<b>KEY PLAYERS :</b>
ATTACKING
There were some doubts going into the opener as to how <b>Kenny Miller</b> would fit into the lineup but the Scot, through his high work rate, showed that he has potential to be very valuable to the club. There were a couple of instances where Miller found himself in a dangerous position but the service to him was lacking.
The engine that makes the Crew's attack run is Argentine <b>Federico Higuain</b>, who sits right behind the striker. With six goals and seven assists in his twelve starts, he is a threat as both a playmaker and a finisher and will have to be closely marked.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
DEFENCE
With his appearance in the second half <b>Nigel Reo Coker</b> changed the tempo of the match and improved the play of the midfield. He is expected to start against the Crew and will need to track Higuain as well as push the ball into the attack.
The key piece to the Crew’s backline is <b>Chad Marshall</b> who may not be the fleetest of foot but possesses size and intelligence. The two time MLS defender of the year is one of the best centrebacks in the league and now has better support with Brazilian Glauber partnering with him on the backline.
<b>WHO'S ON FORM :</b>
Against Toronto FC, <b>Daigo Kobayashi</b> showed the technical skill that the Whitecaps saw when they were thinking of signing him prior to the season. The Japanese international especially showed his skill as a playmaker with his one touch pass to Koffie on the only goal of the game.
Having been given the number one keeper spot in the offseason, <b>Andy Gruenebaum</b> came up with a cleansheet to start the year. He didn’t have to make too many his saves, two in total, but it was the one around the thirty minute mark that kept the game scoreless going into the half.
<b>PROJECTED LINEUP :</b>
Vancouver Whitecaps (4-2-3-1)
R to L- Joe Cannon; Y.P. Lee, Andy O’Brien, Brad Rusin, Alain Rochat; Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie; Daigo Kobayashi, Kenny Miller, Kekuta Manneh; Darren Mattocks
Columbus Crew (4-5-1)
R to L - Andy Gruenebaum; Josh Williams, Chad Marshall, Glauber, Tyson Wahl; Dominic Oduro, Danny O’Rourke, Federico Higuain, Agustin Viana, Eddie Gaven; Jairo Arrieta
<b>INJURED/MISSING :</b>
Vancouver Whitecaps
Out: MF Bryce Alderson (knee), FW Omar Salgado (foot), DF Jay DeMerit (Achilles)
Questionable: MF Matt Watson (knee)
Columbus Crew
None
<b>2013 RECORD :</b>
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1W-0D-0L
3 points
4th in Western Conference
Last Match: 1-0 Win at home to Toronto FC
Columbus Crew
1W-0D-0L
3 points
1st in Eastern Conference
Last Match: 3-0 Win at Chivas USA
<b>OVERVIEW :</b>
Vancouver Whitecaps enter their second match of the season hoping to put together a full 90 minute performance against Columbus Crew. They may have picked up three points against TFC but it was far from an ideal show, especially in the first half.
There will be a few changes to the lineup with Brad Rusin taking over for injured captain Jay DeMerit. He will partner with Andy O’Brien on the backline while Alain Rochat and YP Lee will be the full backs. In addition to those veterans, Rusin will have the leadership and organizational skills of Joe Cannon in the net.
In front of the backline the Caps will have Nigel Reo Coker replacing Jun Marques Davidson while Gershon Koffie will be the other holding mid. The attack will have Darren Mattocks as the striker while Kenny Miller, Daigo Kobayashi and either Kekuta Manneh or Erik Hurtado will line up behind him.
There is a chance that Davidson will remain in the lineup and neither rookie will start, but the Caps will need pace in the wide areas against the Crew and will want to be more attacking as they are at home. The visitors have a large backline who lack mobility which is where the Whitecaps can take advantage of in the attack.
In addition to the obvious danger of Higuain, the Whitecaps will have to be aware of the pace from the wide midfielders. Offseason addition Dominic Oduro and Eddie Gaven are threats if given space and time to attack.
In the first half of their opening match the Whitecaps were very sloppy with their passes, as well as being unable to win second balls. The second half was a different story with the inclusion of Reo-Coker into the eleven as the midfielder was able to push the ball up the field.
In his media scrum at training Martin Rennie felt they didn’t need to change but just improve what they already had.
<i>"What we did in the second half was good. We want to build on that performance and overall we have got ourselves off to a good start."</i>
This will be a bigger test for the Whitecaps considering the Crew have been training together for most of the preseason, unlike TFC. However, if they can repeat their second half performance from last week then another three points should be there for the taking.
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