Tag:

Chris Wondolowski

Whitecaps winger, Dajome getting a shot off on goal
Vancouver Whitecaps

Whitecaps and Earthquakes Give Fans A Quiet Evening With 0-0 Draw

by Michael Martinez
written by Michael Martinez

It’s not necessarily a step back, but it certainly was not a step forward. The Whitecaps took on the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday evening. Whitecaps, who have just one win in 14, were hoping this would be a kick off point to save the season. Alas, it was not meant to be as they picked up another draw this time ending in 0-0. 

Neither team looked to create much despite both being at the bottom of the league defensively. Both teams will look at it like two points lost as opposed to one point gained. Let’s dive right into the match. 

Lineups

Vancouver Whitecaps: 4-3-3

San Jose Earthquakes: 3-4-2-1

Match Review

I’m going to try something a little different this time around! Instead of giving the match stats, I’m going to go straight into the match review. If you readers would like me to include the stats going forward just let me know! 

Whitecaps midfielder, Teibert wrestling his way through two defenders

Image via Stan Szeto /USA TODAY Sports

“We always try to play for the three points,” head coach Marc Dos Santos said after the game. “There are some moments in the minutes 88 and 92 where we were pressing, we went for the three points.”“But again, when you don’t win, you don’t win.”

There seems to be a theme with this Whitecaps team. Always playing for all three points, but never able to finish it off in the end. Most matches they do just enough to stay in the match, but still don’t bring enough to push their opponents. 

The match kicked off on a rather quiet note for both teams. It seemed that neither team could break the other open. Although, five minutes in, Ryan Raposo had himself a cheeky dribble past the defender before setting up Brian White for an excellent chance on goal. White could not get his footing right and hit it right to the keeper. 

The Whitecaps kept the intensity up a little from there, but in the end both teams settled down more as the first half went on. At the 30th minute mark the Earthquakes had their best effort of the half thanks to an attempted volley from former Portland Timbers striker, Jeremy Ebodisse. Luciano Abecasis whipped in a lovely ball to the back post but big man Maxime Crepeau denied him the opportunity. 

As expected, based on the few chances either team had, the first half ends even at the break. Which is not surprising as both teams seemed content to end with a draw. Neither really played attractive football and because of that it made it borderline unwatchable. 

Not much happened until the 60th minute as Ebodisse found some room at the edge of the box and had a strong low driven shot which made Crepeau stretch to make a save and push the ball off the post and out. 

Not much else happened after that last chance for San Jose. While the game did open up when Dajome and Gauld arrived, their inclusion was more of a cautionary tale. It served as a reminder that Gauld alone, or any of the Whitecaps’ key players, are not going to be able to create a successful team on their own. They need the rest of the team to step up.

For the Whitecaps, it certainly doesn’t feel like a bad result per say. You can never complain about a road point but as a team who has struggled for more, you want all three points. Sitting last in the West, it’ll be hard for them to crawl out of this already big hole if they continue to dig it deeper. 

Post Match Thoughts

For a clash between 2 of the worst defensive teams in the league, one could expect some goals in this match but that unfortunately was not the case. Both teams share the spoils, and for the Whitecaps, they pick up their 4th clean sheet of the season.

That leaves the Whitecaps with 7 draws in their last 9 games now. Based on their play as of late, that shouldn’t be too surprising. The Earthquakes are in the same boat as now they have 6 in their last 8. Both sides have been struggling to put away matches and get all three points. It does explain their positions in the table.

Because of all that, it shouldn’t have been surprising to see both teams draw. With both sides just outside of the playoff picture right now, that’ll leave them to both rue what could’ve been, something they’ve both dealt with. For the Whitecaps’ sake, fans can only hope that turns around soon.

There is some good news coming! The Whitecaps are so close to finally heading  home and playing their first match at BC Place since last year. Missing players are slowly getting their names back into their squad, which along with the integration of some new faces, should give them a boost. Will it be enough to get them through this rut? Only time will tell. 

 

The Whitecaps have one more road match before they make their long-awaited return to BC Place. On Wednesday, they visit Austin FC for their first-ever meeting at Q2 Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. PT. live on TSN4/5 and ESPN+.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Vancouver Whitecaps

Whitecaps Secure Crucial Win Against San Jose!

by Michael Martinez
written by Michael Martinez


Image via MLS

Image via MLS

For both teams tonight, this was a crucial match to earn all three points. Both San Jose Earthquakes and the Vancouver Whitecaps are just barely grasping on the line for the playoffs in an already difficult Western Conference.  What a thrilling match this turned out to be! The Whitecaps came back from behind with two second half goals to secure the dub! This put them just above San Jose, who bested them last time in California. With goals coming from a brilliant Adnan free-kick and then Tosaint Ricketts to finish it off. 

Lineups: 

Vancouver Whitecaps: 4-4-2

A few note regarding the starting XI for VWFC tonight:

  • Bikel replaces Baldi in the midfield

  • Ricketts replaces Teibert on the wing, playing out of position

  • Dajome takes Teiberts Left Wing spot as Ricketts takes the right

  • The start of the last 4 remaining fixtures of the regular season

San Jose Earthquakes: 4-1-4-1

Match Stats

VWFC Man of the Match: Cristian Dájome

Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

Scoring Summary

24′ – SJ – Carlos Fierro (assisted by Cristian Espinoza)

51′ – VAN – Ali Adnan

57′ – VAN – Tosaint Ricketts (assisted by Christian Dajome)

Statistics

Possession: VAN 38.7% – SJ 61.3%

Shots: VAN 9 – SJ 10

Shots on Goal: VAN 4 – SJ 2

Saves: VAN 1 – SJ 2

Fouls: VAN 17 – SJ 7

Offsides: VAN 0 – SJ 0

Corners: VAN 6 – SJ 6

Cautions

82′ – SJ– Marcos Lopez (yellow)

90’+1′ – VAN – Russell Teibert (yellow)

90’+3′ – VAN – Leonard Owusu (yellow)

Match Review

The Whitecaps win! After a tough loss last week to bottom of the table, LA Galaxy, the boys rallied behind two second half goals from Adnan and Ricketts. In this crucial Western Conference match, both teams needed to walk away with all three points to secure themselves a spot in the playoffs. This win is a huge boost for the teams playoff hopes. Now let’s get into the exciting stuff, THE GOALS. 

San Jose took control of the game early and looked very dangerous on the attack. In typical Whitecaps fashion, the boys  conceded the match’s first goal, which was pretty brutal defensively to be fair. The goal came from the Earthquakes in the 24th minute from Fierro. 

The defensive breakdown began down the left side with Ali Adnan, who was a bit out of position, pushing up the field too much before being outrun by Christian Espinoza. While Adnan should have positioned himself better, the glaring worry came on the finish. Nerwinski was nowhere to be found when a wide open Carlos Fierro volleyed an easy shot past Evan Bush. 

Despite a slightly disappointing first half, the Whitecaps stayed resilient as they would overturn the result with a pair of scores in a six-minute span early into the second half.

The first came from an Adnan laser off a free kick from long distance in the 51st minute.

With the momentum shifting, Cristian Dájome kept the pressure on the Quakes defense with an attacking run down the left side, burning USMNT regular, Nick Lima. Their keeper got a touch on the initial shot but was helpless against Ricketts’ put back goal. Perfect positioning and run from Ricketts, who nets his second goal of the season. 

As the second half drew to its final moments, the already scary Whitecaps defense looked as though it would concede late again, similar to last week against  LA. Galaxy. However, after a few late substitutes, along with crafty shit housery, the Whitecaps held on to win 2-1. This also puts them two slots above the line into 7th place. 

Post Match Thoughts

With a bit of luck, and a lot of fight, the Whitecaps now sit in seventh place in the Western Conference, one spot on Earthquakes. Both Salt Lake and Houston, both drew their matches earlier on Saturday, giving the boys  a leg up heading into these last 3 matches. However, the team to keep an eye on is the Colorado Rapids. Due to COVID related issues, they were forced away from the pitch for nearly a month due. Colorado lost 4-0 in their first match back,  but the amount of games they have in hand, SIX,  could flip the conference on its head if they manage to go on a solid run. 

Now onto the defensive shape for the match… 

The problem on the goal is two-fold: Nerwinski had to be more accountable for the defensive positioning of the centre backs, but our more zonal marking system also left him a bit lost as to where he needed to be. A more zonal defensive shape can be beneficial, however, if the player is not in the correct areas, the whole shape falls apart. The system appeared to be a problem for the Whitecaps all night, but fortunately, San Jose could only capitalize on the one goal. 

While I think that playing a zone style defense can be very beneficial, especially combined with a high press, it requires the correct instructions. Especially from the fullbacks and central midfielders. Yes you can win the battle in the midfield, but then if you’re caught out, then it will be a bit easy to counter attack. Just like the goal San Jose scored. MDS is finally sorting things out, but I hope he can keep it going against some of the toughest opponents in the West. 

While the Whitecaps may have scrapped out a win today, they have a very tough outing these next three matches. Sounders, Timbers, then lastly LA Galaxy. Luckily they do not have to travel as they are staying put in Portland for the remainder of the regular season, and hopefully the playoffs as well! 

Here’s a little something to help brighten the mood as well!

Let’s hope the boys can keep their match fitness going into their next match against the league leaders, Seattle Sounders back at Providence Park on Tuesday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT live on TSN and ESPN +

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Portland Timbers

Timbers look to regain momentum against lowly Quakes

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Timbers will hit the road again to take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 at 6:30pm PT.


Image via MLS

Image via MLS

Portland are coming off a tough loss to LAFC, and a second half wherein the Timbers looked like they were playing as if the score was drawn.

San Jose snagged a point from the L.A. Galaxy after a string of bottom-of-the-barrel performances since the restart.

Training

One of the biggest issues for the Timbers has been their inability to train at their usual facility in Beaverton. Due to the hazardous smoke that has enveloped much of the West coast for the past week or so, the Timbers have had to move their training indoors.

You might visualize indoor professional soccer training as some massive facility with a bunch of fields, but really it’s just a futsal court. One futsal court.

Understandably, Savarese called the facilities “too small” when asked about the challenges they’ve presented.

“We’re very thankful that at least we have a place to train,” said Gio. “It is very different…We need to make sure that we take any difficult situation and adapt to it.”

For what it’s worth, the Earthquakes have had their own training restrictions as well. Overall, training conditions should not have an affect on the outcome of this match, and here’s why.

San Jose are Bad

The Quakes have not won a match since the first round of the MLS is Back knockout round. That match, in which Real Salt Lake earned two red cards, took place on July 27th.

Since then, the Quakes have lost four matches (including a 7-1 drubbing from the Sounders) and drawn twice—most recently, a scoreless draw against L.A. Galaxy in the Cali Clasico on Sunday.

Matias Almeyda’s side is spectacularly underperforming, but he’s still the manager and the games aren’t slowing down. While that gives Almeyda less time in training, it gives the team more chances to turn things around on the field.

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

San Jose are flirting with the bottom of the table in the West. There is little margin for error for Portland, either; the Timbers are in the thick of a tight Western Conference playoff race. (As of Tuesday morning,) only four points separate third-place Minnesota from tenth-place Colorado. At this stage, every single game is crucial.

Portland and San Jose will meet again this Saturday. Wednesday’s match is a rescheduling of last month’s postponement in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting.

Losing to San Jose would be an embarrassment for the Timbers, but doing it twice would be even worse. Of course, this could be a nice six-point swing for Portland heading into the latter stages of the regular season.

Expectations and Predictions

San Jose were about as bad as a team can get last week, but they’re on the rise after holding Christian Pavón and the fifth-place Galaxy scoreless. The Timbers are…well…the Timbers. Inconsistency has been the name of the game after an MLSiBT Final win, awful restart, impressive bounce-back in Seattle, and subsequent first-half collapse against LAFC.

Based on most recent results, it makes sense that the Quakes are +135 favorites to win (Timbers +175, draw +280) on Bovada.

Still, the Timbers should take three points from this match. I predict a dominant 3-0 victory that quells negativity and gives Portland a huge confidence boost. I also predict a Valeri goal and some big saves from Steve Clark.

  • A fun fact to close this one out: Only three Earthquakes players have scored multiple MLS goals against the Timbers, and Chris Wondolowski has done so 11 times. The other two (Danny Hoesen and Alan Gordon [lol]) each have just two.

Follow @doublepostpod for live reactions/discussion during the match, and catch my postgame recap right here after the final whistle. Go Timbers!

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Portland Timbers

Timbers regroup for Western test against Quakes

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda


[Image by Portland Timbers via MLS]

[Image by Portland Timbers via MLS]

Coming off a disheartening loss to arch-rival Seattle on Sunday night; the Portland Timbers will regroup to face the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, August 26th, 2020 at 7:30pm PT at Earthquakes Stadium in San Jose. The match will be broadcast on Fox 12 Plus (KPDX) locally and on ESPN+ for out-of-market viewers.

About last weekend…

While Portland’s 3-0 loss to the Sounders was a brutal scoreline, the match was much closer than indicated. Both sides struggled to take control of the game until Raul Ruidiaz’ breakthrough in the 72nd minute. In his postgame interview, Chris Duvall was asked what changed when the teams came out in the second half. His response: “Nothing. We were the better team in the first half.”

>
“Once they scored a goal, it kind of deflated us…that was kind of the end of the story.”

Couldn’t have said it any better myself, Chris.

As for Duvall’s on-field play, his enormous strike in the 5th minute was called back for Eryk Williamson being offside. That momentum would have certainly inspired better play than what we ended up getting from the Timbers.

But enough about last game. We all watched it. We all want to get past it. So do the players, who have a quick turnaround to face an intriguing opponent in San Jose.

San Jose? Who are they?

The Earthquakes will be the last team to play an MLS match following the conclusion of the MLS is Back Tournament. They played well in said tournament, earning seven points from their group with Vancouver, Seattle, and Chicago. The Quakes were swiftly eliminated by Minnesota United FC in the Round of 16, though, losing 4-1.

Matias Almeyda got his first win as Head Coach of the Quakes in a 3-0 thrashing of the Timbers last year. In case you purged that from your memory; it was the match where Jeff Attinella made 10 saves, Portland earned their fourth straight loss in their first five games, and Foster Langsdorf saw first-team minutes. Portland exacted revenge by beating the Quakes on Decision Day 2019 to grab a playoff spot.

But these two teams are at very different places now. The Timbers, while COVID Cup Champions, were not up to snuff against Seattle.

What do the Timbers need to do to win?

While we haven’t seen San Jose since the end of the MLSiBT, we know what to expect from them. No match is easy when Almeyda’s man-marking system is working near optimal strength. Portland’s awareness will be key to getting three points; Portland can’t afford to switch off when San Jose have the ball.

The other factor I’m looking for is motivation. Portland was drained of life after that Ruidiaz goal with 20 minutes still left to play. Whether it’s an Orlando hangover or depletion of physical energy, Portland need to keep fighting for points when their backs are up against a wall. They did it fine in the MLSiBT, now it’s time to do so in the matches that really count.

Speaking of matches counting: The Timbers’ knockout round wins were cute, but they’re still only fourth in the Western Conference.

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Expectations and Predictions

Regardless of how the Timbers might do it, a result is not expected, but wholly necessary. Fans and analysts alike will be eager to see how Portland stack up to a team that has a unique and clear identity.

Also worth mentioning: Portland are the clear underdogs. San Jose is +105 to win, +255 to draw, and +235 to lose.

If the Timbers can grab the first goal and then not just keep their foot on the gas, but push down on it; I will be satisfied. If this happens, I can see a 2-0 victory. Otherwise, I could see an exhausted Portland and seldom-tested San Jose battle to a low-scoring or scoreless draw.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail