The Vancouver Whitecaps should’ve won by more. It could’ve been seen as the best game of the season for them.
But what mattered in the end was the three points. It was beautiful at first, then it was scary and then beautiful again. In soccer and in life, there are ups and downs.
Match musings
- The first 45 minutes were utter domination by the Whitecaps. They were dominating the game like how Michael Jackson dominated the charts in the 1980s. (It was 80s night, so expect as many 80s references as possible.) Everybody wants to rule the world but it looked like the Whitecaps did in the first half. The transitions and pressing were solid.
- Sporting Kansas City could not get up the pitch. Other than one corner kick, a long shot easily handled by Yohei Takaoka and a Daniel Salloi run down the wing that had him forced out by Mathias Laborda, the visitors could not muster anything. If I were an SKC fan, I would be very, very angry with that first half.
- As for the Whitecaps, they had plenty. Ryan Gauld had two shots go high, Ali Ahmed had two on Tim Melia and Brian White had some close calls. The front three were cooking.
- This game is a reason why I think offsides in the box should not happen. Once the last defender enters the box, the offside rule should be cancelled out. Do you really want to hurt me? Do you really want to make me cry? Both White and Ahmed were offside by a distance that was the size of a grain of rice. Too bad because the build-up on both disallowed goals was very nice.
- The Whitecaps did get their goal in the 34th minute. It looked like Brian White’s 13th of the season but SKC defender Robert Voloder (whose name sounds like a fantasy novel character) tipped it into his own net.
- But the Whitecaps were only halfway there and were living on a prayer that the second half would be as good as the first.
- However, the second half was nervy. It was like watching the scene where Marty McFly starts to fade away from his existence in Back To The Future. The Whitecaps pressing and counterattacks faded. Sporting Kansas City got back into the game as they made three changes at halftime. The visitors brought on Stephen Afrifa, Khiry Shelton and Erik Thommy for Alenis Vargas, Kayden Pierre and Alan Pulido.
- It felt like watching Gareth Southgate ball with the way the Whitecaps were sitting back. Afrifa hit the post and Vargas had his rebound stopped by Takaoka. But a goal by Kansas City was inevitable, especially with how casual the Whitecaps were at the back. That included a moment when there was some miscommunication between Laborda and Takaoka. Luckily, the Japanese goalkeeper realized it at the very last second.
- There was a lot of trepidation that a goal from SKC would happen and when it did, you felt like a shocked Walter White. Salloi got the shot off Takaoka but the rebound went to Willy Agada and he buried it after he found the blindspot around Bjorn Inge Utvik.
- Luckily, the Whitecaps woke up after that and the attack from the first half slowly returned. Sebastian Berhalter and Fafa Picault were brought on and they delivered. I don’t know what was better: Berhalter’s pass or Picault’s header? Why not both?!
- Picault’s form has really improved, especially since Tom Bogert reported he wanted a move back East. That was Picault’s sixth goal of the season and he already surpassed his total from last season. That was five with Nashville SC.
- In the end, the Whitecaps should have ended the game in the first half and were sloppy in the second. But this was another big three points for Vancouver.
Stat of the match
Andres Cubas was quiet but he was doing Andres Cubas things once again. He had a 93% passing accuracy as he completed 52 out of 56 passes.
What was said
“Well, the first half was amazing, it was like champagne football,” said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini after the match. “The first half was like MLS Cup winners. So I liked a lot of the first half, we could have scored four goals. Unfortunately, we made a couple of mistakes in front of their net and a couple of passes that were a couple of milliseconds too late. It should have been two or 3-0 and that reminds us that if you don’t put the game to bed, the game can come back. I‘ve got to be honest, it looked like we wanted them to tie at some point.”
The Whitecaps gaffer spoke about the importance of consistency.
“If we are consistent like this, we can finish in the top four,” said Sartini. “But it’s going to be hard…we have a high-quality roster, I’m happy that the players are giving their all.”
Ranko Veselinovic was the only player who spoke to the media.
“I think the key is scoring goals, that’s for sure,” he said. “We spoke after that game in Portland where we lost 2-0 when it was a really tough point in the season for us and we had to sit together and talk a lot, and changed a little bit our attitude in games, how we approach them and how we start games. We started to bring our lines a little bit higher up the field, especially on the opponent’s goal kick, and I think that changed a lot when we’re now on the front foot and scoring easier goals.”
I asked Veselinovic about how the team can try not to be sleepy especially when they have a lead.
“We just need to talk more with each other and keep us on the front foot and not be sleepy,” he said. “Every team has good players that can punish you, so that’s something we have to work on for 90 minutes.”
Best of Twitter
Best questionable fashion choice
I wondered why Sporting Kansas City wore those light blue and white kits. But then I realized it was a throwback to the Kansas City Wizards. It actually is quite a good kit.
Best Goal Thief
Not sure when or how but the Whitecaps signed Own Goal. It must have been a big fee since he was the Golden Boot winner at the Euros. What a signing for the Whitecaps! They signed a big name!
Best the flag was up
I really don’t like how the flags are raised so late after the goal. Raise it after the goal is scored so the players don’t make fools out of themselves for celebrating a goal that doesn’t count!
Best election campaign
Picault really knows how to be in the right places and do the right things with the ball. Once again, it was good to see him get back into form.
Best Appetite For Destruction
Nothing against Tsunami, but it feels like a song you listen to before you go out for a night on the town. Welcome to the Jungle? Perfect for second-half soccer. It makes you want to run out of the locker room and annihilate your opponent. Well, the Whitecaps didn’t do that but they got the last laugh.
Wrap-up
As it stands, the Whitecaps are fourth in the Western Conference with games in hand on the top three.
The Whitecaps will look to extend their unbeaten run to six games as they welcome the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. It is the last game before the Leagues Cup break for Vancouver and they’ll want to go into Leagues Cup on a high note. Kickoff is at 7:30 pm.