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The Formations Knowing he would be facing one of the premier teams in MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson elected to revert back to his 4-2-3-1 formation for their away match with Real Salt Lake. Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys . Jonny Leveron replaced skipper Jay Demerit in defence, while Kekuta Manneh replaced Pedro Morales; both Demerit and Morales were rested for the match, and stayed behind in Vancouver. Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar made one change to the team that defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 the week previous. Joao Plata replaced Olmes Garcia up front, where the diminutive Ecuadorian partnered RSLs top goalscorer, Alvaro Saborio. The Game To suggest the Whitecaps were flat in the opening 45 minutes would be an understatement – they were very poor. They did not make effective use of the space that was available to them (which was in wide areas) and they were half a step slow and half a step late defensively. The result was that the Whitecaps trailed 2-0 after just nine minutes, with RSL getting goals from both Plata and Saborio. RSL very nearly went in at the break up 3-0, but David Ousted did well to deny Plata a second goal just before the halftime whistle. The opening half was a perfect exhibit of the challenge faced when fielding a very young lineup - those players dont yet have the experience to figure out how to fix things when they go wrong on the pitch. Of the six attacking players who started the match, only Kenny Miller (34) can be classified as an experienced player. Matias Laba (22), Gershon Koffie (22), Russell Teibert (21), Kekuta Manneh (19) and Darren Mattocks (23) are young, talented professionals – but when things go wrong, they cannot rely on previous experience to help them turn things around. In the first half, the movement of RSLs midfield caused problems for the Whitecaps. Despite having a numerical advantage, Vancouver struggled to put pressure on the ball. When the Whitecaps did manage to regain possession, they were too often wasteful, giving the ball straight back to RSL, as Teibert did on the opening goal. Offensively, they were never able to use their speed in transition to maximum effect. In Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver had the two quickest players on the pitch. However, neither player was able to use that speed to their advantage, as Vancouver never found their passing rhythm. Both fullbacks, Jordan Harvey and Steven Beitashour, were cautious in their approach when Vancouver had the ball. This was entirely understandable, given Real Salt Lakes formidable home record and their early 2-0 lead. The result was that far too often Vancouver failed to use the only space that RSL conceded to them, which was out wide. This played into RSLs hands perfectly, as their two wide midfielders, Ned Grabavoy and Jake Mulholland, simply dropped slightly deeper to sit alongside Kyle Beckerman when Vancouver tried to build in midfield. The RSL defenders, who compressed the space between lines, supported this tight midfield unit. This meant that there was very little space in which Vancouver could play. Real Salt Lake controlled virtually the entire first half. Robinson and his coaching staff showed their worth once they could sit the players down at the break. There, the coaches were able to correct the mistakes that were being made and give their young players renewed belief in their abilities. The result was a completely different performance from Vancouver in the second half. The Whitecaps aggressively closed space in midfield, pressured the RSL defenders and midfielders into conceding possession, and denied both Plata and Saborio a sight at goal. While Saborio struck the bar with a header in the 80th minute after a quickly taken free kick, the home side appeared content to defend their 2-0 lead. Vancouver showed better control of the ball and much better use of space in wide areas in the second half. There was a confidence in the Whitecaps team that wasnt present in the opening forty-five minutes – a belief that they could not only compete with RSL, but also get something out of the game. Robinson again used his substitutes effectively, bringing Erik Hurtado, Nicolas Mezquida and Sebastian Fernandez into the game. And it was the two Uruguayans – Mezquida and Fernandez – who clawed back a point for Vancouver. Mezquida scored Vancouvers first goal in the 86th minute, knocking home a poor rebound from RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando after great work from Darren Mattocks. Fernandez scored the equalizer deep into stoppage time, ripping a strike from 35 yards past a flat-footed Rimando. The RSL goalkeeper – along with his teammates – will be left to ponder just how they managed to throw away two points after failing to extend their dominant first half performance into the second. The Positives The second half performance from Vancouver was exactly what their fans want to see – positive, confident, attacking play. The pace in Vancouvers team is frightening; Mattocks, Manneh and Hurtado are all likely in the leagues top 10, if not the top 5, in sprint speed. It is really about finding a way for these players to use their assets to maximum effect, which Vancouver did really well in the second half. Good performances from all three substitutes will give Robinson and his coaching staff some decisions to make in choosing their starting lineup for their next match at home on May 3rd against the San Jose Earthquakes (TSN2, 6:30pm ET, 3:30pm PT). It is an enviable problem to have, as every coach much prefers to have too many good players from which to choose than not enough. Real Salt Lake put on the best forty-five minutes of football that I have seen from a team so far this season in the opening half. The concern for Jeff Cassar is finding a way to extend that performance over the course of the game. While they havent found the secret to this yet, RSL is still unbeaten this season. The Negatives Poor performances all around for Vancouver in the opening half, but the silver lining is that this can be used as a teaching moment. With such a young squad of players, the biggest challenge for Robinson is to develop his promising youngsters into seasoned professionals who can solve problems on the pitch, without always requiring the intervention of the coaching staff. This isnt a job that will happen overnight, and the players will now be expected to reflect on what they did differently in the second half that they werent doing in the first. As long as the players are able to learn from their mistakes, the opening forty-five minutes can be looked back on as a valuable lesson. Nick Rimando has been sensational for Real Salt Lake this season, so he can be forgiven for having a 10-minute spell to forget at the end of the game. He should have prevented both of Vancouver goals, and on any other day would likely have done so. The Star Man This was the best performance I have seen from Erik Hurtado. The youngster has incredible speed, but is still learning how to best utilize his prized asset. He made a big impact coming off the bench in last weeks 2-2 come-from-behind draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and while he didnt score in that game or against Real Salt Lake, he made a very meaningful contribution on Saturday. His willingness to run in behind stretched the RSL back line and created space for his midfielders to operate, effectively changing the game. He is still very raw and has a great deal of learning to do, so it will be important for him to seek out the coaching staff to carry on that education. But he is certainly showing exciting potential at this moment in time as a second half substitute that can change the game. cheap jerseys from china . Later, his catcher delivered the deciding stroke. Price struck out 10 in his Detroit debut and was long gone when Alex Avila homered in the 12th inning to lift the Tigers over the New York Yankees 4-3 Tuesday night. Cheap France Soccer Jerseys . -- Garret Sparks made 31 saves as the Toronto Marlies beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-1 in American Hockey League play Tuesday.When Brett Lawrie arrived with the Blue Jays in 2011, he looked even at age 21 to have the raw potential to become one of the franchises greats. In a 43-game stint, he batted .293 with nine homers and 25 runs batted in with a .953 OPS. He played spectacular defence and seemed to have a skill for pumping up his teammates and electrifying the crowd. You had to ask yourself how Milwaukee let him get away in that trade for right hander Shaun Marcum? But in the last two seasons, Lawrie has gone through some growing pains. Hes had injury problems, some awkward in-game moments, such as throwing a batting helmat in the direction of an ump, and the berating of a teammate for a perceived miscue on the bases. (Lawrie was wrong). On top of that his production has dropped off, to the point where some have wondered if that blaze of glory in his first stint with the club was a fluke or a flash in the pan. The thing to remember is, Brett Lawrie is only 24. Skipper John Gibbons suggested this week that Bretts peak performance years could still be a couple of seasons away. If you go by a couple of third basemen from the Blue Jays past, Gibbons may well be right. Kelly Gruber spent nine years with the Jays, hitting .259 with 114 homers, 439 runs batted in and 80 stolen bases. He was stolen away from Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft and spent his first couple of years as a Jack-of-all-trades utility man before becoming the primary third baseman in 1987. At age 24 for the Jays he hit just .196 with five homers and 15 runs batted in. It took until 1990 for him to have a star impact season. At 28 years old, he hit .274 with 31 homers and 118 RBIs. Gruber was still the starting third sacker for a division title run in 1991 and for the Jays first World Series victory over Atlanta in 1992. Ed Sprague offers up another example of a player who peaked in his late 20s. Sprague was the Jays regular third baseman for six seasons. After Gruber was moved to the Angels, Sprague took over at third in 1993 at 26. He hit .260 with 12 homers and 73 runs batted in and was a key member of the Jays second straight World Series victory over the Phillies in 1993. Still he didnt have his first really big year until he was 29, when he broke through with 36 homers and drove in 101 runs. Yes there are exceptions to the rule...guys who hit the ground running and continue to thrive practically from the moment they arrive in the Majors. Two of those kind of guys enjoyed brief stints with the Blue JJays in the last decade. cheap jerseys. Troy Glaus came over from the Diamondbacks along with Sergio Santos in a deal for right hander Miguel Batista and infielder Orlando Hudson. Glaus played third for the Jays for two seasons in 2006 and 2007. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Angels, he hit .240 with 29 homers and 79 runs batted in. At 24 with the Halos, he upped his power numbers to 41 homers and 108 runs batted in. Glaus had a good year with the Jays in 06, but his numbers fell off a bit in 2007, and he ultimately asked for a trade since the artificial turf at Rogers Centre was playing havoc with his back. The Jays dealt Glaus to St. Louis for another standout third baseman in Scott Rolen, who had had a falling out with Cards manager Tony LaRussa. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Phillies, Rolen - arguably the best defensive third baseman the Jays have ever had - hit .283 with 21 homers and 92 runs batted in. Rolen only spent one season with the Jays, at age 33 before asking for a trade to the U.S. midwest to be closer to his family. He wound up going to Cincinnati in a deal that saw the Jays land two pitchers, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke and a guy named Edwin Encarnacion. The point of all this is, Lawrie is still young enough to take off the way Rolen and Glaus did, or he may take a little longer like Gruber or Sprague. If you want to pipe dream a bit, consider Royals legendary Hall of Famer George Brett. At 24 he batted .312 with 22 homers and 88 runs batted in. The bottom line on Lawrie is, with the defence he plays, and the infectious hustle he plays with, the Blue Jays will be very patient with him indeed. The real Brett Lawrie could even emerge this season, if only he can stay healthy. Spring Roots The Blue Jays may not be leaving their spring training home in Dunedin after all. About a year ago a story first surfaced that the Houston Astros were talking with the Jays about teaming up with them on a new two-team state of the art facility in Palm Beach County on Floridas east coast. The Astros lease with Kissimmee, Florida runs through 2016, so the target date for moving obviously would have been 2017. However a local group of citizens didnt want any part of having this type of complex in their area and threatened a lawsuit. So now the Astros are looking elsewhere in Palm Beach County and are now talking with the Washington Nationals about being their potential partners. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
