SLAM
Sports: Lynx Outplayed by Vancouver
by Winnipeg Fury
Lynx outplayed by Vancouver
By JOHN F. MOLINARO -- SLAM!
Sports
TORONTO -- The woes of the Toronto Lynx continued tonight as
Toronto dropped a 3-1 decision to the Vancouver Whitecaps before an announced
crowd of 3, 293 fans at Varsity Stadium in A-League Soccer action.
The
loss, Toronto's ninth of the season, extends their winless streak to seven
games. Toronto's last victory came on June 3rd, a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh
Riverhounds at home.
Taking advantage of a defensive breakdown in
Toronto's 18-yard box, Vancouver forward Chris Craveiro opened the scoring in
the third minute when he took a short pass from team-mate Jason Jordan and fired
a shot past helpless Lynx goalkeeper Yuri Elkaim.
Toronto nearly
squared the affair ten minutes later when a Robbie Aristodemo free-kick
deflected off the foot of Vancouver defender Steve McCauley and soared just over
the crossbar.
Vancouver nearly made it 2-0 when Jason Jordan found
himself all alone deep inside Toronto's box, only to have Lynx keeper Elkaim
come up with a brilliant foot save. Moments later Elkaim cut off a dangerous
cross ball deep into the box, stopping Vancouver's offensive flurry in its
tracks.
Elkaim came up big again ten minutes from half when he stopped
Jordan on a partial breakaway down the left side of the field after receiving a
lovely through ball from teammate Alfredo Valente who caught the Lynx defenders
napping.
The first half continued to progress as the Lynx enjoyed the
majority of possession in midfield while Vancouver counterattacked with
well-timed forward runs.
Toronto's hard work in midfield finally paid
off in the 44th minute. Aristodemo found himself wide open on the right hand
side of the box and clanked one off the goal post. The rebound bounced straight
out to teammate Lyndon Hooper. With a Vancouver defender draped all over him,
Hooper slipped a short pass to forward David DiPlacido on the left side of the
box who fired a blistering shot into the back of the net past Vancouver
goalkeeper Didar Sandhu, knotting the game at 1-1 and scoring his second goal of
the season in the process.
The Lynx nearly made it 2-1 in the 54th
minute when a cross ball into the 18-yard box trickled through the Vancouver
defence, finding Toronto forward Juan Arango all alone in front of the net.
Whitecap goalkeeper Sandhu managed to get a hand on Arango's shot, deflecting it
wide of the post and keeping the score tied.
The Whitecaps took a 2-1
lead seven minutes later when midfielder Kevin Holness darted down the right
side of Toronto's box, sending a low, crisp pass into the middle to team-mate
Chris Craveiro who effortlessly tapped it in for his second goal of the game.
Craveiro assumed the role of playmaker in the 69th minute when a quick
give and go with Dave Morris resulted in Morris making it 3-1. Craveiro walked
through the Lynx defence virtually untouched down the right side of the field,
quickly cutting inside and delivering a short pass to Morris deep in the middle
of the box who knocked it into the back of the net.
After the game,
Craveiro was elated with his outstanding play and Vancouver's performance as a
whole.
"It was great to get a win, great to get our bonus points (for
scoring three goals)... everything went well," Craveiro told SLAM! Sports. "We
felt a little heavy because of the plane ride we were on and it took a while to
get into our rhythm."
Craveiro was virtually breathless when
describing his two goals.
"The first goal was all Jason Jordan. He
beat the defender, slipped the ball to me and I just volleyed it in. Second
goal, Kevin Holness just killed two guys down the left wing, cut it across and I
just finished it. Third goal, Jordan got me the ball and I beat my man and I cut
it to Dave Morris for a great goal."
Vancouver Head Coach Dale
Mitchell was impressed with Craveiro.
"The kid's got speed, he's got
skill and he finished the chances he had."
Now 2-9-1 on the season,
Toronto is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in two years.
Over in the home locker room, Head Coach Peter Pinizzotto was seething
with anger over Toronto's effort.
"We played terrible. Again, like all
our past games, we had possession of the ball but it means nothing if you can't
score more goals than the other team. At the same time I think Vancouver wanted
the win more than us... Yes, some of the boys worked hard but you need everybody
to be on the same page and I find that Vancouver seemed more hungry than us."
Pinizzotto also bemoaned the breakdowns in defence.
"You
could clearly see we had some breakdowns in the back. It's unusual because we
usually play very good defensively."
Pinizzotto also issued a stern
message to his players.
"I basically told them that if I'm the problem
as a coach, they should let me know because I can always resign. It's up to them
to really see if they want to turn this thing around. I basically told them
before the game that if I'm the problem they should let me know because these
players aren't really responding right now."
NOTES: The Lynx travel to
Hershey on Sunday to take on the Wildcats. Toronto sits in last place in the
Northern Conference with nine points... Regular starting goalkeeper Theo Zagar
sprained his ankle in training this week, forcing him to miss his first game of
the season. The Lynx were forced to start 19-year-old Yuri Elkaim in his
place... Defender Adrian Serioux missed tonight's game with a hamstring injury
that will keep him out of the starting line up for a few weeks... Tonight's game
was broadcast nationally on CTV Sportsnet... After tonight's game, the Lynx have
only scored six goals in 11 games while giving up 17...
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