DJT Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 <center>Voyageurs Cup 2004 Match 10Edmonton Aviators vs. Vancouver WhitecapsTuesday, July 13, 2004 - 6:00 PM MDT Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton</center> Match Previews [*]Edmonton » VC: 1-2-0 5-4 5 / A-League: 2-6-6 9-23 12 » Aviators media release (through OurSports Central) » Aviators preview page » Scott Zerr, The Edmonton Sun - posted below [*]Vancouver » VC: 1-0-3 5-10 3 / A-League: 9-2-5 20-18 29 [*]MatchNight! Voyageurs Cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 13, 2004 Author Share Posted July 13, 2004 From The Edmonton Sun: Ship getting in shape SCOTT ZERR, EDMONTON SUN Sean Fraser is piloting a craft that is finally getting off the ground. A stagnant offence was creating more than a few bumpy nights for the Edmonton Aviators - frustrating, hair-pulling, face-reddening, in-need-of-anger-management games that were taking their toll on the first-year A-League team. They have lost their last two, but with a pair of dramatic wins still fresh in the memory banks, the Aviators are still riding, well, maybe not a wave, but at least a swell of momentum. Fraser, too, is on the upswing. He was goalless through two years in the league coming into this season and it took him until the Aviators' 13th game to hit the scoresheet. The two-goal breakout against Vancouver, followed by a single tally last Tuesday in Portland have Fraser feeling fine about tonight's rematch with the Whitecaps. "My confidence is really a lot higher," said the Mill Woods Warriors product. "I scored that first goal and I was really relieved. I'm more confident dribbling at people because I know the chances are going to come. Once you finish that first one, you get that confidence and I'm going to keep going." The Aviators' big comeback win over the Whitecaps, led by Fraser's work, is something the team plans on building on to, especially with nine of the last 14 games at home. "We saw what happened when Chinner (Gordon Chin) got that overtime goal at home and we got a lot of support from that," said Fraser. "That momentum will take us into this game. If can win our home games and do well on the road, we'll make the playoffs for sure." New face, Part 1 ... It's been a long wait for Carmelo Rago Jr. to slip an Aviators jersey on, but the time is drawing near. The 18-year-old Edmonton native, who played in Chile last season, is out training with the team and should be ready to see game action by the end of the month after not playing a full 90-minute game in more than a year. "It's been a long road back. It's good to be back with the guys," said Rago. Initially thought to be shin splints, Rago was ultimately diagnosed with compartment syndrome in his calf that required surgery in February. He started out in Aviators' training camp but the problem cropped up again, causing an inflammation in the tendons. While he opted not to return to South America in his pursuit of a lucrative European deal, Rago appreciated the learning experience playing for Puerto Montt where he was a teammate of Aviators 'keeper Jose Luis Campi. "That was a little taste of needing to know what it takes to go play in Europe," said Rago. "It's awesome to play here, but obviously I'd love to take it to a higher level." New face, Part 2 ... Though Rago will need a little more recovery time before he gets on the pitch, newcomer Robin Hart should likely slide right in tonight. Hart was cut by the club in training camp - a victim of the local/import ratio - but he's returned to fill a spot in the midfield and didn't look like he'd missed a beat at yesterday's training session. The 26-year-old Winnipeg native, who starred with Ottawa in the CPSL, has an eye on bringing a little spunk and spirit to the Aviators. "I'm happy to be back with the boys, see if I can help them out a bit," said Hart, who had a stint with the Trinidad & Tobago under-23 team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 13, 2004 Author Share Posted July 13, 2004 Krammerhead, I looked for a preview on your site but didn't see one. If you've since written one go ahead and post it or a link to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Nice to see Hart back in the fold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 No, until last night when somebody mentioned it I had forgotten there was a game tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Just notice the local kickoff time. Asinine for a weekday game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 14, 2004 Author Share Posted July 14, 2004 Just listened to the 5:45 Pacific sportscast on 1130 and nothing about this game. I guess they don't get reports when the Whitecaps play away (I didn't think so, that's why I didn't mention it above). Unless they'll have something later on like they did for the Canada B vs. Hearts game last night (after I gave up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 I was trying 1130 as well. Nope, nothing. Lack of coverage of road games is probably why I forgot there was a game tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanDouglas Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 1-0 for Vancouver at halftime. Davide Xausa from Winston Griffiths at 5' on a 2-on-0 break. The early start time must have thrown WX off. I've finished work and my dinner now so I'll make sure they have updates for 6:45. Oh, and the only reason WX had updates on the Hearts game is that I was calling them from the stands on my cell. I don't think there was a press box phone set up at the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanDouglas Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 2-0 now, at 73'. Xausa again, no assist, 25-yard blast at 66' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larnicent Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Today's game was originally scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday). Some of the media were still reporting that the game is on Wednesday. That's probably the reason for no coverage up until the last hour. Also, when Paul Wiser is reporting on WX1130, more often than not there will be nothing about soccer. Dave Chernichan usually comes up with the results when he is on the air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanDouglas Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 2-0 final A great result for Vancouver especially considering how short-handed we are. I think we have eight regulars injured and Freddie is with the Nats. Dauda was a starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Attendance ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 The USL website lists the attendance at a dissappointing 1,983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 14, 2004 Author Share Posted July 14, 2004 From The Edmonton Sun: Xausa zaps Avs SCOTT ZERR, EDMONTON SUN If there's any way the Edmonton Aviators could twist Davide Xausa's arm into playing here, they should exhaust all efforts to make it happen. The guy just has a knack for sensational goals on the Commonwealth Stadium pitch. So much so, that one of them is featured in the big-screen montage of great sports moments played during the national anthem. That was a goal - a rocket from the top of the box - that Xausa hit during an Olympic qualifying test against El Salvador for the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. Up until last night, that was Xausa's highlight reel tally, but he topped that in convincing fashion. In the 66th minute, Xausa crushed a 20-yard blast into the top corner that Aviators goalkeeper Jose Luis Campi never so much as twitched to retrieve. It was Xausa's second of the night in the Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-0 win over the Aviators before an announced crowd of 1,983. "I like playing here. I'm scoring good goals here," said the Caps striker. "I don't know what my record would be here with all teams but I don't think I've lost too many games here. It's too bad there's not more fans. The Aviators play decent football so it's too bad they don't get more support, especially in their first year." Xausa's prowess in Edmonton includes two goals against Australia for the Canadian Olympic team, another while with the full national squad against Ecuador, and the game winner as a second-half sub for the Whitecaps when they topped the Aviators at Clarke Park back on June 22. The two last night give him five on the year, tops on the Whitecaps (10-5-2) who lead the A-League's Western Conference. "I tend to score in bunches so I hope they keep coming," said Xausa, who joined Vancouver after toiling in the Scottish First Division. "This was a great result. We've got 10 players out injured and we probably had five (regular) starters playing. "A couple guys that don't usually start for us picked up the slack." The Aviators (2-7-6) have done one thing consistently all season - shown a dreadful lack of finish around the goal. "We weren't as sharp as we should have been, but it wasn't like we weren't in the game," offered midfielder Chris Handsor. "We did well to beat them in their place and they did well to beat us here. We're doing well to keep the ball out of the goal but we've got to score goals to win games. "If we weren't taking any shots it would be a different story. We're shooting it's just not going in for us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 14, 2004 Author Share Posted July 14, 2004 Voyageurs Cup 2004 standings at the halfway point: Montreal 5 3-2-0 9-2 11 Vancouver 5 2-0-3 7-10 6 Edmonton 4 1-2-1 5-6 5 Calgary 3 1-1-1 4-3 4 Toronto 3 0-1-2 2-6 1[/code] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Loome Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 That attendance is completely insane. It was the biggest crowd of the year by far. By Far. I figured it at 5,000 plus. Gonna talk to the club today and see what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 That was my impression, too. Because of the 6:00 start time and Edmonton traffic, a lot of fans arrived late, so that might have had something to do with the low attendance estimate. Campi should have stopped that second goal by Xausa. It was a good shot, but not that good. All Campi had to do was stick his hand out. He chose not to, thinking the shot was going wide. It was a spectacular blunder by the keeper more than it was a spectacular goal by Xausa. I, and much of the crowd, also thought Xausa was offside on the first goal. He definitely has good luck when he plays here. Vancouver's defense was the difference in the game. They were solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strobe_z Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 1,983?! No way.. I agree with Jeremy - that was the biggest crowd of the season for sure. I arrived late so I missed Xausa's first goal (just happened to be entering the west stand when it happened). On the second one I was left saying "wha?". Xausa got it off a quick restart and launched it in on goal. The way Campi basically didn't even move (he thought it was wide) made me think maybe the ref had blown the play dead (or didn't like the quick restart or whatever). Maybe it was the fact that I was really tired before getting to the game (or the fact my boss was calling me on my cell during the game!), but that was the least enjoyable games I've been to. Vancouver scored early and then apathetically.. and we didn't really have too many quality chances on goal.. 2-3 at the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis_Rancagua Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Typical!!!!!!!! Only in the A-League. How could they get the attendance figures so wrong. What the hell is going-on there??? Don't they know how to count???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Yes, 1,983 was a definite underestimation. My own calculation was 2,800 at kick-off (6:05), 3,600 at the end of the men's game, and 3,300 in the the second half of the women's game. It was definitely the biggest crowd of the year. Why the underballing? Could be a problem with the digital read ticket counters at the gate, either with malfuntioning, misuse or the way that they are taken together to calculate. Or, a miscalculation when the ushers gathered the data from each one to make the total. I can tell you that last night the guy at my turnstile had to borrow a counter from another usher at another turnstile because his was not working. Or, are the Avs cooking to use this as a justification for moving the remaining games to Foote and Clarke in the light of criticism from season ticket holders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 quote:Or, are the Avs cooking to use this as a justification for moving the remaining games to Foote and Clarke in the light of criticism from season ticket holders? I was thinking the same thing. Then again if there was a womens match afterwards, then they only counted the crowd up to the kickoff of the mens game and are using the higher total as the womens attendance. They really have to get their act together. Fewer doubleheaders with the women, and the men have to be the feature game every time. Enough with this political correctness of alternating mens and womens games. The men are the pro's they should be the feature of every doubleheader, and the women are the amateur team playing a short season, they should be the opener. The people running the show in Edmonton need to get their heads out of their butts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 The womens team are claiming 2106 for last nights game. Add the two totals up and you get the 4089, which is closer to what you guys claimed were at the game. Seems to me like the Aviators are cutting off attendance of the first game at kickoff and then re-starting counting the second game attendance there. That seems a bit unfair what with the kickoff starting at a useless 6pm. Surely a majority of people who showed up late were there for the mens game but couln't arrive on time. The Aviators should just use one attendance for both games. After all, they sell one ticket for both games don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 Here is my final match report I did for a-league.com, as Sergio was unavailable. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Final match report Edmonton Aviators 0 - Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (Men) Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, July 13, 2004 By David Beach, beachesl@hotmail.com, for a-league.com Goals: 5' Vancouver: Davide Xausa (Winston Griffiths) Vancouver Griffiths had a fast break on the right of the box , and passed it to Xausa, also on the break, in the centre, who it by Campi. 66' Vancouver: Davide Xausa Xausa sent an unexpected 30 to 40yard kick from near the right sideline which sailed into the upper left net past goalkeeper Campi, who was standing unawares just inside the 18 yard box line in the centre. Edmonton: Jose Luis Campi; Liam DeSilva (Chris Devlin 56’), Ibo Mollaibrahimogaoglu, Jaime Lopresti; Chris Hansor (Daniel Drummond 80’), Paul Dhaliwal (Robin Hart 45’) Kurt Bosch (Vikram Kaushal 45’), Nikola Vignjevic, Gordon Chin; Fred Akok, Sean Fraser. Substitutes not used: Nick Stankov, Eric Munoz, Sipho Sibiya. (now 2-7-6 for season) Vancouver: Alex Marques; Nick Dasovic, Fuseini Dauda ( Jeremie Piette 64’) , Justin Thompson; Dave Morris ,Jeff Clarke , Martin Nash, Steve Kindel, Chris Franks (Mark Gomes 51’); Davide Xausa (Umbertino Cucck, 69’), Winston Griffiths. Substitutes not used: Mike Franks, Geordie Lyall. (now 2-5-2 for season) Cautions VAN: Dauda 25, Piette 75, Nash 79 EDM: Vignjevic 56 Ejections None Referees: Mauricio Navarro, Charlene Douglas, Dave Gantar, Jamie Gamlin Statistics from uslsoccer.com Goalkeeping: Vancouver Whitecaps Pos. No. Name GKM GA GKW GKL GKT SO Saves SHFC GK 29 Marques-Delgado, Alexander 90 1 1 5 5 Edmonton Aviators Pos. No. Name GKM GA GKW GKL GKT SO Saves SHFC GK 1 Campi, Jose Luis 90 2 1 2 4 Other: Goals Half1 Half2 OT1 OT2 Final Vancouver Whitecaps 1 1 2 Edmonton Aviators 0 0 0 Shots Vancouver Whitecaps 3 1 4 Edmonton Aviators 2 3 5 Saves Vancouver Whitecaps 2 3 5 Edmonton Aviators 2 0 2 Fouls Vancouver Whitecaps 8 9 17 Edmonton Aviators 8 5 13 Offsides Vancouver Whitecaps 4 2 6 Edmonton Aviators 0 4 4 Corners Vancouver Whitecaps 3 2 5 Edmonton Aviators 3 3 6 Announced attendance: 1,983 [underestimated] A hot sunny night at kick-off ( 6:05 pm, MDT, 29 C, with thunder threatening in the distance) The evening continued warm and dry, with wind largely not reaching field level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a tired and under-strength Whitecaps team that came into Commonwealth. This was the 3rd match in 5 days for the Whitecaps, who played Seattle home on the 9th and away on the 10th. They were missing several players because of duty with the Canada B squad duty on the coast (Valente) and injury (Corazzin), and had several new players not on the programme and without names on the jerseys. The Aviators, on the other hand, had just come off a 6-day rest, last having played on the in Portland the Thursday before. They were only missing one regular, Chris Lemire, to Canada B squad duty. Other than Robin Hart, they had played with the most of the same squad for most of the season. They were home, and seemingly confident because their last meeting with Vancouver ended in a come-from-behind victory in Burnaby. However, it was the tired Whitecaps that predominated through most of the evening, and would have run the 2-0 score up even higher if it were not for Campi’s excellent saves in the first hour of the match. Victory was assured due to a combination of the brilliance of a 30 to 40 yard strike by Xausa and the inattention of Av’s goalkeeper Campi who was wandering too far off his line. With that second goal at 66’, the Av’s fate was sealed. It was a largely incident-free match that featured little physical contact. The heat on the field was only due to the weather, not the players. The only injury of note is when new Whitecap player Dauda took himself off for a few minutes early in the second half to stretch out his cramps from lack of recent game time and the heat on the field. He carried on until he was substituted at 64’. The Whitecaps game plan was obviously to ride the game out by maximizing possession and going for the quick breaks. They started with a 4-3-3 formation, with a sweeper, and kept the formation most of the evening. After the second goal, they switched to a holding 4-4-2 formation, and were even more successful at maintaining possession through the remainder of the match. The Aviators employed a 4-3-1-2 formation through most of the match. A notable change from past matches was that the usually energetic Gordon Chin was placed in a central, forward midfield attacking position, rather than his usual left wing position. This was undoubtedly done in an effort to assist attack up the middle in the absence of Lemire. He was remarkably less effective than in previous matches, and the few successful forays at net that he was involved with originated when he wandered off to the wing. The lackadaisical and disorganized action of the Avaitors at the opening was punished early by a straight attack up the middle by the speedy Jamaican international Griffiths (whose probes would bother the Av’s defence all evening) and Xausa. The Av’s defence’s poor effort at the off-side trap was punished by both of the Cap’s attackers getting alone in front of Campi, with Griffiths deciding to pass to the centre to Xausa who banged it past a helpless Campi just before the 5’ mark. The next 15 minutes produced a lot of soft back and forth in the midfield with nothing remarkable. At 20’, the Av’s Fraser was able to run on alone from the left into the front of Marques, but he hit it just right of the post on the ground. At 36’, there was a good series of give and go between caps Kindell and Griffiths, ending in a last second rob save by Campi on a close shot by Griffiths on the left side of goal. At 38’, after a corner-kick, Chin was in a good position to score, but crossed instead, with no one picking it up. At 41’, a goal by Griffiths was called off because of a foul on the keeper by Xausa. Keeping up the pressure, Griffiths was alone in front of Campi again, with Campi making a pointblank save. The Caps kept up the pressure until the half was called after 2’ of added time. The Avitaors made two substitutions at the half involving midfielders (Bosch and Dhaliwal off for Kaushal and Hart), but there did not appear to be a significant change of tactics or formation. Hart did add spark to the Av’s centre, and the former Trinidad and Tobago U-23 international made some very good moves throughout the second half. The Caps did not sit back protecting their one-goal lead at the start of the second half. At 48’ they came close to scoring on a free-kick just outside the box by Xausa that just missed its mark. For the next ten minutes, The Whitecaps played a tight possession game, punctuated only by an Av’s goalstrike at 55’ by Hart that was called back on the offside. At 58’, griffiths again caused problems with his incredible speed by breaking away and just failing to chip a shot over a drifting Campi that just grazed the centre of the cross-bar. Vancouver’s off-side trap again produced defensive results when a nifty give and go by Chin and Frazer was called back after a near miss by Chin on the right at 67’. Vancouver made its first sub of the night at 64’, when an exhausted Dauda was replaced by Piette. A minute later, Xausa scored from between 30 to 40 yards out by kicking from near the left sideline, catching a wandering and inattentive Campi (and most of the stadium) unawares. It sailed by the unmoving and later embarrassed keeper, and landed in the top right of goal. Xausa was replaced at 69’ by Cucck, another Cap player without his name on the jersey. Vancouver then played manly defensive ball for the last 20’. The Av’s did have some promising runs involving service by Hart and Chin to Frazer and Akok, but the usual team failings of failure to finish was the story. Hart came close at 90’ with a hard shot just outside the box. Campi’s wandering almost cost the Av’s again at 89’, as Griffiths just missed with a chip. Griffiths open-field work was electrifying throughout the game. His demonstrated weakness is the ability to win the close one-ones and tackling, however. There was a generous 3’ of injury time at the end of the match, and the only action of note during that was a right side run in the second minute by the Av’s Fraser who managed a tricky shot near the touch line that Marques managed to glove. Other than the A-League standings, the win leaves the Whitecaps (6 points in 5 matches) 5 points from the lead of the Montreal Impact (11 points from 5 matches), with 3 matches to play for each club, in the unofficial Voyageurs Cup competition (between the five clubs based in Canada) for Canadian soccer supremacy. Edmonton follows at 5 points (with 4 matches remaining), then Calgary at 4 points (5 matches to go) and Toronto (5 to go) with only 1 point so far. The second match of the doubleheader was the W-League contest involving the Calgary Wildfire, won by the Women Aviators by a similar 2-0 score. The announced of attendance of 1,983 again calls into question the reporting of attendance on the USL website in general, and for the Edmonton games in particular. Even the most conservative estimates of the crowd by the 60’ minute mark were 3,500. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post-Game Quotes (from Edmonton Sun): Davide Xausa: "I like playing here. I'm scoring good goals here" "I don't know what my record would be here with all teams but I don't think I've lost too many games here. It's too bad there's not more fans. The Aviators play decent football so it's too bad they don't get more support, especially in their first year." (Sun: Xausa's prowess in Edmonton includes two goals against Australia for the Canadian Olympic team, another while with the full national squad against Ecuador, and the game winner as a second-half sub for the Whitecaps when they topped the Aviators at Clarke Park back on June 22. The two last night give him five on the year, tops on the Whitecaps (10-5-2) who lead the A-League's Western Conference.) "I tend to score in bunches so I hope they keep coming. This was a great result. We've got 10 players out injured and we probably had five (regular) starters playing. "A couple guys that don't usually start for us picked up the slack." Chris Hansor: ”We weren't as sharp as we should have been, but it wasn't like we weren't in the game. We did well to beat them in their place and they did well to beat us here. We're doing well to keep the ball out of the goal but we've got to score goals to win games.” "If we weren't taking any shots it would be a different story. We're shooting it's just not going in for us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.