Mattocks suspension means Miller time
Jamaican star gets red card, Scot to start Saturday against Galaxy
PORTLAND, Ore. — Martin Rennie’s decision to start Kenny Miller up front over Darren Mattocks was a hot topic once the team sheets came out ahead of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Timbers.
There’ll be no such debate before the Whitecaps (10-10-7) travel to the L.A. Galaxy this Saturday, as Vancouver tries to snap a season-long three-game slide.
Mattocks will miss his third game through suspension.
The Jamaican rookie forward had his elbow up as he challenged Timbers defender Steven Smith for a header in the 84th minute. At best, it was careless.
Referee David Gantar took his time — did he check out the replay on the scoreboard? — before sending Mattocks off with a straight red.
Miller, who scored his first MLS goal in his third start, will again be relied on to provide the finishing touch in L.A.
However Rennie had planned to use Mattocks at the Home Depot Center — as a starter or gamechanger off the bench — it’s a blow, and an annoyance.
After a week of defending his team’s discipline following avoidable bans for Barry Robson and Gershon Koffie, Rennie was clearly irritated by Mattocks’ latest suspension.
The Whitecaps will have to try to turn this late-season slide around in L.A. without their leading scorer and most consistently dangerous player.
“Discipline has been a big topic and we’ve definitely been addressing it,” Rennie said after the loss. “The thing that’s frustrating is, at a certain point, players need to take accountability, too.
“That’s again an issue we’ve talked a lot to Darren about. I don’t think he’s ever malicious. But if he’s challenging and his arm is up and he connects then that [sending off ] can happen.
“He’s a young player and he does need to learn from that because that’s something that can hold him back from being a very good player and we can’t have that.
“So, hopefully this will be a big enough wake-up call that he can learn from. That’s a sore lesson for us [Saturday], and for him as well.”
Mattocks was sent off earlier this season for a pair of quick yellow cards at home to Colorado — though Vancouver pulled out a 10-man win. He’s also served a suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Of some comfort, Miller opened his MLS account with a well taken goal in first-half injury time in Portland.
The quick touch and confident finish were exactly what Whitecaps fans have been hoping for since Miller, a Scottish international, signed for $1.2 million a month ago after a season at Cardiff City.
It was Miller’s sixth appearance. The first three came as a substitute as Rennie worked him in to the mixcautiously following a two-month break.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement in Miller’s game but Saturday should be a confidence boost.
“Big Andy [O’Brien] has done well to keep it alive, Jay [DeMerit] had a wild swing and fortunately it fell to my feet,” Miller, 32, said of his goal.
“It’s always nice to get your first goal for a new team. That said, it’s disappointing because it’s another defeat. When you get a break like that [being outplayed in the first half but going into the locker room tied], we came out 1-1 with a chance to build on it, but we never took advantage of that.
“The last three games, our performances have definitely been below par. We’ll be working hard this week to put it right for next week.”
Rennie surprised some by leaving Mattocks and his seven goals out of the starting lineup. The Whitecaps, though, have to get Miller producing, and they’ve lacked a spark off the bench. Last week in Seattle, Miller played as a withdrawn forward in behind Mattocks.
“It was just to get Kenny up through the middle,” Rennie said of his lineup decisions in Portland. “We worked on a number of combinations through the week but we felt that was the right balance.
“Camilo looked good in training [another option would have been for Miller to take Camilo’s spot on left wing] and we also felt we wanted Darren to come on to change the game if need be.”
By the time Mattocks came on in Portland, it was to chase the game.
No such option this coming weekend. Miller will likely have to take another step forward for the Caps to get a result in L.A.