Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps FC got their USL First Division playoff campaign off to a fine start with a 2-0 home victory over Minnesota Thunder in the first leg of their two-match quarterfinal series.

A first-half own goal by Thunder defender Jonathan Greenfield helped the Whitecaps to an important result at Swangard Stadium on Friday evening, with substitute Justin Moose striking a crucial second goal in the dying stages to give Vancouver a two-goal lead ahead of the second leg at the National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine, Minnesota, on Sunday.

Though they came away with nothing from their first playoff contest since 2004, Minnesota caused the Whitecaps a few problems throughout an eventful game, leaving many to think that the series is far from over at the halfway stage.

Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made two changes to the side that started last Saturday's final regular season win at Seattle Sounders. Geordie Lyall returned from injury to come into Vancouver's defensive backline, while Mason Trafford took his place in midfield, as Whitecaps Residency youngster Ethan Gage and speedy winger Moose started the match on the substitutes' bench.

Thunder interim head coach Donny Gramenz also made two changes to the starting XI that claimed a pivotal 3-1 victory at home to Montreal Impact last Saturday. Stephen deRoux came into the visitors' midfield for Tighe Dombrowski, while Brian Cvilikas replaced the injured Nathan Knox in the Minnesota attack, with the Thunder playing in a 3-5-2 formation.

On a cool but dry early autumn evening for soccer, a Swangard crowd of 4,943 saw both sides handle the difficult pitch conditions relatively well, despite the damage caused by last weekend's Simon Fraser University football game.

The fans in attendance saw the home side have more of the first-half opportunities, with Lyle Martin flicking a Nicholas Addlery cross right across the face of the Minnesota goal on three minutes before Whitecaps goalscorer Eduardo Sebrango was unable to direct Lyall's forward ball on target three minutes later.

Just before the quarter-hour mark, Thunder defender Kevin Taylor made a timely challenge on Sebrango in the visitors' box before Minnesota goalkeeper Nicolas Platter made a good save from Sebrango's solid header two minutes later. At the other end, Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly was called into action, as he needed to tip Dale Weiler's dipping right-foot strike over his own crossbar for a Thunder corner.

On 19 minutes, Martin Nash sliced a shot wide of goal before Sebrango was unlucky to miss the target with a low drive four minutes later after doing well to control Alfredo Valente's cross from the left in the Minnesota box.

Nolly needed to be alert again to deny a chance for Cvilikas on 24 minutes, as the Whitecaps number one collided with the Thunder striker in their pursuit for a loose ball in the Vancouver box.

Three minutes later, however, the Whitecaps made their attacking play pay dividends, as they took an important lead in fortunate circumstances. Steve Kindel's cross from the left was inadvertently flicked into his own net by Greenfield, with the defender's header wrong-footing Platter in the Thunder goal as a result.

Having taken the lead, the Whitecaps kept moving forward in search of a second goal, with Valente and Trafford forcing good saves from Platter either side of the half-hour mark.

Minnesota, meanwhile, remain undeterred at being a goal behind, with Thunder captain Jeremiah Bass causing a scare for the home side with a low shot that Nolly had to redirect on to his own post before it was cleared away on 38 minutes.

Four minutes later, the Whitecaps were left disappointed by an offside decision that denied Sebrango a second goal for Vancouver, even though the Cuban hit-man connected well with Lyall's fine cross from the right.

After Cvilikas headed a Minnesota half-chance wide of the target in first-half stoppage time, both sides went to their respective dressing rooms for the break, with the Whitecaps leading by a single goal at halftime.

The early stages of the second half saw Minnesota look a more positive force in attack, with Ricardo Sanchez and Luchi Gonzalez striking shots high and wide of Nolly's goal in the first 11 minutes after the restart.

Then before he was replaced by Charles Gbeke on the hour mark, Addlery was left worst for wear when he took the full brunt of a fiercely-hit Sanchez free kick in his mid-section after standing in the Vancouver wall.

In a bid to freshen up his side, Thordarson made a further change on the left flank, with Takashi Hirano replacing Valente on 64 minutes before Gbeke's first contribution of the match was to hit a low drive into the Minnesota side-netting a minute later.

Then a controversial moment on 72 minutes, as the Whitecaps made appeals for a penalty when Hirano looked to have been knocked down in the Thunder box, as he tried to connect with Martin's curling cross from the right. The ball then fell to Kindel, who struck a low shot past the far post, with Sebrango and Gbeke both unable to redirect it on target. Hirano's frustration at not receiving a spot kick subsequently earned him a yellow card from match referee Carol Anne Chenard after the Japanese defender made his feelings known to the official.

Two minutes later, the Thunder came ever so close to equalizing, but deRoux rolled a low shot just wide of the target before the Whitecaps introduced more substitutes in the form of Gage and Moose for Lyall and Charles respectively.

With the second leg to come in Minnesota, the Whitecaps struggled through most of the second half and were facing the prospect of having a slim advantage for Sunday's decisive contest. On 89 minutes, however, the home side gave themselves a major boost towards winning the series.

A Whitecaps break saw substitute Jason Jordan play a fine through ball to Moose on the right side of the Thunder box. Platter then did well to dive and stop the winger's initial low shot, but as the rebound returned to Moose, the former DC United midfielder was on hand to strike the ball over the goalline for his second goal in as many games.

Moose was pleased with his late contribution. "It was good to get 15 minutes of action and score a second goal," he said to reporters. "Hopefully, we can put in a good performance in Minnesota. Both sides had their chances tonight, but for us to score the game's two goals was the way it ended up. Saturday will be a long travel day for both teams, so it will be important to take care of ourselves and get everybody focused for this next game."

The two-goal lead brought delight and relief to those all around Swangard, but to their credit, Minnesota kept fighting well into the four minutes of stoppage time. After heading a initial chance wide, Thunder substitute Frederico Moojen looked to have scored a late goal when the former Montreal forward found the back of the Whitecaps net with a free-kick strike. However, the goal was not allowed, as the far-side assistant referee had flagged for offside - much to the disbelief of the visitors.


The final whistle brought the series to the halfway stage, with the Whitecaps now able to turn their attentions to Sunday and the all-important second leg with the cushion of a two-goal lead. "It's a good result, but we have work to do in Minnesota, as they are a good team," Nash said after the game. "If we can keep possession a little bit better on Sunday, then we'll be in good shape. Hopefully, we'll be back here playing in a week and the pitch will be in better shape."

Thordarson was delighted with the battling qualities of his team, as the Whitecaps look to finish off the series in Minnesota on Sunday. "I thought we played well for the first 35 to 40 minutes, then after that, it was a physical fight," he said. "I felt that we let Minnesota into the game too much and gave them the initiative a bit. I am, however, impressed with my players and the way we worked as a team, even when we didn’t play our best soccer during the match. We defended fantastically well and worked very hard. Scoring the second goal was huge, especially as I couldn’t see it coming as the game went on. Yet, having made some changes to our side, those things can influence a game. All the guys that came on were able to do just that."

Though he was left with plenty of concern by the state of Swangard pitch during the week, Thordarson praised the stadium's ground staff for their efforts in repairing the playing surface. "I must say that the staff here at Swangard did a fantastic job to make the field playable," he admitted. "If you had seen it two days ago, you would not have imagined how we could have played a game here tonight, so a lot of credit must go to them for doing this."

For Gramenz, meanwhile, Sunday gives his side the chance to bounce back at home and cause a playoff upset. "It was unfortunate for us to give up an own goal, and I'm really upset at how we gave up the second goal, as we broke down defensively and lost our shape," he told whitecapsfc.com. "We dodged a few bullets here and there, but overall, I was pleased with the way my team performed. It's tough, however, as we're down 2-0 and we have to go home and win 3-0. Yet, it's not insurmountable, as we scored seven goals in the last two games at home against quality teams."

In the two other playoff quarterfinals in USL-1 on Friday, Rochester Rhinos scored two late goals to defeat Charleston Battery 2-0 at PAETEC Park in Upstate New York, while down the road in Seattle, the Sounders overcame Montreal 2-1 at the Starfire Sports Stadium, with both sides finishing the match with ten men.

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 - Minnesota own goal (Jonathan Greenfield) 27'
Steve Kindel's cross from the left was inadvertently flicked into his own net by Greenfield, with the defender's header wrong-footing goalkeeper Nicolas Platter in the Thunder goal as a result.

VAN - Justin Moose (Jason Jordan) 89'
After Martin Nash intercepted a Jonathan Greenfield forward pass, the midfielder found striker Charles Gbeke with a pass on the break. Gbeke then found substitute Jordan, who in turn, played a fine through ball to Moose on the right side of the Thunder box. Minnesota goalkeeper Nicolas Platter then did well to dive and stop the winger's initial low shot, but as the rebound returned to Moose, the midfielder was on hand to strike the ball over the goalline for his second goal in as many games.

Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 13 Minnesota 11
Saves: Vancouver 5 – Minnesota 5
Fouls: Vancouver 16 – Minnesota 9
Offsides: Vancouver 2 – Minnesota 2
Corners: Vancouver 3 – Minnesota 4

Cautions:
Vancouver: Eduardo Sebrango 58', Takashi Hirano 73'
Minnesota: Mark Schulte 31', Brian Cvilikas 76'

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 2.Jeff Clarke, 4.Wesley Charles (20.Ethan Gage 79'), 8.Steve Kindel, 12.Geordie Lyall (25.Justin Moose 76'); 7.Martin Nash, 9.Alfredo Valente (22.Takashi Hirano 64'), 18.Mason Trafford, 24.Lyle Martin; 11.Nicholas Addlery (98.Charles Gbeke 60'), 16.Eduardo Sebrango (26.Jason Jordan 86')

Subs not used: 31.Tyler Baldock, 23.Vicente Arze

Minnesota Thunder
12.Nicolas Platter; 5.Kevin Taylor, 26.Mark Schulte, 28.John Greenfield; 7.Dale Weiler, 8.Luchi Gonzalez, 10.Ricardo Sanchez, 17.Stephen deRoux, 22.Jeremiah Bass; 2.Melvin Tarley, 27.Brian Cvilikas (23.Frederico Moojen 80')

Subs not used: 1.Eric Reed, 3.Andres Arango, 6.Kevin Freidland, 16.Kyle Altman, 19.Brian Kallman, 24.Tighe Dombrowski