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| Carlos Ruiz (courtesy of Philadelphia Union) |
Chester (The Phanatic Magazine) - Carlos Ruiz's marker in the 77th minute proved to be the difference as Philadelphia whitewashed the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps, 1-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,591 in the Union's home opener at a chilly PPL Park on the Delaware Riverfront.
In the team's inaugural season it took the Union 22 games before recording a clean sheet and the team had just two all season. Veteran goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, 39, now has two in two games this year as the Union (2-0) are in the midst of the first winning streak in franchise history. Philadelphia began the season with a 1-0 win in Houston last week.
All-Star Sebastien Le Toux assisted on Ruiz's goal for the Union, who took to the pitch wearing a so-called "third kit," featuring white jerseys for the first time.
“We have had marvelous teamwork on the field,” Mondragon said. “We are doing very well and our confidence is building every day. I have played at PPL Park before as part of the (Colombian) National Team, but these fans here today were fantastic. I’m happy to get the shutout. I couldn’t have done it without the guys in front of me making plays and also making it a lot easier on me in goal.”
Netminder Joe Cannon was spectacular in defeat for the expansion Whitecaps, who came to the Keystone State with a roster depleted both by injuries and international call-ups. Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit, Michael Boxall and Omar Salgado are all with their respective national teams, while key contributors
Shea Salinas, a former member of the Union, John Thorrington and David Chiumiento were all ruled out due to injury concerns.
A scoreless game turned in the 58th minute when Vancouver forward Eric Hassli was ejected after picking up his second yellow card of the match. The Whitecaps had to play a man down from there and Cannon faced enormous pressure.
In the 66th minute, Ruiz almost put the Union on top during a goal mouth scramble following Kyle Nakazawa's corner kick. Cannon, made a terrific reaction save, however, to knock the ball over the crossbar and keep things scoreless.
By the 67th minute Union team manger Peter Nowak replaced Nakazawa for fresh legs in Roger Torres and also sat defender Jordan Harvey, replacing him with another attacker in Jack McInerney as the Union desperately tried to solve Cannon.
McInerney nearly paid immediate dividends when his low strike from distance was handled by Cannon. Two minutes later Cannon came out of the net to break up a corner from Torres.
The Union kept up the pressure from there when Torres found Ruiz in the area during the 73rd minute, but the former MLS MVP fired over the bar with his one-timer.
The chances kept coming from there. McInerney missed on a free kick from 20 yards out in the 74th minute and less than 60 seconds later Le Toux deposited another free kick off the bar.
Vancouver finally wilted in the 77th minute when Le Toux took a deflected shot from outside the penalty area and slid a pass through the face of goal to a wide open Ruiz, who easily tapped it in.
The Whitecaps never seriously threatened from there. In fact Vancouver never even got a shot on goal in the second half.
A foul-plagued, scoreless first half saw Vancouver, coming off a four goal performance in its inaugural game last week against Toronto FC, get the first opportunity but Harvey was able to head away a blast from the top of the area.
A hand ball by the Whitecaps in the 16th minute gave the Union their first legitimate chance but Nakazawa's dangerous free kick was cleared from the far post. Another Union near miss came in the 20th minute when Ruiz laid a ball off to Le Toux in the area, but it was a bit late and the star striker's angled, close-range shot was easily denied by Cannon.
It was all Vancouver from there as the Union piled up the yellow cards. Nakazawa, Danny Califf and Danny Mwanga were all shown yellow as the Whitecaps pressed the action. In the 28th minute Carlos Valdes broke up a dangerous situation by tackling Atiba Harris, who was attacking in space. In the 42nd minute Harris was able to spin and fire from the top but Mondragon stoned him.
Philly finally responded with its best opportunity in the waning seconds of stoppage time before intermission. Nakazawa fired a pass just past a diving Ruiz as things stayed scoreless at intermission.
Vancouver finished with 12 fouls and two yellow cards while the Union had nine fouls in three yellows in the chippy first half.
UNION DUES:
*Veteran MF Justin Mapp, who started against the Dynamo last week and generated two shots on goal in 58 minutes of action, was sidelined with a left hamstring strain. Mapp is aging and probably can't go a full 90 minutes these days buy his playmaking skills in the open field along with his strong corner kicks are missed when he is out of the lineup. Le Toux moved back to midfield and Mwanga got his first start of the season for Philly in his place. Mwanga, who played 32 minutes in the opener as a sub for Mapp, obviously brings more
offensive skills to the table for the Union but must become more of a two-way player to earn Nowak's trust.
*The 39-year-old Mondragon certainly doesn't have the athleticism of last year's netminder Chris Seitz but his instincts, leadership and ability to communicate with his defenders are in another league.
*Union second-year MF Amobi Okugo and rookie GK Zac MacMath are both away with the U.S. National Team's U-20 squad and were not available for Nowak. Okugo played five minutes as a substitution in Philadelphia's 1-0 season opening win in Houston.
*Salinas, who missed the match with a right knee sprain, was left unprotected by Philadelphia in the expansion draft and selected by the Whitecaps with the fourth pick. Vancouver also selected former Union forward Alejandro Moreno but immediately traded his rights to Chivas USA.
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