if he’s going to improve, of course he’s going to need some time at that position.”
• Along with Márquez, the Red Bulls will also not have Thierry Henry for the Whitecaps FC match, as he was ruled out in Chicago with a calf strain. Neither player made the road trip and stayed behind in New Jersey; Henry missed four games earlier in the season because of a hamstring injury, while Márquez has missed eight matches this year due to a combination of injuries and suspensions.
• “The last 25 minutes of the first half were decent, it was an even game. But I said we need to do something and get some fresh energy,” said Backe. “Mehdi [Ballouchy] did well and made a difference when he came on. We got the one-one, and we looked good, then when you concede goals that you feel it’s too easy, knowing we can defend better, it’s frustrating.”
• Backe said Wilman Conde will also not likely play against Vancouver. “We know we have to be a little bit smart with Conde now,” Backe said. “I don’t think he will be able to play three games in one week. I’m quite sure he won’t be playing Vancouver.”
• Backe himself will not be on the sideline for the Whitecaps FC contest as he tends to personal matters. Assistant coaches Jan Halvor Halvorsen and Mike Petke will take over managerial duties. Mehdi Ballouchy will also not travel to Vancouver because of green card issues.
