Whitecaps Fall to Montreal Impact 3-1
October 17, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
Vancouver Whitecaps FC's reign as USL First Division champions came to a disappointing end on Saturday afternoon, as they suffered a 3-1 second-leg defeat at Canadian rivals Montreal Impact to lose the 2009 USL-1 Championship Series 6-3 on aggregate.
A first-half penalty by former Whitecaps midfielder Tony Donatelli, followed by strikes from former Vancouver player Joey Gjertsen and USL-1 Championship Series Most Valuable Player Roberto Brown saw the Impact claim their third USL-1 championship in club history. Montrealpreviously won the league title back in 1994 and 2004. Although Ansu Toure struck just before halftime, the Whitecaps could not prevent Montreal from ending the 2009 postseason with a perfect record of 6W-0L-0D, with the Impact also winning all five USL-1 contests versus the Whitecaps during the season. Vancouver, meanwhile, finished with a record of 2W-2L-2D during their playoff run to the USL-1 Championship Series.
The Whitecaps also played the majority of the second leg at Montreal's Stade Saputo with ten men after centre back Shaun Pejic was sent off for his tackle on Brown that led to Donatelli's penalty strike. Coupled with captain Martin Nash's red card in the first leg, Vancouver ended up playing a man down for the majority of the two-match, aggregate score series.
Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made four changes to the side that started last Saturday's first-leg defeat at Swangard Stadium. Three of those changes came in midfield, with Chris Pozniak replacing suspended captain Martin Nash, while Justin Moose and Ansu Toure came in for Nizar Khalfan and the injured Lyle Martin. Toure played on the left-hand side of midfield, while Moose made his first start for the 'Caps since the 2-0 away defeat to Pacific Northwest rivals Portland Timbers on May 30. The former D.C. United man played on the right-hand side of midfield. Vancouver's last change came in attack, as Marlon James replaced Charles Gbeke to partner Marcus Haber up front. With Nash unavailable, goalkeeper Jay Nolly wore the captain's armband for the visitors.
Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos, meanwhile, named an unchanged side from the starting XI that played in the first-leg win in Vancouver last weekend. Included in Montreal's starting line-up were three former Whitecaps players, as Donatelli, Gjertsen, and David Testo all appeared in the Impact midfield. Former 'Caps players in goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic and striker Eduardo Sebrango took their places on the Impact substitutes' bench.
On a sunny October afternoon in Montreal, Quebec, it was the Whitecaps - in their home strip of all white - that made a bright and promising start to the second leg, as they looked to get back into the series.
Though Montreal had early chances from Leonardo Di Lorenzo and Peter Byers on 11 and 14 minutes respectively, it was the 'Caps that showed good tenacity and work ethic to win possession of the ball and push forward in the early stages.
Unfortunately for the visitors, their best efforts to score the first goal earned centre back Luca Bellisomo a booking on 21 minutes. The defender was yellow carded by match referee Dave Gantar after challenging for the ball with Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan in the Montreal box following a Takashi Hirano free kick forward. Four minutes later, Jordan needed to be alert to make a save on his goalline after Wes Knight's throw-in from the right deflected off the shoulder of Byers to the Montreal number one.
While matters were seemingly well poised at this stage, the match - and the series for that matter - turned in Montreal's favour on 28 minutes, as the Impact were awarded a penalty. Di Lorenzo's through ball slipped under the foot of Pejic and reached Donatelli in the Vancouver box. Nolly tried to win possession off his former teammate, but the loose ball rolled kindly to Brown, who then went down under the sliding challenge of Pejic for a Montreal spot kick, even though the centre back looked to have won the ball. Not only did referee Gantar adjudge that it was a penalty against the former Wales U-21 international, he also deemed that the centre back's tackle on the Panamanian forward was serious enough to be worthy of a sending off. With the Whitecaps down again to ten men in the series, Donatelli added insult to injury by converting the spot kick with his right foot to give Montreal a 1-0 lead in the match and a 4-2 advantage on aggregate.
The penalty incident and the sending off of Pejic unsettled the 'Caps, and after Toure and Brown had chances at either end on 36 and 39 minutes respectively, the second leg exploded with three goals in the space of four minutes, with the Impact taking a commanding lead in the series.
On 40 minutes, some flowing soccer from the home side saw Gjertsen find Brown wide on the left flank. The Panamanian then hit an exquisite return pass with the outside of his right foot to Gjertsen in the box, and after getting the better of his marker Pozniak in front of goal, the Impact midfielder struck home first-time to make it 2-0 in the second leg and 5-2 on aggregate to Montreal.
With a man advantage, the Impact looked rampant at this stage, with the home side extending their aggregate lead to 6-2 two minutes later. Gjertsen cut inside from the left and found Byers with his back to goal in the Whitecaps box. He easily teed up an unmarked Brown, who fired home to make it 3-0 to the Impact.
Though it was quickly turning into a day to forget for Vancouver, Thordarson's side showed great spirit to claim a goal back on 44 minutes. James played a fine byline cross from the right to Toure at the far post, with the Liberian winger's well-struck header beating Jordan to make it 3-1 in the match and 6-3 on aggregate to Montreal at halftime.
Facing a three-goal deficit heading into the final 45 minutes of the series, Thordarson looked to add more attacking potency by introducing midfielder Khalfan for defender Bellisomo at the start of the second half.
After the events that occurred late in the first half, proceedings were more settled down soon after the restart. Gjertsen struck a free kick high and wide for Montreal on 47 minutes, while James had a shot from the edge of the Montreal box deflect into the waiting arms of Jordan six minutes later.
Though the scoreline was one-sided at this stage, there was still some edge to the contest, with Moose earning a yellow card from Gantar on 56 minutes before he was replaced by youngster Tyrell Burgess a minute later. Also on 57 minutes, the speedy Randy Edwini-Bonsu came on for James in attack.
Though the situation looked an impossible one for the Whitecaps to overcome at this stage, the fighting spirit that led them through to this year's final series was evident in how they approached the second half. On 63 minutes, Kenold Versailles earned a corner after nearly getting on the end of Toure's cross from the left before Vancouver had a very strong claims for a penalty when Edwini-Bonsu was seemingly taken out by Braz in the Montreal box on 68 minutes.
Try as they did, the Whitecaps found their attacking forays to be limited in the latter stages of the second leg. On 74 minutes, Khalfan struck a shot wide of goal before Di Lorenzo forced a save from Nolly with a decent strike on 88 minutes.
Even the more than two minutes of time added on were not enough to turn matters around, as the final whistle from Gantar brought celebrations from the Impact players, staff, and supporters at Stade Saputo. It was the first time that Montreal were able to celebrate winning a championship in their soccer-specific stadium.
Though the season came to a disappointing end for the Whitecaps, their postseason run will live long in the memory for Vancouver supporters, as Thordarson's squad defeated the USL-1's top two clubs in Carolina RailHawks and Portland Timbers to reach the 2009 Championship Series.
The Whitecaps thank all of its fans for a memorable 2009 season. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2010!
USL First Division Stories from October 17, 2009
- Generals fall 1-3 - FC New York
- Whitecaps Fall to Montreal Impact 3-1 - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Impact Are 2009 Champions Of USL-1 - Montreal Impact
- Montreal Wins USL-1 Title - USL-1
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
