From "you had to see this one coming" file... http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?id=111&newsid=1579
Hell, they mentioned a while ago to the Independent (IIRC) that they wanted to make it happen. Good to know it's on for sure, and to have a date, though.
"Knighton and Watson will start tomorrow. The starting eleven from the game against TFC last night are all heading home to Vancouver, but substitutes Russell Teibert, Bryce Alderson, Omar Salgado and Bilal Duckett will all make the trip to Wakemed Soccer Park." Shame we won't see the starters, but it will be nice to see Watson and Knighton. I'm hoping the Whitecaps have a good year, and we get to see how the team is under Clarke for the first time.
Good win by Carolina on PK's! Anyone know the attendance from todays game? I heard the weather wasn't great.
Don't know the attendance (guessing about 2 K) and the temp. seemed to drop 20 degrees at halftime as the front moved through. Here's the first writeup I've been able to find: http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2012/03/whitecaps-fc-wrap-2012-preseason
It wasn't, but I remember some previous March friendlies where it's been far worse. Sunday afternoons also don't generally draw the greatest crowds at WMSP, so I'm not surprised it was low. (Which it was - I'd've guessed 3K, but wouldn't say longballer can't be right.)
It was hard to tell with all the construction because the crowd was so compressed into a such a small area. It felt REALLY crowded on the East side of the stadium but that was because so much of the concourse was shut off. I'm guessing 4.0-4.5K though, it was a great crowd for a chilly march afternoon. It was better attended than I expected.
It looked pretty good for a game that wasn't at the normal time, day or months. I trust Curt to get people into Wakemed, but its the maneuverability around the place that caught my attention. Its pretty limited and annoying if you want to get to the far side. That and the loss of the taco truck.
Backyard Bistro is now the sole concessioneer. Major improvement over every non-taco-truck option in years past, but I suspect the taco truck is gone for good. We shall see. And yeah, the stadium atmosphere is definitely affected by the construction.
I know a guy who knows a guy who worked on that truck. If I find out anything substantive, I'll let you know. Hmm. Judging by the one friendly, I'm not so sure it's a bad thing. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout and the level of involvement of fans in the stands around me. I sat in the east side, were most of the construction is taking place, and the people were engaged and following the action closer than usual. I hope it's the start of a trend.
Agreed. And, of course, it's something everyone will have to get used to anyhow - this is only the first of two planned rounds of construction, and round one won't be done until the end of the season.
It makes me even more impressed at what we had last year, realizing what we had for depth waiting on the bench in Akira Fitzgerald. (Definite man of the match in my book.)
Agreed on Akira. The back looked solid except on the goals where someone lost their man. The midfielders and strikers looked like they needed to gel more, but they did not park the bus. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.
The first goal we gave up was soft as $hit. The second goal was a giveaway errant pass. On the whole, the team looked as I had expected. Lots of guys trying to find their feet. The two huge upsides for me were Akira the Irish Ninja and Brian Ackley. Akira has very good reflexes but I worry about his command of the box during corner kicks. Little dude for a top level GK. I loved his play throughout though. I think he is used to proving people wrong. Good luck to him. The other surprise was Brian Ackley. Tremendously fit for a 6-4 forward. Great movement and speed. Is he as good technically as Pablo Campos? No, but he tries to make up for it through hard work. Pablo was much better with the ball at his feet versus winning the ball. Brian ran and fought for every ball. The biggest problem for me was lack of creativity in the MF. Amir did what he is good at doing. He took up big parts of the pitch, won balls and scrapped. Unless something changes, we are going to seriously miss Steele. That creative spark was not there. Through balls were largely absent and MFs were happy to push the balls wide. Is that the Collin Clark brand of soccer? Happy to hear from the veterans on the board.