TECHERA GROIN, GROIN, GONE
Whitecaps will be without The Bug in second-leg CONCACAF Champions League quarter
Mission Accomplished? Fair to say that, yes. The Whitecaps may not have been pretty in battling to a 1-1 draw Wednesday against the Red Bulls, but away games, especially in a tough knockout competition, aren’t supposed to be. It’s the result that counts and the Caps come home with the advantage because of their away goal.
Here are a few points to ponder with still a week to go until the second leg.
COLOURFUL CARDS
It’s hard to argue with the red to Cristian Techera. It was a wild, reckless attempt at a kick. He may not have meant to swat anyone in the groin, but he did and you live with the consequences.
He’s out for the second leg, which is tough given the horror show of injuries to the team’s creative players. Giles Barnes will undoubtedly get the start.
The other card that flew under the radar was the yellow to Erik Hurtado, who will miss next week’s game because of accumulation. Fredy Montero may now start, though you have to wonder if Carl Robinson’s preference will be to bring Montero off the bench in the first couple games of the season (remember, three days after, there’s the MLS season opener against Philly.)
If Montero doesn’t start, Kyle Greig is clearly set to get a start.
BALL BULLIES
Possession fell mostly on the Red Bulls’ side for much of the match, but until the Techera red card, the passing stats were actually relatively even.
But they basically had all the ball in the final 20 minutes and it shows: RBNY attempted 319 passes total on the night, more than 100 more than the Caps.
Fouls were 18-7 against the Caps on the night. Makes sense when they were chasing the game.
SILENT STANDS
The announced attendance was 3,231 Wednesday night.
For reference, the Facebook Live broadcast maxed out at just shy of 6,000 viewers.
That’s not the kind of hype CONCACAF will be looking for in a premier market for a supposedly premier competition. It has got a long way to go.
A check of the Ticketmaster ticket sales chart for next week’s match at B.C. Place tells us there will surely be a far bigger crowd than we saw Wednesday in New Jersey. The team is marketing the game as the season opener and you figure as word trickles out to casual fans that the Caps are on the verge of a semifinal spot, maybe that helps build buzz.
WHAT IF?
The winner of this series will play the winner of Tigres versus Pumas, guaranteeing a trip to Mexico in the second week of March. The second leg would go the first week of April. The higher seed hosts the second leg: the Whitecaps are the top-seeded team in the quarter-finals.
The visiting Pumas got a second-half goal Wednesday; final score in Monterrey was 1-1. That puts the Mexico City club in the driver’s seat for next week, just like the Whitecaps.