Omar Salgad

PORTLAND, OREGON – Vancouver Whitecaps FC claimed their second straight win at the Rose City Invitational on Wednesday, defeating San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 on the strength of a first-half Kenny Miller marker and a late Darren Mattocks penalty. Aqib Talib Authentic . Making his first start of the preseason, Miller put the ‘Caps ahead in the 26th minute and Mattocks added an insurance marker – his second goal in as many matches – to carry the ‘Caps to victory. Recently acquired goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi looked sharp when called upon, making a pair of saves to earn a clean sheet in his first appearance with Whitecaps FC. After opening the Rose City Invitational with a 5-1 win over Portmore United on Sunday, Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson made a full squad change for Wednesdays tilt with San Jose. Eleven new players – most of the youthful variety – drew into the starting lineup. In addition to Miller, who wore the captains armband and played in an attacking midfielder position behind lone central forward Omar Salgado, one of those players was Christian Dean . Just as he has all preseason, the 20-year-old impressed again on Wednesday – both on and off the ball. Robinson opted to use Dean at left back, which moved Sam Adekugbe up to the left wing. And it was the Homegrown defender who created the first goal of the match in the 26th minute. Adekugbe, who made his way over to the right side of the park, ran onto a perfectly-weighted ball by Salgado and laid it into the box for Miller, who hit it first time into the back of the net. Aside from the Scotsmans tally, there wasnt much room for either side in the opening 25 minutes. One player who looked lively for the ‘Caps was Salgado, who was very active in the lone central forward position. At the other end of the park, the Quakes had a pair of great first-half opportunities. But a sliding Carlyle Mitchell clearance off the goal line in the 12th minute and a sprawling save by Tornaghi on an Adam Jahn break just moments after Millers marker kept them off the scoresheet. Vancouver made one change at the half, as Residency midfielder Marco Bustos replaced Miller in the attacking midfielder position. Robinsons side got off to an encouraging start after the break and Salgado was once again involved. First, Dean whipped in a low cross to Salgado in the 52nd minute, but the 6-foot-4 strikers first-time effort just missed wide of the near post. A few minutes later, Salgado let loose another left-footed effort from inside the box but this time substitute goalkeeper David Bingham made a sprawling fingertip save to keep the game within reach. Vancouver received a boost around the hour-mark, when speedsters Erik Hurtado, Kekuta Manneh, and Darren Mattocks entered the match. The trio created a number of opportunities and finally, after a late Quakes charge, they found the back of the net. After midfielder Bryce Alderson was hauled down in the box, Mattocks stepped up to the penalty spot and sealed the deal with a cool finish to give Vancouver a 2-0 victory. Rahim Moore Jersey On Sale . 1 overall pick likes best about football. "Big hits," he said. "Im all about hitting. I dont care who it is." Thats what the Houston Texans are counting on from the South Carolina defensive end after skipping a chance to take a quarterback -- their top need -- with the top pick Thursday night. Quentin Jammer Jersey On Sale . -- Oakland Raiders running back Maurice Jones-Drew is being sued in Florida, accused of punching a bouncer at a St.If youve been revelling in the glorious feast of World Cup action like me, you will have noticed a distinct difference between the tempo and excitement of the round robin phase versus the careful and more conservative approaches in the knockout rounds. The group stage of Brazil 2014 may never be equalled in terms of entertainment and production.  Goals were flying in, teams were in the mood to attack and managers seemingly took the shackles off their players.  Not unlike the pre-World Cup Vancouver Whitecaps who scored nine goals in three games leading into the MLS-imposed break. But once the knockout stages in Brazil took hold and the stakes became infinitely higher, the games changed.  No less drama, but certainly less expanse, far less risk and fewer goals.  Saturday night at BC Place, the Whitecaps took an early lead, did create some opportunities to stretch their advantage, but ultimately provided a performance that felt very World Cup quarterfinals-like.  Germany scored first against France, Argentina tallied in the eighth minute against Belgium and Brazil got an early goal against Columbia.  We could be forgiven for thinking those goals would have opened the games up and led to more of what we saw in the group stage.  Instead, those matches became very well managed.  Brazil did get the benefit of a David Luiz howitzer to briefly make it comfortable for the hosts, but the hallmarks of those three quarterfinals were very similar; the team with the lead wasnt going to be left exposed and wasnt going to give away possession cheaply. At BC Place, Erik Hurtado had a chance to seal the game thanks to a brilliantly weighted, defence-splitting ball from the best player on the park, PPedro Morales, but beyond that, the Whitecaps looked like a side that was committed to keeping what they had, rather than adding to it. Montee Ball Authentic. And the stakes were certainly higher than during the World Cup break run-in.  Winless in three and coming off two listless performances, Vancouver needed maximum points at home and especially against a Western rival that was missing arguably its best five players. After the season opening New York victory, coach Carl Robinson shared one particular philosophy during his post game address;  the best way to kill off a game is to keep attacking, which on that occasion, Vancouver did. But instead of introducing a fresh-legged Darren Mattocks to run at a tired Seattle back line Saturday, Robinson took the advice of his assistants (Gordon Forrest and Martyn Pert) and subbed Nigel Reo-Coker on for Kekuta Manneh at the 68-minute mark. The savvy Englishman rarely gave the ball away after that.  The Whitecaps, as a group, strung minutes-worth of passes together, all on the heels of Seattles best spell of the match.  It was a mature coaching decision that changed the momentum back in Vancouvers favour and it was a sage, professionally executed performance by the younger team on the field.  While the Whitecaps didnt reach a World Cup semi-final with the win, they did end a mini-slide, improved their league and Cascadia Cup prospects, while proving to themselves that theyre capable of grinding out a result.  Something tells me theyll need the same nerve this Saturday when they host a Chivas USA side thats won three in a row, and is starting to appear in the Western Conference rearview mirror...a tasty appetizer to the World Cup final a day later. cheap jerseys ' ' '