Residency draw with Hertha in Berlin

May 27, 2009

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency were held to a 2-2 draw by the U-19 Junior Bundesliga side of Hertha Berlin on Wednesday.

In the fourth friendly match of their two-week trip to Germany, Residency striker Jerome Baker took his goal tally in Europe to six after a pair of first-half goals. Though the 'Caps had further quality chances to extend their lead, their Berlin hosts earned themselves a draw with a goal in each half.

On a nice midweek day for soccer in the German capital, it was the Canadian visitors that took the lead on 13 minutes, as Baker got in behind the Hertha backline before finishing his chance for 1-0.

As they played in the shadows of Berlin's impressive Olympic Stadium, Baker's strike partner Alex Semenets was unlucky not to double the Residency team's lead, as he struck the post on 17 minutes. A second Whitecaps goal did materialize six minutes later, as Baker breached the Hertha defence again before striking home for a 2-0 lead.

Yet, unlike the success they enjoyed in Tuesday's win at Hansa Rostock, the Berliners pulled a goal back on 35 minutes before Baker missed a big chance to claim his hat-trick five minutes later.

It meant Vancouver took a 2-1 lead into the halftime break.

Residency head coach Thomas Niendorf made three changes to his line-up midway through the second half, with Hertha having made some positive adjustments of their own soon after the restart.

One of the Residency's substitutes was striker Coulton Jackson, who was unlucky not to make it 3-1 when he struck the Hertha post on 76 minutes. Four minutes later, the Berliners made their guests pay for that miss by scoring the equalizer.

Though the match was level, the Residency team kept pushing for more goals, with Baker missing two clear chances in the final 10 minutes of the match to earn a fourth-straight win for the young 'Caps. In the end, however, both sides had to settle for a 2-2 result.

Though his side squandered a two-goal lead, Niendorf was pleased with the way his team played against a full-strength Hertha U-19 squad. "I'm very happy with the performance from our players, as today's match was played on a very high level from both teams," he told whitecapsfc.com.

Whitecaps Residency will now turn their attentions to this weekend's INSEL-CUP junior international tournament, where they finished third at the U-19 competition last year. The Residency side have been drawn in Group Two for the 2009 event and will play German clubs FC St. Pauli and SpVgg 03 Ilvesheim, as well as Greek outfit Skoda Xanthi FC. All three group games will be played as short-sided matches on Saturday, with the semifinals and final taking place on Sunday.

Whitecaps FC Residency - starting line-up v Hertha Berlin
Julien Latendresse-Lévesque; Axel Levry (Bobby Jhutty 67'), Keithy Simpson, Jack Cubbon, Kevin Cobby; Philippe Davies, Gagandeep Dosanjh, Sahil Sandhu (Gagandeep Josan 65'), Russell Teibert; Jerome Baker, Alex Semenets (Coulton Jackson 67')

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