Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps men recorded their second draw of the 2008 USL First Division season after a 1-1 home result with Miami FC Blues on Sunday night.

Chris Pozniak's first-ever Whitecaps goal cancelled out Juan Pablo Galavis' first-half strike for the Blues in what was a pulsating USL-1 encounter at Swangard Stadium.

While the home side looked to take the initiative to their south Florida visitors throughout the contest, Miami showed real potency on the counter-attack, and could have considered themselves unfortunate not to claim all three points from the away encounter.

Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made four changes to the side that fell 2-0 away to Montreal Impact in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship last Tuesday. Fresh back from FIFA World Cup qualifying duty with the Canadian national team, captain Adrian Cann made his first start in nearly a month, as he replaced Omar Jarun in the centre of the Vancouver back-line. Diaz Kambere also returned to the starting XI for Takashi Hirano at left fullback, while Tony Donatelli replaced the suspended Alfredo Valente in midfield. In attack, Eduardo Sebrango was also back in the starting line-up, as he replaced youngster Nick Webb.

The big surprise on Sunday was the number of changes that Miami head coach Zinho made for their visit to Vancouver, as the 1994 Brazilian World Cup winner brought in nine new players to face the Whitecaps following Friday's 0-0 draw at Seattle Sounders. Despite not conceding a goal in six straight league games, Miami goalkeeper Josh Saunders made way for former Toronto FC and Chivas USA shot-stopper Sam Reynolds on Sunday. Only centre back Cristiano Dias and midfielder Jarryd Goldberg made Miami's starting XI after the pair each played 90 minutes in Seattle.

On a bright and sunny summer evening, a third sold-out crowd of the season saw the Whitecaps have most of the possession in the first quarter hour of the game, with Miami seemingly satisfied to sit back in their own half in a 3-4-3 formation.

On four minutes, Lyle Martin caused some excitement with a surging run that saw him elude both Luis Calix and John Pulido before his cross was cleared away by the visitors. A minute later, Kambere's cross from the left caught Reynolds slightly off-guard, but fortunately for the Miami keeper, the ball rolled out into touch.

On 14 minutes, Donatelli was unable to redirect Justin Moose's corner from the left on target before Kambere made a fine forward run that nearly resulted in a goalscoring opportunity, but his final touch saw him concede a goal kick instead.

It looked like the Whitecaps were in control of proceedings, but Miami's intent to hit their hosts on the break saw them score the opening goal on virtually their first attack of the game on 20 minutes. Nicolas Mosquera played the ball to Guatemalan Willie Sims on the right before his floated cross to Galavis saw the striker power home a header at the far post for 1-0. Galavis was then booked by referee Mathieu Bourdeau for his goal celebration, while the Blues were forced into a substitution when Dias came out of the match injured, with defender Chris Williams replacing him before the game's restart.

Galavis felt Miami's game plan worked effectively in Burnaby. "We tried to be as compact as we could be, and then tried to counter-attack," he told whitecapsfc.com after the game. "We knew the Whitecaps were going to attack us, so we just decided to step back and hit them on the break. It worked in the first half, but they came at us in the second half and it was hard to maintain our level of play. We may not be scoring too many goals, but we are adding points to the standings. I think we will go home pretty happy after claiming points here and in Seattle."

Vancouver's response to going behind was positive, with Steve Kindel seeing a shot deflect away for a corner after Williams failed to properly clear Donatelli's cross from the left on 27 minutes, while Sims curled a shot wide of Nolly's goal following another Miami break two minutes later.

Martin Nash then had the Whitecaps best chance of the first half, as Reynolds did brilliantly to stop his free kick effort on target after Goldberg had pulled down Sebrango near the edge of the Miami box.

On 36 minutes, Nolly had to be alert to clear the ball away from the onrushing Eric Vasquez before Moose was unlucky to make more of a fine forward ball from Nash, as Reynolds was able to knock the loose ball off the winger and into touch for a goal kick.

There were chances at both ends before the halftime break, with Cann's header hitting the top side of the Miami crossbar from Moose's corner before a four-versus-two break by the Blues saw Nash make a last-ditch clearance from Vasquez after Mosquera played the Miami striker in on the Vancouver goal.

Though Miami had a one-goal advantage to start the second half, their depleted squad faced a stern test soon after the restart, with Kindel hitting a first-time shot wide of the target from another Moose corner on 50 minutes.

A minute later, the Whitecaps pulled level in spectacular fashion. After the Blues failed to clear their lines, Sebrango took Kindel's cross in the Miami box and laid it off his chest to Pozniak, who was facing goal. The Canadian international hammered his first-time shot off the underside of Reynolds' crossbar and into the net to make it 1-1.

Pozniak admitted his side took a bit of a chance with their tactics on Sunday. "Before the start of the game, we talked about getting high pressure on Miami," he told reporters after the game. "In doing so, it means that you leave yourselves exposed at the back a little bit, though it is something that you have to sacrifice if you're going to play that way. We haven't trained enough to be 100 per cent well tuned with that aspect of our game, so there are things that we still need to work on."

The goal injected real life into Vancouver's play, and on 54 minutes, Jason Jordan brought another good save out of Reynolds with a point-blank strike after the Whitecaps striker took a pass from Moose before eluding Williams on the edge of the Miami box.

The home side kept pressing forward to find a second goal, with Nash seeing his free kick from the left fly across the face of the Miami goal on 67 minutes before Nolly needed to save from Vasquez at the other end a minute later.

Whitecaps fans then had their hearts in their mouths on 70 minutes, as Sims intercepted a mis-played Pozniak square ball before beating Cann and breaking in clear on Nolly's goal. As he neared the edge of the Vancouver box, the striker stepped over the ball and amazingly lost control before recovering possession and striking a turn and shot wide of the target.

Nicholas Addlery then replaced Jordan to partner Sebrango up front midway through the half, and the Jamaican looked to have won a penalty after being cut down in the Miami box by Blues centre back Eric Brunner on 72 minutes. However, referee Bourdeau waved away the appeals of Whitecaps players and fans.

The energy and tempo of the second half made for an entertaining contest for the sold-out crowd, with both sides showing a real desire to get forward and attack at every opportunity.

In the dying stages, Sebrango had a goal-bound effort bravely cleared off the goal line by Miami substitute Sean Fraser before the ensuing corner from Nash saw Reynolds make an excellent save from Pozniak's goal-bound header.

There was even a final chance that fell to Sebrango in time added on, but the Cuban hit-man was unable to hit the target from six yards out after Addlery did well to deliver a low cross into his strike partner following a fine run down the right flank.


Though the game ended in a 1-1 draw, fans went home in a positive mood after seeing an event-filled summertime contest at Swangard. "It think we may have given some people some heart attacks as well," Thordarson said after the game. "It was an open game from both sides, and Miami are a totally different team compared to the side we played earlier in the season. They looked more organized and played on the counter-attack. We could have won the game, yet we could have lost it as well. We made some mistakes, but we created some great chances as well. We now need to look forward to Wednesday and our game with Montreal."

Vancouver's next game will be in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on Wednesday night, as Montreal make their second visit of 2008 to Swangard for what is a crucial encounter in the three-club competition, with Thordarson's side facing games against Major League Soccer club Toronto FC in early July. Miami, meanwhile, return home to host fellow USL-1 side Atlanta Silverbacks in the second round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday night.

Goal Summaries:
20' - MIA - 1-0 - Juan Pablo Galavis (Willie Sims)
Nicolas Mosquera played the ball to Sims on the right. His floated cross to Galavis saw the striker power home a header at the far post to give Miami a 1-0 lead.

51' - VAN - 1-1 - Chris Pozniak (Eduardo Sebrango)
Eduardo Sebrango took Steve Kindel's ball into the Miami box and laid it off his chest to Pozniak, who was facing goal. The defender hammered his first-time shot off the underside of the Miami crossbar and into the net to make it 1-1.

Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 11 – Miami 9
Saves: Vancouver 2 – Miami 5
Fouls: Vancouver 14 – Miami 12
Offsides: Vancouver 1 – Miami 3
Corners: Vancouver 15 – Miami 1

Cautions:
Vancouver: Nick Addlery 87’
Miami: Juan Pablo Galavis 20’, Eric Vasquez 65’, Sam Reynolds 90+

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 4.Adrian Cann, 19.Chris Pozniak, 24.Lyle Martin, 28.Diaz Kambere (22.Takashi Hirano 62’); 7.Martin Nash, 8.Steve Kindel, 14.Tony Donatelli, 25.Justin Moose (27.Stefan Leslie 89’); 16.Eduardo Sebrango, 26.Jason Jordan (11.Nick Addlery 71’)

Subs not used: 3.Nick Webb, 11.Nick Addlery, 13.Mason Webb, 15.Omar Jarun, 30.Richard Goddard

Miami FC Blues
12.Sam Reynolds; 4. Cristiano Dias (3.Chris Williams 21’), 20.Luis Calix, 24.Eric Brunner; 8.John Pulido, 11.Eric Vasquez, 14.Jarryd Goldberg, 27.Ricardo Cavalcante (7.Sean Fraser 79’); 18.Nico Mosquera, 19. Juan Pablo Galavis, 22.Willie Sims

Subs not used: 1. Josh Saunders