Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps FC men suffered a 2-1 away defeat to Canadian rivals Montreal Impact on Saturday afternoon.

First-half goals in the space of five minutes by Rocco Placentino and Roberto Brown led the Impact to a second-straight win over the Whitecaps in USL First Division action at Stade Saputo. Though Marlon James replied for the visitors in the second half, the Quebec-based outfit held on for a second-straight win in USL-1.The result meant Montreal won the regular season series of matches against Vancouver in the league.

Playing in front of a national audience on CBC's 'Soccer Day in Canada', Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made three changes to the side that started the 3-2 home win over Miami FC Blues a week ago Friday. Mason Trafford and James replaced the suspended duo of Wesley Charles and Charles Gbeke in the visitors' starting XI. Trafford partnered Marco Reda in the centre of the Whitecaps backline, while James played alongside Marcus Haber in attack. The other change saw Vicente Arze replace Ansu Toure on the left-hand side of midfield.

Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos, meanwhile, made no less than seven changes to the side that started Thursday's 6-1 home defeat to Major League Soccer club Toronto FC in the final match of the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. Matt Jordan returned to the Montreal goal in place of former 'Caps goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic, while in defence, captain Nevio Pizzolitto and fit-again Stefano Pesoli replaced Elkana Mayard and Kevin Sakuda. Three players in Felix Brillant, Sandro Grande, and Placentino came into a five-man Montreal midfield, while Brown played as a lone striker for the home side.

On an overcast day in Montreal, the Whitecaps made a lively start to the all-Canadian contest before the Impact finished the opening half as the stronger side.

Playing in their away strip of all blue, the 'Caps early dominance was reflected by the number of corners they won. On four minutes, Arze rolled a shot wide of the target from one of those Vancouver corners, while James was not far away with a well-driven strike after taking Martin Nash's forward ball before cutting inside to tee up his shot from the left flank.

Yet, for all their pressure, Jordan was not tested in the Montreal goal. He made routine saves from a James header and Haber's chipped strike at goal, while at the other end, the visitors had a bit of a scare on the quarter-hour mark when Reda knocked Placentino's cross just wide of his near post.

With little to separate the two clubs, the match started to even out as a contest through the midway stages of the first half. On 23 minutes, Arze forced a nice save from Jordan with a low shot, while Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly made an easy save from Grande's free kick from the left.

Then on 34 minutes, Montreal stunned the 'Caps by taking the lead through a fine left-footed strike from Placentino. Whitecaps players were looking for an offside decision after the ball was played back into the Vancouver box to Brown. 'Caps defender Wes Knight initially dispossessed the Impact striker, but the ball fell kindly to Placentino, who powerfully hit his shot off the inside of the far post and into the net for 1-0.

The goal breathed new life and energy into the Impact, and on 37 minutes, Brillant nearly caught Nolly out with a deep cross from the right.

Two minutes later, Montreal doubled the lead following a fine forward passing move. Former Whitecaps midfielder David Testo slipped a through ball to an unmarked Placentino on the left flank. Having eluded the attentions of Knight, Placentino raced to the byline before cutting the ball back right in front of goal to Brown. The Panamanian marksman was then able to turn with ease and beat Nolly to make it 2-0.

It was a sudden turn of events for the 'Caps, though they tried to get a goal back before halftime, but Ethan Gage drilled a shot high and wide from distance after taking a Takashi Hirano pass from the left on 41 minutes. Four minutes later, the visitors struck the woodwork twice from Nash's free kick from the right. James initially headed the Vancouver captain's set-piece against the crossbar before Reda headed the rebound off the far post.

It meant the Impact took a two-goal lead to the break - much to the delight of the home fans.

Needing to find a way back into the contest after the restart, the Whitecaps earned a free kick on 47 minutes, but James could not direct Nash's set-piece from the left on target.

Arze then found the book of match referee Justin Tasev following a late challenge on Montreal's Simon Gatti before Thordarson made his first substitution of the game, as Gordon Chin replaced Gage in midfield on 54 minutes. A minute later, Jordan made a simple diving save to James' low strike from the edge of the Impact box before stopping Arze's powerful effort on 59 minutes.

Yet, to their credit, the Whitecaps made the game a contest on 63 minutes, as James scored his fourth goal of the season with a solid finish past Jordan. Arze's cross took a deflection off Pesoli's arm and fell kindly for the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines captain to convert and halve Vancouver's deficit.

The Whitecaps goal brought a response from the home side, with Gatti flashing a shot across the face of goal on 65 minutes before Impact substitute Joey Gjertsen had a close-range effort blocked away by the 'Caps defence three minutes later.

Searching for a leveler, Thordarson made more personnel changes just after midway point of the second half, with youngster Dever Orgill taking the place of Haber in attack and Toure replacing Arze on the left-hand side of midfield. On the right flank, Knight moved up to midfield, while Lyle Martin dropped into the fullback position in a bid to slow down the ever-dangerous Placentino.

With fresh legs and the impetus to earn at least a point from the match, the Whitecaps claimed a couple of free-kick opportunities. However, on 73 minutes, Nash struck his set-piece over a five-man Impact wall and Jordan's crossbar before James glanced another free kick from Nash wide of the target with his head three minutes later.

Amazingly, referee Tasev gave Vancouver the lifeline of seven minutes additional time at the end of the match to try and find an equalizer. The extra time allowed the visitors to create two glorious opportunities, with James heading Toure's excellent cross from the left wide of the far post before Jordan made a crucial save to deny Orgill scoring his second goal of the season after the Jamaican youth international powerfully headed James' cross on target.


Despite those late chances, the Impact held on for a morale-boosting victory following the disappointing events of Thursday night, while the Whitecaps will be disappointed not to have claimed something from Saturday's game, as Vancouver fell to their third league defeat away from home.

Though disappointed with the result, Thordarson was not too downcast with events in Montreal. "I thought we didn’t play that badly, but we made some defensive errors that cost us today," he told whitecapsfc.com. "I thought Montreal's first goal looked offside to me initially, but we switched off a bit on their second goal, as we were looking for another offside decision from the through ball to Placentino. We made defensive mistakes early last season, but were able to sort those problems out and get better as the year went on. We will need to do the same again this season. I'm just disappointed that we didn’t earn a draw after the chances that we created, especially at the end of the match."

The Whitecaps will remain on the road following Saturday's match, as they head across the border to Ohio for a first-ever meeting with USL-1 new boys Cleveland City Stars on Tuesday evening. The Impact, meanwhile, will now prepare to host Miami FC at Stade Saputo on Tuesday night.

Scoring Summary:
34’ – MON – Rocco Placentino (Roberto Brown)
39’ – MON – Roberto Brown (Rocco Placentino)
63’ – VAN – Marlon James (Vicente Arze)

Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 17 – Montreal 8
Saves: Vancouver 5 – Montreal 8
Fouls: Vancouver 16 – Montreal 13
Offsides: Vancouver 2 – Montreal 8
Corners: Vancouver 10 – Montreal 6

Cautions:
53' - VAN - Vicente Arze
58' - MON - Simon Gatti
73' - MON - Nevio Pizzolitto
80' - VAN - Ansu Toure
83' - MON - Matt Jordan

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 22.Takashi Hirano, 18.Mason Trafford, 2.Marco Reda, 8.Wes Knight (25.Tyrell Burgess 79’); 23.Vicente Arze (16.Ansu Toure 70’), 7.Martin Nash, 20.Ethan Gage (28.Gordon Chin 54’), 24.Lyle Martin; 9.Marlon James, 14.Marcus Haber (11.Dever Orgill 69’)

Subs not used: 99.Diego, 3.Luca Bellisomo, 13.Kenold Versailles

Montreal Impact
1.Matt Jordan; 5.Nevio Pizzolitto, 16.Stefano Pesoli, 23.Stephen deRoux, 24.Simon Gatti (2.Kevin Sakuda 75’); 7.David Testo, 8.Sandro Grande, 9.Rocco Placentino (30.Pierre-Rudolph Mayard 86’), 18.Leonardo Di Lorenzo (17.Joey Gjertsen 57’); 10.Roberto Brown (28.Peter Byers 83’), 21.Felix Brillant (14.Tony Donatelli 89’)

Subs not used: 22.Srdjan Djekanovic, 13.Elkana Mayard