Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps completed their four-game road trip to the southeastern United States on a disappointing note after a 3-2 defeat at Atlanta Silverbacks on Tuesday evening.

Despite having youngsters Luca Bellisomo and Admir Salihovic score their first-ever USL First Division goals for the club, Atlanta claimed their third-straight victory to begin a busy month of August after strikes by Tony McManus, Macoumba Kandji, and Jerson Monteiro at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made three changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Charleston Battery on Sunday. Former Silverbacks centre back Omar Jarun was suspended for Tuesday's contest after accumulating five yellow cards. He was replaced in the Vancouver back-line by Takashi Hirano, who returned to the line-up after his sending off at Carolina RailHawks last Friday, with captain Jeff Clarke slotting into the centre of defence alongside Wesley Charles. Vicente Arze and Charles Gbeke also had to settle for places on the substitutes' bench, as striker Jason Jordan and midfielder Alfredo Valente took their places in the starting XI, while Nicholas Addlery played on the right side of midfield for the second consecutive time.

Silverbacks head coach Jason Smith, meanwhile, made two changes to the side that started Sunday's thrilling seven-goal win at Rochester Rhinos. Former Minnesota Thunder winger Ansu Toure replaced the Chilean Rodrigo Rios in midfield, while Felipe Quintero replaced Ryan McIntosh in goal.

Though it was their fourth road match in eight days, the Whitecaps made a bright start to Tuesday's game, as they applied some good pressure on their hosts in the early stages.

On three minutes, Martin Nash struck a shot from near the edge of the Silverbacks box that flew over Quintero's crossbar. A minute later, Bellisomo was booked for a robust challenge on speedy Atlanta winger Ansu Toure at the halfway line.

The visitors then created a couple of chances through Valente, with the midfielder having a shot blocked in the Silverbacks box on five minutes before he struck a half-volleyed effort high and wide on 19 minutes.

It took until the 21st minute for the Silverbacks to create their first opportunity, with the ever-dangerous Kandji winning the ball on the edge of the Vancouver box before striking a shot wide of Jay Nolly's goal.

On 25 minutes, Valente was unable to find his teammate at the far post with a chipped byline cross after Steve Kindel took a quickly played Nash free kick and found his fellow midfielder on the left-hand side. A minute later, former Whitecaps striker Jason McLaughlin brought a fine save out of Nolly with a powerful right-foot shot, as Vancouver struggled to deal with a Toure byline cross from the left.

With chances starting to be created at both ends, it was the Whitecaps that took the lead on 31 minutes. Valente's corner from the right found Wesley Charles at the far post, with the big defender heading the ball back into the path of Bellisomo. His well-placed header from ten yards out beat Quintero and found the back of the net for his first-ever Whitecaps goal.

Though a goal behind, Atlanta's response proved to be a positive one, with Kandji hitting a shot off the outside of his right foot, but just wide of the target a minute later.

On 37 minutes, the Silverbacks drew level, as a fine incisive run by Toure saw him elude the attentions of Bellisomo and Addlery before his byline cutback fell kindly to McManus. With a clear view at goal, the Atlanta midfielder powered his half-volleyed strike past Nolly and into the top corner of the goal for 1-1.

The equalizer seemed to spur the Georgia outfit on to finish the half strongly, with Kandji forcing Nolly to save his close-range shot with his face after the African forward eluded Hirano, Clarke, and Kindel in the Vancouver box. Despite the effort, both sides went to the break at 1-1.

Where the first half saw good energy in the Whitecaps play, Vancouver quickly tired after halftime, as Atlanta took control of the contest. The visitors did have the first good chance after the restart, with Valente taking neat Jordan back-heel in the Atlanta box before hitting a shot off the top side of the crossbar on 49 minutes.

However, things took a turn for the worse for Vancouver on 53 minutes, as Atlanta took the lead through Kandji. The Senegalese forward picked up the ball near the centre circle before running past Nash, Charles, and Bellisomo into the Vancouver box. With only Nolly to beat, he poked his finish past the Whitecaps number one to make it 2-1.

Sensing that his side was tiring, Thordarson brought on Mason Trafford and Gbeke for Bellisomo and Jordan respectively, but it seemed not to stem the tide of the match, as the Silverbacks nearly increased their lead on 59 minutes. Toure's run and shot from near the edge of the Vancouver box looked to have taken a deflection off Charles before Nolly's partial save redirected the ball off the post.

Atlanta were finding space in behind the Vancouver back-line at this stage, and they went on to further punish their visitors with a decisive third goal on 65 minutes. Kandji was given time to run down the right flank before picking out strike partner Monteiro with an excellent first-time cross. The former DC United striker's close-range finish got past Nolly to make it 3-1 to the Silverbacks.

Two goals down, Thordarson brought more fresh legs on to the pitch, as Salihovic and Whitecaps Residency youngster Ethan Gage were given a run out for the final stages of what seemingly looked to be a lost cause.

The move proved to be an inspired one, as Salihovic struck his first-ever goal for the club on 79 minutes when he knocked fellow substitute Arze's cross from the left off the knees of Quintero at the far post and into the net for 3-2. "I was very happy to see him score, as it will have been good for his self-confidence, which he must try and build up," Thordarson said of the young winger to whitecapsfc.com. "Admir has very interesting qualities as a winger. He's extremely fast and is technically good, especially at delivering top-quality crosses. We certainly have something to work on, in terms of what he can provide for us."

The second goal brought a late flourish from the Whitecaps, as they looked to try and earn an unlikely point, but after substitute Gbeke missed the target on 86 minutes and Atlanta's David Hayes tested the arms of Nolly with a free kick at the other end in the five minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle ensured a third-straight victory for Atlanta, with the Silverbacks leapfrogging Seattle Sounders and Rochester Rhinos to move into fourth place in the USL-1 standings. The Whitecaps, meanwhile, remain tied for first place with Charleston on 34 points, having now played two-thirds of their regular season schedule.


Thordarson felt defensive errors and fatigue were contributors to Tuesday's defeat. "We made some bad mistakes on their first two goals, but you could also see clearly how this was our fourth game in a short space of time, especially with the heat and humidity down here," he said. "However, we cannot not use that as an excuse, as we had the game in our hands early when we took the lead. Yet, we didn't keep our shape and that allowed Atlanta to open us up quite a lot and get the goals. They have very good and fast players up front, and they hurt us because we were not as fresh as we would have liked to have been."

The Atlanta game brought Vancouver's four-match road trip to an end, with the Whitecaps claiming two wins and two defeats in the process. "It's not been that bad of a trip, as we have taken six points out of a possible 12, though I was hoping for more," said the Icelandic tactician. "When I look over these last four games, I feel we have played extremely well. The game in Carolina, however, proved to be very taxing because we played with one less player on the pitch for 50 minutes. In the heat there, the situation caused us to lose a lot of energy. I still feel the referees influenced the outcome in the Charleston game on Sunday, but as for tonight, we were at fault for two of Atlanta's goals with the mistakes that we made. I can say the group is extremely tired at the moment."

The Whitecaps will now look to pick themselves up from their two recent defeats by hosting the Silverbacks at Swangard Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Before Atlanta make the trip west to Vancouver, Smith's side host Miami FC Blues at Atlanta Silverbacks Park on Friday evening.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC have announced that they will pursue one of two Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchises set to be added to the league by 2011. Fans are encouraged to visit whitecapsfc.com/mls to register their support for a Whitecaps MLS franchise and help show the rest of North America what Vancouver and British Columbia have to offer.

Goal Summaries:
VAN - Luca Bellisomo (Wesley Charles) 31'
Alfredo Valente's corner from the right found Wesley Charles at the far post, with the big defender heading the ball back into the path of Luca Bellisomo on the edge of the six-yard box. His well-placed header beat Silverbacks goalkeeper Felipe Quintero and found the back of the net for the defender's first-ever Whitecaps goal.

ATL - Tony McManus 37'
A incisive run by Ansu Toure saw him elude the attentions of Luca Bellisomo and midfielder Nicholas Addlery before finding Tony McManus with his byline cutback. With a clear view at goal, the Atlanta midfielder powered his shot past Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly and into the top corner of the goal for 1-1.

ATL - Macoumba Kandji 53'
Senegalese forward Macoumba Kandji picked up the ball in the centre circle before running past the Whitecaps trio of Martin Nash, Wesley Charles, and Luca Bellisomo into the Vancouver box. With only Jay Nolly to beat, he poked his finish past the Whitecaps number one to make it 2-1.

ATL - Jerson Monteiro (Macoumba Kandji) 65'
Macoumba Kandji was given time to run down the right flank before picking out strike partner Jerson Monteiro with an excellent cross. The former DC United striker's close-range finish got past Nolly to make it 3-1 to the Silverbacks.

VAN - Admir Salihovic (Vicente Arze) 79'
Admir Salihovic struck his first-ever goal for the club on 79 minutes when he knocked fellow substitute Vicente Arze's cross from the left off the knees of keeper Felipe Quintero at the far post and into the net for 3-2.

Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 8 – Atlanta 20
Saves: Vancouver 5 – Atlanta 2
Fouls: Vancouver 14 – Atlanta 6
Offsides: Vancouver 3 – Atlanta 2
Corners: Vancouver 1 – Atlanta 5

Cautions:
Vancouver: Luca Bellisomo 4', Nick Addlery 31', Eduardo Sebrango 75', Vicente Arze 90'
Atlanta: Josh Bolton 75'

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 2.Jeff Clarke, 4.Wesley Charles, 6.Luca Bellisomo, 22.Takashi Hirano (29.Admir Salihovic 76'); 7.Martin Nash (20.Ethan Gage 68'), 8.Steve Kindel (18.Mason Trafford 58'), 9.Alfredo Valente, 11.Nicholas Addlery (23.Vicente Arze 45'); 16.Eduardo Sebrango, 26.Jason Jordan (98.Charles Gbeke 66')

Subs not used: 77.Srdjan Djekanovic

Atlanta Silverbacks
1.Felipe Quintero-Monsivais; 4.Justin Moore, 5.David Hayes, 18.Josh Bolton, 19.Martyn Lancaster (14.Zach Kirby 88'); 2.Scott Buete, 7.Jason McLaughlin, 12.Tony McManus, 16.Ansu Toure (20.Greg Chevalier 81'); 26.Jerson Monteiro (9.Nathan Knox 68'), 27.Macoumba Kandji (11.Rodrigo Rios-Rodriguez 84')

Subs not used: 22.Ryan McIntosh, 24.Chris Mahaffey, 25. Blake Camp