The San Diego Flash continue to win at home as they beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in the first game of the second round of the playoffs. Hugo Alcaraz scored the first Flash goal in the 67th minute after getting Whitecaps keeper Lars Hirschfeld to come out towards the top of the penalty area. Then another Flash substitute, Emmanuel Ayim, scored in the 84th minute on what looked like another error by the keeper. The Flash now have somewhat of a cushion going into Saturday's game in Vancouver.
The game started out all Whitecaps. They put the pressure on early, and the Flash looked like they hadn't started the game until about the 10th minute. In fact, right off the opening kickoff, which was taken by Vancouver, the Whitecaps got the ball into the Flash area and won a corner kick just 15 seconds into the game. Fortunately for San Diego the Whitecaps were unable to score early, and once the Flash got into the flow, it was their turn to put on the pressure. In the first half the Flash managed 8 shots compared to just 3 for Vancouver. The Flash worked together and showed a lot of good ball handling and passing between players. Kevin Legg and Nate Hetherington combined for a lot of good combinations. But Vancouver's defense held strong, and were able to clear away many good San Diego attacks. The first half ended 0-0.
The second half started out even as well. Both teams seemed to match up against each other well. But after the Flash made some substitutions, the fresh legs of Hugo Alcaraz and Emmanuel Ayim seemed to get to the tired Whitecap defenders. Flash coach Derek Armstrong made good use of his four substitutions, and it looked like Vancouver might have done better had they substituted a little earlier. John Sulentic came on for Vancouver in the 70th minute, and he immediately had an impact on the game, creating some good opportunities for his offense. But by then the Flash were already the beneficiaries of a 1-0 lead, thanks to the efforts of Hugo Alcaraz, assisted by Brian O'Connor. After the Flash scored that goal, it seemed to inspire the team to go on and score some more. And they did so in the 84th minute by way of Ayim's goal, assisted by defender P.J. Brown. P.J. was a rock in defense tonight, winning lots of balls and not giving hardly anything away. He would have to be man of the match tonight, followed by another Flash defender, Adam Maurer, who also made some key stops of some Vancouver attacks.
The referee tonight was Ramon Hernandez, who was so much better than the last ref we had here, Richard Heron. Hernandez let the game flow, and did not interfere too much in the game at all. Even though the Flash had three yellow cards and Vancouver only one, I thought the ref did a good job. Especially since I was expecting a physical game. Both teams, to their credit, relied on the skills of their players, rather than cheap pushes and hits to impose on the game.
So now these two teams go to Vancouver on Saturday for the decisive game. Vancouver will most likely feel much more confident at home. Tonight as the game wore on, their confidence seemed to be falling, and I could hear a very vocal Rick Titus trying to rally his teammates on, but his voice wasn't enough. Perhaps the 4,000+ voices of the fans in Vancouver will help them, but the Flash also have to feel confident with their two goal lead. The series could still go either way.
Lineups:
San Diego- Matt Hall, P.J. Brown, Adam Maurer, Brian O'Connor, Nate Hetherington (Ryan Lee '62), Kevin Legg (Hugo Llamas '70), Carlos Calderson, Miguel Suazo, Chugger Adair, Javier Bustos (Emmanuel Ayim '64), Thiago Martins (Hugo Alcaraz '59).
Vancouver- Lars Hirschfeld, Chris Franks, Steve McCauley, Rick Titus, Jeff Skinner, Dave Morris (John Sulentic '70), Kevin Holness, Oliver Heald (Tiarnan King '73), Alfredo Valente, Jason Jordan, Steve Kindel.
Goals:
San Diego- '67 Hugo Alcaraz (A. Brian O'Connor)
San Diego- '84 Emmanuel Ayim (P.J. Brown)
Cards:
Vancouver '8 Oliver Heald (Y)
San Diego '22 Brian O'Connor (Y)
San Diego '41 Thiago Martins (Y)
San Diego '43 Carlos Calderson (Y)
A. 468
-Eric Bekins-
