NOTES
- Whitecaps FC improve to 10W-12L-8D on the season
- Vancouver remains in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 38 points from 30 matches, Dallas is in sixth with 36 points from 30 matches
- After playing nine of the last 13 matches on the road, Whitecaps FC returned home for the first of four straight on Sunday
- Brad Knighton started his third consecutive match, making four saves
- Alain Rochat scored his second goal on the season and Gershon Koffie earned his second assist of the season on the goal
- Kenny Miller scored his second goal on the season and first at BC Place, Barry Robson earn his first assist on the goal
- Dane Richards picked up his ninth caution on the season and will not be available for next Saturday's match against Seattle Sounders FC
WHITECAPS FC – QUOTES
HEAD COACH MARTIN RENNIE
Thoughts on the match:
“We started the game reasonably well for the first ten or fifteen minutes and then the game went a little bit flat and we didn’t perform so well in the middle period of the game and lost a disappointing goal where we should have defended better. I thought the second half we played much better and got balls forward and had better movement from our front players and we got two good goals. I thought then we stopped what we were doing and we dropped off the game and invited pressure onto us. That’s something we need to do better because that’s a sign that we’ve lost a few games and we were trying to protect the lead in the wrong way. We need to do what we had been doing – creating chances and causing problems – and if we had done that I believe we would have scored another goal. It’s disappointing not to have all three points tonight but at the same time that point could take us into the playoffs.”
Do you feel your team calmed down in the second half and came out a bit more aggressive with Miller and it showed with the two goals?
“Yes, I think the start of the second half we played well and created chances going forward and it was exciting and an exciting game overall for the fans. I think our fans gave us a lot of energy and they stuck with us, which has been great by them to stick with us when things haven’t been going so great. We’re going to need that going down the stretch, and it helped us tonight get those two goals. It was just disappointing to not keep going at that point and take our foot off the gas a little bit.”
Is there relief that you scored a goal finally and snapped the losing streak? Do you like the position you’re in now?
“I think we would like to be four points ahead with four games to go but were two points ahead with four games to go and that’s a good position. There’s some things we can take away from that game and I think we need to put in a full 90-minute performance but tonight that wasn’t a full 90 minute performance and had it been I think we would have got a better result. There are definitely positives there with two good goals and I thought Kenny Miller looked lively and definitely made a difference when he came on.”
Was the decision to bring Miller on simply to just create more offense?
“Yes, we weren’t really creating a lot so we had to make changes. We were looking to build from the back a little bit more so that’s why we kept Alain on. Martin hadn’t done anything wrong but Alain is a little bit more comfortable building from the back. We did that and took away the holding midfield player and put another forward on to create more chances and put them under pressure.”
STRIKER DARREN MATTOCKS
Thoughts on the match:
“We were on top of them coming in on the second half. That’s where we got our 2 goals. I think if we had kept on pushing, kept on going forward we would have gotten a few more goals.”
Thoughts on position in standings:
“I think we have three more home games coming up. I think we can get a maximum 7 or 8 points from those games. I think once we get our form back with these home games we’ll be good heading into the playoffs."
On Connection with Miller:
“It was the second time I’ve played with Kenny up front. I think we created like 5 or 6 chances. Hopefully that can continue so we can create more chances and score more goals.”
GOALKEEPER BRAD KNIGHTON
Thoughts on the match:
“I feel like I’m settling in great. Obviously it was tough to go down early but the guys fought back really well, we got 2 goals and we had all the momentum. It was an unfortunate lapse at the back and they ended up tying things up.”
On getting one point instead of three:
“We look at it as we’ve got a 2 point lead, should have been 4, but you know we’ve got a 2 point lead. We’d rather have points in our pocket rather than chasing another team. Everything is all to play for.”
On Kenny Miller’s goal:
“Everyone is really happy for him. He’s got a lot of pressure on him, especially with the media around him. We believe in him, the coaching staff believes in him, it was nice for him to get his goal here at home."
STRIKER KENNY MILLER
Thoughts on the match:
“I felt pretty good. Disappointed we lost another late goal. It seems to be a running theme this year. We’ve lost a lot of goals in the last 4 minutes of games and that is something we’re going to have to put a stop to.”
On Standings:
“We’re 2 points ahead with 4 games to go. It should have been a lot more, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve managed to get a point and stop that poor run of games and results. If we can build on that in the home games to come and put some wins up on the board I think we’ll be in good shape for the playoffs.”
On his first goal at home:
“It was a great pass from Barry. It was one where he just managed to pick us out and put me through one on one. The keeper never quite got enough on it to put it over the bar and it managed to sneak under.
On Darren Mattocks:
“Darren is a lively player. He’s a good talent with a lot of potential. It’s important with a new player to link up pretty well together. I felt it in the second half again, and it’s something we can build on.”
COLORADO RAPIDS – QUOTES
HEAD COACH OSCAR PAREJA
Thoughts on the game:
“It was a good fight for both teams. I’m very proud of the effort we put forth and the resilience we showed. Tactically we were very organized and closed any ideas from Vancouver. In the second half Vancouver put more numbers in the attacking zone and created some chances but I still think we’re giving up goals in key moments where we have to be more solid. Our team showed character though, like we have all season, and this is a team that doesn’t stop fighting. It would have been very easy to quit for the last fifteen minutes after giving away those two goals but the team kept pushing and I think they deserve more than the point we walked away with.”
Did you expect Vancouver to come out more offensively in the second half?
“Yes, it was normal. When you’re at home and you are losing the game you want to put more numbers up and take the risks. In that moment you have to be more concentrated defensively and block well and be consistent and organized like we were in the first half. The game has punished us the whole season – we fall asleep and give up one or two goals and then we have to come back and today was the same story that we’ve been carrying all season. We knew Vancouver was going to throw more numbers up in the second half which is normal and we were prepared for that and not concerned. We were playing good soccer and up to the second goal we were taking more risks and tried to get more people up front.”
What do you think your first goal did in terms of disrupting Vancouver’s momentum?
“I thought our team was very organized and then when we scored a goal we created a lot of difficulty for them and they gave the ball away to us in the first half. We were happy with that performance and it was more difficult for them after we scored that first goal.”
MIDFIELDER JAMIE SMITH
Thoughts on the match:
“It was kind of disappointing not to take all three points. We played well enough to do that, created some good chances. Everyone was fighting for 90 minutes. Picking up a point is better than no points. Overall there’s maybe some disappointment that we should’ve won the game, but we’ll take it.”
On what they need to do to finish season strong:
“We just need to play as good as we can and score more goals, and we’ll see what happens.
On his goal:
“It was a mix-up at the back and the ball fell at my feet, I took a touch and just finished it.
What head coach Oscar Pareja told them after the match:
“He just said he was very pleased with the way that we approached the game, our spirit, our energy, and again our coach and everyone else feels that we should have won the game.”
MIDFIELDER JEFF LARENTOWICZ
Thoughts on what the result means:
“We don’t know what it means yet. We know it was a tie and we wanted a win, so we’re not sure. We’ll see. We fought hard to come back. They came out strong in the second half and it was a pretty even match, but we did well to fight back.
On what they need to do to finish season strong:
“We’ve got to win. We have games at home. Hopefully something can happen. Our next game is a difficult one, but it’s at home so we have to win.”
DEFENDER TYRONE MARSHALL
Thoughts on the match:
“The first half we did well and kept them in front of us. They’ve got some speedy guys up top with Mattocks, Richards and Camilo. Those guys are looking to get in behind so I thought we did a good job in the first half. Second half, they got a set play and I think a lot of the calls were going against us and that kind of put us off a little bit. They got the goal and that kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit. We got caught out of our shape and they got another goal. But we still kept plugging away. The whole game we were fighting hard and the ball bounced our way and Jamie put it in. It’s just unfortunate that Omar didn’t finish that chance at the end. Everyone came to work today to get the victory. We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and come out next week and try to get the three points.”
Thoughts on he and Omar Cummings playing fellow Jamaicans Mattocks and Richards:
“It was good. They keep you on your toes and obviously you know what they bring to the table. They’ve got the speed. Omar came out with a great goal to get things started. Dane and Mattocks, those guys are sharp all the time so you can’t lose track of them. They make you more away of what’s going on, so it’s good playing against them.”
Thoughts on what they need to do to finish season strong:
“We need to not give up goals, and we need to score goals. I thought we were pretty solid today. The effort was great today, guys were playing …we just have to maintain what we’ve been doing.”
