No offence, but Vancouver shuts out winless expansion club in tedious affair
By Bruce Constantineau
NEXT GAME
Saturday
vs Montreal Impact
7:30 p.m. at Swangard Stadium
cbuft
When you can't score a goal on your home field and settle for a 0-0 tie against a winless expansion side, frustration levels will soar.
You could read it on the faces of Vancouver Whitecaps players Saturday after the uninspiring draw with Crystal Palace Baltimore at Swangard Stadium. The Maryland squad grabbed its first point of the young season after starting the 2010 campaign with three straight losses.
"They're the worst team in the league right now -- if we can't score goals against them, something is wrong," said Caps forward Randy Edwini-Bonsu. "We have to dig deep."
The 20-year-old Whitecaps residency product played his first full 90-minute game with the senior team and his speed often proved troublesome for Baltimore defenders, as he sent several dangerous balls into the Crystal Palace box.
But the danger never resulted in a goal -- a recurring theme with a Caps team that has scored just four goals in five regular-season games this year and only one from the run of play.
"We have to pick it up and play better and the main issue is goals," Edwini-Bonsu said. "We have to score to win games. Goals win you matches, not just defending."
Caps defender Greg Janicki sported a bloody jersey and head bandage after the game, the result of a first-half, knocking-heads encounter with Baltimore defender and former Whitecap Shaun Pejic, who had to leave the game. Janicki left for about 15 minutes but returned to action after getting five or six stitches.
His warrior-like efforts reflect a Whitecaps team that tries extremely hard, but lacks finish.
"We can't put a whole 90 minutes together and it's getting frustrating," Janicki said. "We need to come out intense from the first minute."
Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson admits the lack of offence is "a little bit worrying" and lamented the fact his team had another poor first half, with more long balls than possession play.
"It's not a lack of energy -- it's more a lack of doing the right things," he said. "We get a little bit stressed and don't think strategy and play more long balls than possession. We just have to be patient and continue playing because we know we will create chances."
The game against Baltimore was tough to watch at times, especially a tedious first half that saw just one shot on goal in the dying seconds of the half.
The Whitecaps' best scoring chance came in the 60th minute when midfielder Luca Bellisomo headed an excellent Zurab Tsiskaridze cross off the Baltimore post.
Caps midfielder Ricardo Sanchez saw his first playing time in a while as he came on in the second half and delivered some excellent corner kicks, along with a dangerous long-range chip over the Baltimore crossbar in the 84th minute.
The winless 0-3-1 Baltimore side is a USSF D-2 expansion team, having played the past three seasons in the United Soccer Leagues second division, and the Caps were heavily favoured to win the contest.
The Whitecaps regular-season record goes to 2-1-2 and they still sit on top of the NASL conference with eight points, one ahead of the Montreal Impact, who have a game in hand.
SIDE KICKS: Whitecaps captain Martin Nash sat out the game to rest a sore back, which he tweaked at home Saturday ... The game marked the first time Vancouver has played a Baltimore soccer team in nearly 20 years.
bconstantineau@vancouversun.com © Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
