Should be another decent shot at victory on Wednesday. DC has lost two straight, albeit against tough opponents, and will be without Dwayne De Rosario and Bill Hamid who were called up to their respective national teams. They will be coming off significant rest though which is big for them since they're a bit banged up.
Thorington didn't touch the ball much so that helped.
Liked the new guy Mitchell. Really aggressive tackling and good in the air. If he plays like that every game beside Demerit, I'd fear for my ankles. Having him in there helped Rochat look much more comfortable in his normal position.
Never understood why Khalfan hasn't player more recently. He's looked decent enough as long as he isn't shooting from miles out and giving up possession easily. Showed off his rocket shot last night from outside the box.. and that was probably one of his closer attempts of the year.
Camilo sure doesn't get any love from the refs. I've called him out on his diving before but that should have been a penalty but i guess it balances out because the straight red to the RSL player for the hand ball may have been a bit much.
And that's how I want to see Salinas used. He's got no ball skills at all but his speed can be a weapon coming off of the bench late in the game against tired opponents. It wasn't an issue last night but he's better suited for that role. He doesn't have the touch to be a regular starter.
I'm guessing the MNT game today isn't being aired?
Nope.. they've barely been able to piece together a radio feed from St. Lucia. They don't have the technology in place there to get a tv feed out unfortunately.
I have to give credit where credit is due. After a completely uninspired and depressing game, Soehn looked pretty smart shaking the roster up by sitting some of the regulars, and those who haven't played a game in a while looked rather sharp. Tan held up the ball well, and displayed some good dribbling skills on a couple of occasions. He certainly looked better than Salgado, who other on his flick on Khalfan's goal was rather frustrating. There was one instance where he stopped his forward run because he thought he was offside, when he would have ended up on a breakaway. He should have just gone for it and let the linesman make the decision.
The midfield looked pretty good, but more importantly the defence looks a lot better with Mitchell's arrival. I find him a little awkward to see run around, as he's thin and gangly, but he covers the ground well and has decent vertical reach. With him paired up with DeMerit, we finally get to see Rochat at his most natural position, and hence at his best (and certainly better than against Portland).
Of course, there's something to be said about the soporific effort by RSL. Maybe it was the regulars missing, maybe it was the coach not being on the sidelines, but that team was a far cry from the one that almost won the CONCACAF CL.
The referee's performance was especially bad in this game. Not only he made some terrible calls with the penalties (neither of those should have been called, and the red card was completely uncalled for), but he also made some terrible non-calls (there definitely should have been a penalty called when Camilo was wrestled down in the first half). Nonetheless, the result was fair in despite of the referee, as the Whitecaps were clearly the superior team.
One last note: I didn't watch this game until tonight because I didn't want to miss the Canucks game. I have to say that the difference in the atmosphere is absolutely stunning. Dead silence for large parts of the Canucks game, fans keeping up the cheering on the Caps game. Just saying.
No trouble against St. Lucia this time for Canada. 4-0 through 40'. Hat trick for Simeon Jackson.
Pretty much the best night possible for Canada. We win by a touchdown, and Puerto Rico and St Kitts & Nevis finish in a 1-1 tie. If we win the home game against Puerto Rico on Tuesday, we only need to tie at least 1 of the 2 games against St Kitts to go through.
Fun game to watch and it was sad to hear Rogers Arena so dead after watching the footy match....I try and stick up for hockey when soccer fans get on Canucks fans about being too quite but it was hard to defend last night. You have a team as good as the Canucks on opening night and it sounded like *****.
Also got this in the mail today:
with this...
also got a mini flag and a program from the opening match @ BCPlace vs PTFC.
The Canucks really do need some better chants than "Go Canucks Go" but really there are too many stops in play in hockey to have to same rhythm as soccer chants.
The Canucks really do need some better chants than "Go Canucks Go" but really there are too many stops in play in hockey to have to same rhythm as soccer chants.
It's not the stops in play that are the problem, its the announcements and crappy music being played during the stops that just kills everything.
I went to four playoff games last season and no matter how hot the crowd was, and whatever chant was going, it ended up getting drowned out by Nickelback.
It's not the stops in play that are the problem, its the announcements and crappy music being played during the stops that just kills everything.
I went to four playoff games last season and no matter how hot the crowd was, and whatever chant was going, it ended up getting drowned out by Nickelback.
Agreed. Need more Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls
But in seriousness, I have no idea how DJ Dave still has a job. I have not found one person who likes his music selection.
Martin Rennie's RailHawks start their playoffs today. They slumped at the tail end of the season and lost the last four matches after clinching top spot.
Martin Rennie's RailHawks start their playoffs today. They slumped at the tail end of the season and lost the last four matches after clinching top spot.
Shouldn't be too surprised. Players usually drop their level of play when they know the coach is about to leave the team.
They were just fine for the first 4-5 weeks right after the announcement. It was the last 4 weeks that they came off the rails. Should be interesting to see if/how they recover for the playoffs.
