The Vancouver Whitecaps were at the end of their five game road trip.
The final stop was at altitude as they made a visit to Commerce City to face the Colorado Rapids. After the 2-1 win last week in Austin, Vancouver looked to keep pushing for the Western Conference crown. Heading into the game, the Rapids have not won a game since September 12. That was a 1-0 win at home over CF Montreal.
Oliver Larraz was making his return to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Denver native came through the Rapids academy and spent four years with the senior squad before signing with the Whitecaps last winter. Larraz was paired with Andres Cubas in the midfield to start the game, which was no surprise.
Ryan Gauld and Yadaly Diaby were among the starters as well as Ralph Priso, another former Rapid. After recovering from a hamstring injury, Jeevan Badwal was back in the matchday squad.
But it’s safe to say this road trip ended in a car crash. It was only 1-0 but it was a horrible performance by the ‘Caps.
First half: Scrappy and Slow from the Whitecaps
It was a scrappy first half.
Colorado dominated posession and were physical. Emmanuel Sabbi came off injured in teh 25th minute and Bruno Caicedo had to come on. Yadaly Diaby was also playing through some pain. Caicedo was pretty wasteful in this game.
Vancouver had trouble with getting the ball into the final third. To use a hockey analogy, it was all “dump and chase.” The Whitecaps had trouble breaking down the Rapids backline and the passes were off in and around the final third. They were second to balls and tackles and looked quite lethargic at times.
Yohei Takaoka was standing on his hand as made crucial saves off Georgi Minoungo and Miguel Navarro.
Second half: Some life, but a slow and painful death followed
Diaby couldn’t go any longer so he was taken out at half time for Badwal.
Vancouver startedd to find their rhythm a bit. Larraz nearly scored a banger against his former club as he turned around the Colorado defender but couldn’t curl it properly.
But Colorado was still wide awake. Takaoka made a point blank save off Rob Holding’s header. (Yes, that Rob Holding.) Not long after that, Tristan Blackmon delivered a very bad backpass and Morgan Whittaker was off to the races as he flew past Tate Johnson. But Takaoka was there to deny the former Middlesbrough winger.
It was once again physical and once again, the blue and white were playing with fire. There were too many giveaways and sloppy mistakes. The ‘Caps were not playing their usual posession game as they looked under siege by the Rapids and their physicality.
Perhaps losing Diaby and Sabbi, the team’s two best wingers ruined the gameplan for the Whitecaps. The team was sitting back and it looked like they were playing for a draw.
The transitions were also killing the Whitecaps. It was a transition that provided the death blow. Takaoka stopped Whitaker’s shot as it went off Johnson but then it went up and off the crossbar and right back to Whittaker for the tap-in. That is just a fluky and unfortunate goal to give up. It also kind of sums up the night for the Whitecaps and even their post- World Cup form.
The Whitecaps tried to salvage a point, but it was futile. They were throughly utplayed by the Rapids and their press and they looked gassed all game. They ended up picking five points out of a possible 15 on this five game road trip. That is not good enough considering they are chasing the Western Conference top spot.
Stat of the match
The Whitecaps were outshot 18-8 (8-2 on target) by the Rapids according to FotMob. Yikes.
Tweet of the match
The Whitecaps have lacked the “aura” or “swagger” or “shine” or whatever you want to call it since the World Cup break. Yes, injuries and fatigue have played a part, but this is more or less the same team as last season. The magic of 2025 was hard to replicate but from the way things look, the Whitecaps may have a shorter playoff run this time. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
What was said
“We came out a little bit slow and they (The Rapids) were really aggressive coming out of the gate,” said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen. “We played ourselves into it, but they were really aggressive and we couldn’t get out of the pressure that often. I think we were on the back foot, especially in the…first 10-15 minutes in the first half. We started the second half very well. But then we played ourselves into trouble…in the end, we ended up conceding a goal that was not necessary.”
He also spoke more about Colorado’s press.
“I think honestly, they had the bigger chances in this game and we were pushed lower,” said Sørensen. “They of course were fighting for their playoff lives and you could see that and they played with aggression and urgency needed in a game like this. We were on the back foot the entire game.”
Wrap-up
Once again, this was a terrible performance.
Luckily, the Whitecaps return to BC Place and host San Diego FC on Wednesday. Kickoff for that game is at 7:30 pm Pacific. Maybe the home crowd will fire up the ‘Caps? Here’s hoping.
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