Chicago Fire Take Down Whitecaps FC 4-1
February 15, 2010 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
Vancouver Whitecaps FC suffered a 4-1 defeat to Major League Soccer (MLS) club Chicago Fire in the second match of their two-week pre-season trip to Arizona on Monday.
A pair of first-half goals by Dutch striker Collins John set Chicago on their way to victory in their first match of the pre-season, despite Whitecaps midfielder Ricardo Sánchez scoring from the penalty spot just before the break for the USSF D-2 Pro League outfit. The Fire sealed the win at Arizona State University Soccer Stadium when second-half substitute Stefan Dimitrov scored twice shortly after halftime.
Following on from last Thursday's 3-2 friendly defeat to MLS club Seattle Sounders FC, Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made three changes to his starting XI for Monday's match in Tempe, Arizona. Trialist Dan Pelc replaced Jay Nolly in the Vancouver goal, while Nelson Akwari came in for trialist Wesley Charles at centre back. New 'Caps signing Zourab Tsiskaridze replaced Randy Edwini-Bonsu to partner Marlon James in attack.
On a typically warm and sunny Arizona afternoon, it was the Fire that made the most of their 4-1-4-1 formation set out by new head coach Carlos de los Cobos, with Monday's friendly played over the course of two 40-minute halves.
Chicago needed little time to take the lead. From their first corner of the match on 17 minutes, John took advantage of a partially cleared Joao Baptista set-piece, as he turned and powered home a right-footed shot for 1-0. The Fire doubled their advantage through another strike by John on 36 minutes. The trialist, who enjoyed a spell in the English Premier League with Fulham FC, struck a half-volleyed effort past Pelc to make it 2-0.
Two minutes after the second goal, however, the Whitecaps pulled one back after English defender Izzy Iriekpen brought down James in the Fire box for a penalty. Sánchez stepped up to convert his spot kick past Fire goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra for a 2-1 Chicago lead at the break.
The second half saw youngster Alex Semenets replace Tsiskaridze in attack, but it was the Fire that sealed the friendly with two goals from Bulgarian midfielder Dimitrov. He made it 3-1 with a strike from the top of the Vancouver box five minutes after the break, while his second goal was a header from a Mark Blades cross on 58 minutes.
Though Semenets and fellow Whitecaps substitute Cornelius Stewart had opportunities to reply for the Blue and White, Chicago ran out comfortable winners in the end.
Thordarson believes his players will learn from Monday's friendly. "Though we were never outplayed, what let us down were bad mistakes on the goals we conceded," he told whitecapsfc.com. "As difficult a match as it was, these games provide great experience for our players, as it shows them the level that they need to achieve. MLS clubs keep better ball possession than most of the teams we play in our league. It makes matches like today an important exercise for our team."
The Whitecaps will continue their pre-season camp in Arizona with a week of training before concluding the trip with a friendly versus 2009 MLS Cup champions Real Salt Lake at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Arizona, on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. PT.
The Whitecaps will also meet Seattle for a second time this pre-season. On Saturday, March 6, the MLS Sounders make their first-ever trip to British Columbia to take on Vancouver at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT. Tickets for the Swangard friendly are $15, plus applicable service charges. Whitecaps season ticket holders will receive priority purchase rights, with the remaining tickets being available to the public this Wednesday, February 17, at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets will be available online at ticketmaster.ca or by calling 604.280.4400.
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