Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps men moved to within a point of USL First Division leaders Charleston after a fine 2-0 away win over the Battery on Wednesday evening.

An early strike by Jason Jordan – his first of the season – was followed by substitute Nicholas Addlery's first-ever goal in USL-1 late in the second half, as the Whitecaps recorded their fifth win of 2008 and their first-ever three-point haul from Blackbaud Stadium in club history. The result also halted Charleston's unbeaten run of five straight victories in the league.

Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made one change to the side that started last Saturday's 1-0 victory at Portland Timbers. Omar Jarun replaced the absent Adrian Cann in the centre of Vancouver's defence, with the former Atlanta Silverbacks defender needing to wear a bandage on his head to protect stitches he received for a head wound sustained in last Friday's 2-0 home defeat to Seattle Sounders. Mike Anhaeuser's Battery, meanwhile, were unchanged from the starting XI that helped claim a 2-0 home win over Southern Derby rivals Atlanta last weekend.

On a warm and breezy evening in Charleston, it was the Whitecaps that looked the more impressive with their patient possession play in the opening 45 minutes. An uneventful start by both sides gave way to the first chance of the game, but Battery midfielder Osvaldo Alonso was unable to hit the target with a free kick on eight minutes.

The game's turning point came a minute later, as Jordan recorded his first goal of 2008. After taking a pass from Justin Moose on the right flank, Lyle Martin neatly eluded his marker before playing a low byline cross to the near post, where the Richmond, BC, native was on hand to beat Battery goalkeeper Keith Wiggans with a simple finish.

Jordan's goal jolted Charleston into action and, to their credit, the home side made a positive reply with some decent attack play of their own. Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly, who was making his second competitive start for the club, had to make a fine save from former Montreal Impact and Toronto Lynx defender Chris Williams' well-struck shot on 14 minutes.

Though Vancouver struggled to work Wiggans as much as they would have desired, the Charleston shot-stopper was called on to deal with a dangerous Diaz Kambere cross from the left on 22 minutes, as Eduardo Sebrango was lurking in a dangerous position in the Battery box.

At the other end, Jarun had his hands full with USL-1 leading goalscorer Randi Patterson. The Palestinian international was then booked on 26 minutes for what looked to be a decent tackle on the former New York Red Bulls striker at the halfway line. Moments later, Kevin Nylen struck Nolly's side-netting with a far-post header from a Charleston corner before Battery captain Ian Fuller flew a shot high and wide of the target on 28 minutes.

Though the Whitecaps had good spells of possession towards the end of the half, chances were still few and far between, with Nash failing to connect properly with a chance at the top of the Battery box on 42 minutes before an Alonso's long-distance drive flew just wide of Nolly's goal a minute later.

Thordarson would have been pleased to be a goal up at the break, and even though heavy rain greeted both sets of players for the start of the second half, the visitors continued to press for more goals after the restart. "We always want to find a good mix between possession and attacking football," Thordarson told whitecapsfc.com after the game. "I felt we showed that mix very well tonight. We basically let the opponent chase us, and when they started to get tired, we tried to hit them on the break again."

On 48 minutes, Wiggans struggled to properly deal with Nash's low shot, as the Battery keeper was forced to concede a corner before Steve Kindel rolled a low shot wide of the target moments later. On 53 minutes, Jordan struck a solid turn and shot right at the mid-section of Wiggans.

Charleston endured a frustrating evening in front of the Whitecaps goal, with substitute Stephen Armstrong striking a free kick chance right to the arms of Nolly on 58 minutes before Wiggans had to save again from Nash, as the Vancouver captain drove an indirect free kick at the Battery keeper.

The home side kept searching for a leveler in the wet conditions, but Nolly was equal to a mis-hit Williams cross on 70 minutes before easily stopping a shot from the dangerous Patterson three minutes later.

Any hopes that Charleston had of making the month of May a perfect one in the results column ended on 75 minutes, as substitute Addlery scored his first-ever goal in USL-1. A fine run by Tony Donatelli saw the midfielder slot an equally fine through ball to the former DC United striker. The Jamaican rounded Wiggans in the Battery box before slotting the ball into the empty net to give Vancouver a two-goal lead. "We thought from the sideline that Nick was about to miss it, as he looked to be at a bad angle after rounded the keeper," Thordarson said. "Yet, he was able to stroke it in, so that was fantastic to see."

It was a well-worked goal by the Whitecaps, as Thordarson's side looked in command of proceedings at this stage, though Charleston showed they still had fight in the dying stages. However, both Alonso and substitute Aaron King were off target with close-range headers before Nylen failed to connect properly with his effort on front of Nolly.


As pleased as he was to see his side work for the two-goal victory, Thordarson admitted it was a challenging contest against an in-form Battery side. "I was expecting a very tough game here tonight, and I thought it was a tough game," he admitted. "After we got the 1-0 lead, I felt we let control of the contest go away from us a little. We then changed the formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 in order to regain control of it again, and that never allowed Charleston back into the game. It was definitely a great result for us in the end."

With a fourth victory in six games, Vancouver will move on to Minnesota for a Saturday evening rematch with the Thunder. Charleston, meanwhile, will now enjoy a break before hosting another Canadian side in Montreal Impact for a second time this season on Saturday, June 7.

Goal Summary:
9' - VAN - Jason Jordan (Lyle Martin)
Jason Jordan scored his first goal of the season after slotting home Lyle Martin's low byline cross at the near post. Martin took a pass on the right from Justin Moose before beating his Charleston marker and feeding the ball into the Battery box.

75' - VAN - Nicholas Addlery (Tony Donatelli)
A fine forward run by Tony Donatelli allowed the Whitecaps midfielder to play an equally fine through ball to fellow substitute Nicholas Addlery. The former DC United hit-man rounded a helpless Keith Wiggans in the Charleston goal before slotting the ball into an empty net.

Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 6 – Charleston 14
Saves: Vancouver 5 – Charleston 3
Fouls: Vancouver 10 – Charleston 11
Offsides: Vancouver 0 – Charleston 2
Corners: Vancouver 1 – Charleston 7

Cautions:
Vancouver: Omar Jarun 26', Tony Donatelli 64'
Charleston: Lester More 85', Kevin Nylen 90'

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 15.Omar Jarun (13.Mason Webb 77'), 19.Chris Pozniak, 24.Lyle Martin, 28.Diaz Kambere; 7.Martin Nash, 8.Steve Kindel, 23.Vicente Arze (9.Alfredo Valente 50'), 25.Justin Moose; 16.Eduardo Sebrango (11.Nicholas Addlery 71'), 26.Jason Jordan (14.Tony Donatelli 63')

Subs not used: 77.Srdjan Djekanovic, 27.Stefan Leslie, 20.Dever Orgill

Charleston Battery
30.Keith Wiggans; 2.Nelson Akwari, 3.Kevin Nylen, 4.Tim Velten (23.Lester More 84'), 25.John Wilson; 6.Osvaldo Alonso, 7.Chris Williams (9.Darren Spicer 71'), 11.Ian Fuller (12.Chris Corcoran 55'), 15.Mike Richardson (16.Stephen Armstrong 55'); 8.Lazo Alavanja (14.Aaron King 63'), 20.Randi Patterson

Subs not used: 1.Dusty Hudock, 13.Louie Rolko