LILLEY REFLECTS ON SEASON SO FAR

July 29, 2007 - Having nearly played two-thirds of their regular-season campaign, Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coach Bob Lilley remains positive of what lies ahead for his team.

The triumph of claiming last season’s USL First Division championship has brought new challenges for the Whitecaps, as they look to defend their title. Whitecaps fans would have felt confident that another championship was on the horizon after Lilley’s side roared out of the starting blocks to begin the 2007 season. Vancouver extended their unbeaten streak that stretched back to last season to 16 games after recording five wins and two draws. The expansion Carolina RailHawks ended that run with a 1-0 victory at Swangard Stadium on May 25.

What proceeded was a disappointing run of results that saw the Whitecaps fall from the top of the USL-1 standings. Starting with the home defeat to Carolina, Lilley’s side claimed just two victories in their following 13 games. Their last win came at the start of the club’s extended road trip when they defeated Miami FC 1-0 on June 22.

Though it has been a season of contrasts for the Whitecaps, Lilley is upbeat about the future. “We obviously had a very good start in the first third of the season, though recently, we have been on a tough slide,” he told whitecapsfc.com. “Now that we are two thirds through, we’re still in a pretty good position. We feel like we have a very good group of players, so we have to come through in the final third of the season and build towards the playoffs. I have a lot of confidence in this team.”

The team’s recent woes did not go unnoticed by Lilley, who surprised many by making significant changes ahead of the July 30 transfer deadline. Four new players came into his squad in a bid to freshen things up, while three well-known faces departed Vancouver during the week. While the acquisition of striker Josh Hansen from California Victory will be seen as a good addition, the four-player trade that saw last season’s USL-1 MVP Joey Gjertsen and teammate David Testo head to Canadian rivals Montreal Impact for Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto and Surrey, BC native Alen Marcina would have initially turned some heads. Last Friday, striker Joel Bailey was also dealt to Carolina for highly-rated youngster Sola Abolaji.

Lilley admitted a change was needed after his team’s recent struggles. “The group that was here kept battling and we had some good performances, but we didn’t feel we were consistently dangerous enough,” he revealed. “We can’t just rely on Eddy Sebrango coming back, so we felt we needed to bring some players in that have some different qualities. The players we lost are very good players, but with the personnel we had at the time, we weren’t playing well enough to put our sights on a championship. Now, I feel we’re a lot better of a team than we were a week ago.”

One area that Lilley did not expect to have disruption was at the goalkeeper position, but following the sudden departure of Tony Caig last month, the Whitecaps made moves to bring in well-traveled shot-stopper Lutz Pfannenstiel as competition for Richard Goddard. “It’s Richard and Lutz’s job to battle for the starting position,” Lilley said. “Both have experience in the league and we want them both to play well. For most part, they’ve done a good job under the circumstances. I have the next eight games to look at those two and we will have a number one by the time we go into the playoffs. A lot will be determined in training and in the chances they get in games.”

Having faced all of USL-1’s other 11 clubs at this stage, Lilley pointed to Vancouver’s rivals as being his side’s main challengers for this season’s title. “For me, there’s more good teams that ever before,” he said. “On a given night, the likes of Miami, Carolina, and Atlanta have an abundance of talent and can beat you. I think Seattle are one of the top teams and they’ve been on a good stretch here for a while. Portland are a physical and workman-like team and will be hard to beat because they don’t give up a lot of goals. With their quality, a team like Montreal have got some players that can light a spark there and they are certainly in the hunt.”

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