- Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated Chivas USA, 1-0, Saturday night at The Home Depot Center before a crowd of 7,723. Defender Jay DeMerit’s header in the 68th minute of play now brings the Whitecaps’ record to 2-0-0. With the loss Chivas USA’s record is now 0-2-0.
- The Red-and-White offense forced Whitecaps’ goalkeeper Joe Cannon to twice come far out of his net to make saves. The Rojiblancos nearly found the match’s first goal in the 32nd minute when rookie forward, Casey Townsend – who made his first professional start – nearly found the upper right corner of the net. Cannon’s fingertip save would be his last on the night, as he removed himself from the game in the 41st minute. Brad Knighton finished the match as Vancouver’s goalkeeper.
- The Whitecaps had their own opportunities in the first half, but Chivas USA’s defense near the penalty area was stout.
- The Red-and-White outshot the Whitecaps, 7-2, in the first half and 11-6 for the match.
- The deciding goal came on midfielder Camilo Sanvezzo’s corner kick which found Jay DeMerit near the penalty area. As the kick approached, DeMerit slashed towards the net and found the back of Dan Kennedy’s net.
- The Rojiblancos look to bounce back in their first road match of the season when they face Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium, Saturday, March 24, at 6:00 pm (PT). The match will broadcast on television, live on Prime Ticket in English, and KWHY Channel 22 in Spanish. For more information about the game and for tickets, please visit cdchivasusa.com or call 1-877-CHIVAS-1. Follows us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa
THE WORD FROM THE TEAMS:
CHIVAS USA HEAD COACH – ROBIN FRASER:
Thoughts on the game… “We weren’t aggressive enough to take advantage of some space that was provided to us. I thought Vancouver’s game plan was pretty clear, they were going to absorb some pressure and looked to counter attack and given the kind of time and space we had, I just don’t feel we were aggressive enough in finding ways to get to goal and ultimately making ourselves goal dangerous.”
Thoughts on the goal… “Defensively we were pretty engaged and certainly solid for the most part, that definitely is a positive side that we were pretty difficult to penetrate early. I have some serious questions about the play that led to the goal but at the end of the day we needed to be more aggressive in the attacking end of the field. Ball gets played and James makes a good clearance, to me it looked like he got hammered, but obviously referee’s make their decisions.”
Thoughts on missed opportunities… “It’s something that we need to address and we need to obviously look at and just realize that to score goals we need to really want to score goals. I just thought that there were too many times tonight where we had opportunities, where with an aggressive move we would have been able to create a dangerous opportunity and we weren’t aggressive enough.”
On Casey Townshend’s performance… “He had a decent day; I think it’s all still new for him. There’s the pace, just everything about it, thought he had some bright moments, thought he had some moments where he looked young but certainly important for him to get the experience.”
CHIVAS USA FORWARD – CASEY TOWNSEND:
Thoughts on the game… “It was a rough one; I thought we played well at times. We are unlucky not to get a goal or more, we had them on their heels the majority of the time. All it takes is, one goal, and that’s all it took today.”
Thoughts on scoring opportunities… “Ryan’s always dangerous running at guys, and I was just trying to make a run and cut it back and try to hit it far post. The goalie made a good save, it’s just one of those things that you tip your hat to the goalie, he made a good play and it was a little bit unfortunate.”
CHIVAS USA MIDFIELDER – NICK LABROCCA:
Thoughts on the game… “Disappointing not to get a win, at the end of the day it’s about points. It’s disappointing; we have some work to do and just have to get after it next week. Try to get some tough points on the road.”
Thoughts on the goal… “It’s at peace, not really too much to say about it.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC HEAD COACH – MARTIN RENNIE:
On first road win… “Well it’s nice to win any game and it’s great to win on the road anytime; I think it’s probably of more significance for us tonight because in the past, in MLS the WHITECAPS have not won on the road. For this group of players it was their first chance to win on the road this season and they did a good job, obviously there are things we can always improve upon, but it was a professional performance, a very hard working performance and it’s always nice to win.”
On goalkeepers play… “Joe Cannon made a fantastic save in the first half, and he also came off his line well a couple times in the first half. Late on we were under pressure and Brad I thought managed the goal very well and looked comfortable but everybody was working hard behind the ball. It made it hard for us to be broken down and on the road it’s a big part of winning on the road.”
On Chivas USA… “I think they played well, they were very motivated for the game coming off a disappointing defeat for them last week with a late goal. I thought they were very organized, very hard to play against and also the way they moved the ball and found players in difficult spaces, it was very hard to defend against, I was impressed with their ball movement.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC – JAY DEMERIT:
On scoring first goal… “Well its good, I think tonight was a night of firsts. Again, I think we came in with a plan and on the road sometimes that’s what it takes. It takes guys getting behind the ball keeping a clean sheet and scoring on a set piece. Good teams go and win on the road just like that, so tonight was a good start for the season and hopefully we can continue that.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC – JOE CANNON:
Overall team winning… “I think it’s a stepping stone for our confidence, you can see even tonight on the road we looked almost like a different team than last week at home. I think it’s really just about creating that belief and that takes time and I think it is coming. Give credit to the guys for not putting their heads down and keep grinding it and I thought even before the goal was scored, you started to see us kind of take the game to them and we were rewarded with Jay’s effort.”
On the injury… “It was like in the 9th minute, I came out and I don’t know what happened, the ball hit my face; but I think his cleat [Townsend’s] or something got me on the left quad and it just started to be inflamed. There were points in the game when I thought should I or shouldn’t I and then it came to a point where I really just didn’t want to cost the team. It’s a hard decision a for a goalie cause you know you only have a limited amount of subs and you really don’t want to waste one on a goalie, but at the same time I took in all the factors and I’m happy with the decision I made.”
