unsatisfactory: Whitecaps need late goal to tie cellar-dwelling squad from St. Louis
BY MARC WEBER
Still unbeaten but wholly unsatisfied, the Vancouver Whitecaps played AC St. Louis to a 1-1 tie Thursday night to keep their Swangard Stadium streak intact.
Vancouver now is 4-0-4 in Burnaby this USSF D-2 season and they haven't lost in eight league games overall.
Yet if many of the 5,185 fans left with a bounce in their step, it was only because the Whitecaps had to come from behind to earn the point in dramatic fashion.
Expansion St. Louis is bottom of the standings. This was two points lost, not one gained. And for the Vancouver players and coaches, it's starting to feel all too familiar -- five ties during their eight-game streak.
"These kinds of games, we just need to win," said head coach Teitur Thordarson, who used five second-half substitutions and was thankful one paid off with a goal.
Randy Edwini-Bonsu netted his first of the season in the 87th minute and Blake Wagner deserved equal credit.
The left back sprang the speedy forward with a pretty long ball over the St. Louis defence and Edwini-Bonsu finished calmly past Alec Dufty in net.
Vancouver controlled possession throughout and put plenty of crosses into the penalty area, but it didn't add up to much.
They went behind in the 72nd minute when some shocking marking left Mark Bloom to bash a ball past Jay Nolly following a corner kick.
It was a rare defensive lapse for this stingy Whitecaps squad, and it left Wagner in no mood to receive praise after a fine individual performance.
"I think there were three guys open on that play," he said. "I think the whole team has to take responsibility. Absolutely, these are games we should be winning."
Wagner made his first start at left back, one of two changes for Thordarson following Vancouver's 0-0 tie at Portland on Saturday. Jonny Steele also replaced Cornelius Stewart up front as Thordarson went with two natural midfielders, Steele and Nizar Khalfan, at forward.
The coach will be thankful for the inevitable flow of forwards at practice over the next month as the international transfer window opens.
"I didn't think we were bad, but I'm not happy," Thordarson said. "We knew we would have to penetrate, have a go at them, and I don't feel we took enough risk.
"We are more possession-oriented than we want to be. We need more straight attacks with people running through, need to be more aggressive."
Wagner was starting in place of the injured Zurab Tsiskaridze, whose X-ray on his right ankle was negative following a nasty kick from Dever Orgill at practice Tuesday.
The club announced before the game that Orgill, a promising but petulant 20-year-old forward from Jamaica, has been released.
The way Wagner played, Tsiskaridze will be keen to come back soon. The left side is due to get even more crowded with the addition of winger Alex Elliott, a former Canadian under-20 who finally has his transfer paperwork sorted.
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