Steven Sandor
edits and writes at The 11
Deja vu: Whitecaps let TFC escape Vancouver with an advantage, again
It is the nature of two-legged Cup ties that the first game is often forgotten. Quick. Think back to the first leg of the Chelsea-Barcelona Champions League semifinal. Doesn’t come back to you as quickly as that epic second leg, does it?
And when we think of the 2011 Voyageurs’ Cup final, we remember the second leg, not the first. The rainout and subsequent replay turned that second leg into a strangely epic affair, and Whitecaps fans still lament losing a second-half 1-0 lead because a downpour at BMO Field aborted the first attempt at playing the game.
Almost conveniently forgotten was the first leg, which the Whitecaps dominated in terms of possession and chances. But the ‘Caps squandered chance after chance and settled for a 1-1 draw, which set up TFC to take that home leg.
Rago’s return to starting XI has been a major boost for FC Edmonton
Before the kickoff of the 2012 NASL season, FC Edmonton’s coaching staff pulled right back Antonio Rago aside to give him some bad news — that he’d lost his place in the starting XI.
Rago, a local product and fan favourite, was almost an automatic choice in coach Harry Sinkgraven’s starting lineups throughout the 2011 season. So, when Rago began the year on the subs’ bench, it was an eyebrow-raiser of a move.
But, over the last two weeks, Rago has reclaimed his starting spot. Before Rago came in as a started, Edmonton was winless in four league games. Since he came back, the team has won its two NASL matches by an aggregate 5-0 count and showed very well in an Amway Canadian Championship semifinal loss to Vancouver at BC Place — in which Rago set up Yashir Pinto’s goal for the Eddies.
Richmond-based club asks for court injunction to stop BCSA-Whitecaps deal
The B.C. Soccer Association is being sued.
Late last week, Sportstown B.C. Holdings and Total Soccer Systems Inc. filed their suit in the province’s Supreme Court which asks for an injunction that would prevent the provincial soccer body from continuing its partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
All items reported in the statement of claim have yet to be proven in a court of law.
The TSS Academy, based in Richmond, is a for-proft academy that isn’t allowed to become a full BCSA member. And it is angered that the BCSA entered partnerships with the Whitecaps, which is a for-profit MLS team. The Academy believes that is an unfair barrier to its business. According to TSS, the issue is not the Whitecaps, it’s the BCSA.
Even though the case is a long way from being heard, in the meantime TSS and its lawyers are asking for “a temporary injunction prohibiting the Defendant (the BCSA) from receiving any funding from the Vancouver Whitecaps or from the Province of British Columbia” until the case has been resolved.
