Start In Hole, But Dig Deep To Make It Close Against Vancouver
To push the game to overtime the Thunder would have to win by two goals, not an easy task. What happened three minutes into the game only made matters worse.
It didn’t take the Vancouver Whitecaps long to assert themselves in the second leg of the quarterfinal series with Minnesota. In only the third minute of the game, one of the Whitecaps’ two big forwards, Charles Gbeke, galloped down the right flank and found space to carry the ball near the end line. His low cross was dummied in the box by the other big forward, Eduardo Sebrango, allowing the ball to pass from the right side of the six-yard box to the left side. A clever play since it froze Thunder goalie, Nick Platter, and when he plunged to get the ball on the backside, it was too late. Alfredo Valente beat Platter to the ball and clocked it into the net for a quick 1-0 lead.
Minnesota didn’t lose its cool, and was successful in moving the ball deep into the offensive third, creating scoring threats from the left flank using the quickness and ball moves of Stephen de Roux and the inspired play of Luchi Gonzalas. In the 13th minute Sanchez attemped a semi-bicycle kick that forced Vancouver goalie Jay Nally to punch it over the crossbar.
Then in the 23rd minute Ricardo Sanchez started a play with a chip over the left flank defender to the speedy de Roux who caught up with the ball in stride. His sliding cross from the endline had eyes for Luchi Gonzalas inside the box at the 18. The ball bounced once before Gonzalas chest trapped it and volleyed a shot into the right side of the net to tie the game 1-1. Still the Thunder needed two more goals to tie the series, three to win.
Moments before the end of the half Vancouver struck once more. Lyle Martin out-muscled de Roux on the right flank. After dispensing with the smaller de Roux, Gbeke sliced into the box and sent a hard pass to Martin Nash as he ran towards Gbeke. Minnesota’s defense over-reacted to the direction of the ball and got caught flat-footed as Nash headed the other way with it. The moment he collected the ball he saw an opening between two defenders. He took the shot and Platter had no chance. Moments later the teams headed to the locker room, one team thinking semifinals, the other wondering what bus had just hit them.
There was no guessing what the Thunder had to do in the second half. The character of the game had an even more urgent tone than in any other game all season. More attackers were up front, which prevented Vancouver from double-teaming players. In the 50th minute Sanchez played a short chip into the box to Melvin Tarley. He had Nally beat but his shot trickled just wide right of the goal. More chip services would follow.
Sending more attackers in the box also made the Thunder more vulnerable to counterattacks by the Whitecaps. In the 53rd minute Mark Shulte made a sweet sliding tackle at the 18 to twart Sebrango who was heading for a 1 x 1 with Platter and the fans breathed a sigh of relief.
Just two minutes later a long pass on the left flank to Valente the problem came up again, this time with dire consequences. As defender Jonathan Greenfield sprinted to get into position Valente slowed slightly and was able to pass behind Greenfield who hadn’t gotten into a good defensive shape yet. Serango was following the play and one-touched the ball before whacking an easy shot past Platter from 15 yards out for a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead.
A little bit of luck was on the Thunder’s side, though. In the 64th minute Gonzalas chipped the ball into the box for Tarley. It was long and Vancouver’s center back, Wesley Charles, who had been barking out signals for his team in his loud raspy voice the whole game, made a big mistake. Not knowing that his goalie, Jay Nolly was coming out for the ball he headed it back towards the goal. Tarley didn’t waste any time pouncing on the opportunity and one-timed it into the empty net to tighten the score, 3-2 Vancouver.
Then in the 77th minute all hell broke loose. With five Thunder players poised on the 18 Sanchez chipped the ball inside the box to the left. Brian Cvilikas timed his run perfectly to stay onside and beat his defender and headed the ball with more pace than Nally could handle. The ball glanced off his gloves and bounced once towards the open goal. Gonzalaz anticipated the ball coming through and before it hit the ground a second time swatted at it, sliding to the ground. A Vancouver defender was between him and the goal and everyone in a Thunder uniform and everyone in the stands saw his arm deflect the ball out of bounds. When the ref awarded the Thunder a corner kick players were stunned. Sanchez was most vocal and was given a red card for the wrong words, and possibly too much volume, but who could hear? The fans were booing loud in dismay.
The verbal tussle had one very positive effect. Following the corner kick, Gonzalas got in a battle for the ball at the right corner of the 18. You could see the combination of passion and disgust in him as he fought and won possession. That he would not win the ball was not an option, he was that determined. Gonzalas pulled away from his defender and six yards from the end line he centered the ball. A human crush of players attacked the ball with a feeding frenzie. The first shot hit the post. De Roux got a foot on the ball as he slid into a flurry of legs in front of the goal to tie the score 3-3 in the 78th minute.
De Roux was in the thick of things in extra time, drawing a foul in the box as he went for a chip pass from Cvilikas. Freddy Moojen converted the penalty kick to give the Thunder the lead for the first time, 4-3, but there wasn’t enough time, and Vancouver will move on to semifinal action with a 5-4 aggregate series win.
Note: The portable mic was on the fritz at the beginning of the game when the trio, Red Path, walked on the field to sing the Canadian National Anthem. As Thunder staff were trying to see what the problem was, a cluster of helpful fans in the sound grandstand knew what to do and began singing, “Oh Canada.” They picked a good note to start on, had good pitch, and knew some words. Book ‘em for the next game. Oh, rats, the season’s over.
