The Vancouver Whitecaps opened their 2003 account in style with a 6-0 thrashing of the Calgary Storm in front of 5075 opening night fans at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium. It was a dazzling display from the home team that put paid any doubts about getting off to the usual slow start.
Perhaps the game itself was the final act in a preseason that for once was filled with hope and optimism instead of uncertainty. And we should acknowledge some of the off-field goings-on that have brought us this far. The 2002 campaign almost never happened. Financial problems, of a magnitude and nature that we probably will never get the full story on, caused our last owner to bail out on the club very early last season in a blaze of bad publicity. The fact that the team remained competitive throughout the uncertain year, indeed were worthy semi-finalists, is a real testament to the makeup of the on-field organization. And I think we owe the League a huge debt of gratitude for keeping the ship afloat: the Whitecaps/86ers have always been a credit to the League both on and off the field and we are very fortunate to have survived last year.
But survive we did and we closed the year out on a very high note, making the semi-finals after blowing out the regular season champion Seattle Sounders in the playoffs. But in the end, the lack of real depth caught up to the club against the Milwaukee Rampage who knocked out the 'Caps by a single goal.
What a difference a year makes. Greg Kerfoot has stepped in and has committed to making the Whitecaps one of the premier franchises in the League. And the difference is noticeable. Everything seems so much more organized and professional this year, and it extends to the environment at Swangard Stadium. Where before there was barely anything recognizeable from the team, now you have the fences covered in a blue with the Whitecaps logo everywhere. The eastside bleachers are covered from the elements in a move that should have happened years ago. Everywhere you went inside the Stadium you knew the Whitecaps were playing. As I said a bit earlier, it just seems so much more professional. I had a smile on my face the entire evening.
The new era also extends to the on-field product. The players have been well prepared by Tony Fonseca who has been intensively training the squad for a month, with fitness training going on for almost two months. In talking to the players at a media event recently, they all said how excited they were to get the season under way. They were ready: it showed in their faces and it showed in the training sessions. And a good opening night crowd saw just how ready they were.
It's a bit unfortunate that the Calgary Storm didn't provide much in the way of opposition last night. But they have been dealing with some demons of their own and it was never going to be easy for them. The Storm came into last evenings' game with a grand total of one (1) exhibiton game under their belt (a 7-0 win over a university squad that probably wasn't much of a test). They have imported a bunch of new players, three of which arrived last week in the midst of a snowstorm. The team has been training indoors, but realistically have had no time at all to form a team that can be competitive yet. They will improve, no doubt about it as some of the new additions showed some excellent skills and alot of speed, but it will take games and training to get organized and I fear that by that time the Storm will be too far behind the playoff race to be a factor.
The Storm, though had the first real chance to score, taking advantage of an adventurous back pass that Sean Fraser used to test new 'Caps keeper Mike Franks from close in. The sharp angled shot was well held by Franks, but for a minute you wondered if maybe the Storm were going to give us a hard time after all. But the Whitecaps soon put a stop to that and quickly settled in to a game that was quick, flowing, and dangerous. Very dangerous: by the time the game was 23 minutes old, it was 3-0 and it was looking easy. By the midway point of the half Calgary were down to 10 men and it was all but over.
Tiarnan King opened the account 11 minutes in by taking advantage of excellent work on the left side of the penalty area by midfielder Steve Kindel. Kindels' cross found a waiting King on the left edge and he crashed a one-time volley into the far corner. The goal came at the end of some extended pressure and the lead was soon doubled when Oliver Heald headed in an Alfredo Valente corner from the right side on 13 minutes.
The industrious Valente was a threat all evening, making darting runs down the left side that the Calgary team couldn't contain. The Whitecaps attacked from every angle and were asking very stern questions of a Calgary defence that was disorganized and rattled. Numerous chances went wide or over the bar, and the excellent saves from Calgary keeper Dave Wiebenga midway through the first half prevented a rout. But still the Whitecaps attacked, and it was Valente again that started the play that gave Jason Jordan his first of the campaign.
Jason Jordan perhaps epitomozed the year the Whitecaps had in 2002. He was brilliant at times, he nearly left the team altogether, and in the end suffered from an ankle problem that by the end of last season had him performing as a shadow of the early season star. But he stuck with the team, and in the off-season had ankle surgery. There were many in the crowd who had to be delighted when on 23 minutes, he took a terrific feed from Valente, chested the ball calmly down and with clinical precision shot the ball wonderfully into the back of the goal. It was 3-0, but more importantly it was the confidence of a goal scorer ready to take charge again. We welcome him back.
I mentioned earlier that the Whitecaps had signed a new keeper. Probably the one area that you could point a finger at from last year's squad was the final line of defence. Jim Larkin struggled early on and although Alex Marques did an admirable job later in the year, you never had the sense that the goalkeeping position was a settled one. The Whitecaps signed Mike Franks early on this year, and I don't think that those questions will be coming back up anytime soon. But other players have arrived in the offseason that need mention. Liberian international Musa Shannon has come on board this year, joined by Portugese star Mario Jorge in the midfield. Young Craig Robson from the Newcastle United youth system has been signed on, and Canadian U-19 captain Gordon Chin played useful minutes last night as well. This is probably the strongest lineup we've ever started a season with, and the depth is apparent. Jorge, Shannon, and Chris Franks all sat out last night with some nagging little injuries, but the train didn't skip a beat.
On 32 minutes, Steve Kindel took a bad clearance and scored from long range to make it 4-0, and shortly afterward the Whitecaps had a fifth disallowed for offside. Calgary keeper Wiebenga made a remarkable save diving low to his left, and I'm still not sure how the ball stayed out. But the damage was done and the Whitecaps could easily have had six or seven by the half.
Four changes were made in the second half by the Whitecaps and they really took their foot off the gas, but it didn't matter. Two late goals sealed the 6 goal win and the last one was a real beauty. Once again it was Alfredo Valente who did all the work down the right side and he fired a hard cross through the box that was met by Andrew Veer. His diving header flew into the top corner and put an exclamation mark on the best possible start for the Whitecaps. But the fifth goal summed up the night for the Storm. On an evening they will forget quickly, the fifth goal was a nightmare. Paul Dailly took a Steve Kindel feed 25 yards out and a seemingly harmless shot bounced about a yard in front of Wiebenga and just popped over his right shoulder into the goal. You really had to feel sorry for the Calgary keeper at that point as he had done really well up to then. But that's how the night went.
It's hard, maybe, to say this with a straight face, but the Whitecaps could easily have gone into double figures last night it was that bad. So maybe we'll wait to see just how good this team is: against a weak opponent it's hard to really judge, but if you look at the play within the team, the Whitecaps are definately ready to go. This is a team that could go a long way, and we're all looking forward to the ride.
Vancouver (white shirts, blue shorts and socks):
M. Franks/ N. Craveiro, Dasovic, Cameron (C. Franks 45')/ Valente, Kindel, Heald, King (Chin 63'), Dailly (Robson 73')/ Thompson (Veer 54'), Jordan (Morris 77')
Calgary (red shirts, black shorts and socks):
Wiebenga/ DaSilva, Pesznecker, Chala, Authers, Wheeldon jr/ Zuniga, Korthius (Richards 54'), Gillespie, Henry/ Fraser
Yellow cards: Van- C.Franks 61'
Red cards: Cal- Wheeldon Jr 24'
shots: Van 17 Cal 5
saves: Van 2 Cal 3
attendance: 5,075
note: unfortunately my camera was on the fritz, so I was unable to get any photos from the game....the first photo on the left courtesy of the Vancouver Sun, top photo and the other two below are taken from whitecapsfc.com....I'll have my camera next game so I won't have to cheat and steal photos from other sources!
