If you were to bet on Wednesday’s Vancouver Whitecaps-Chicago Fire match, a draw would have been a good prediction.
Both teams lead the league in draws and they ended up adding to their tallies with a scoreless tie. But from a Whitecaps perspective, this draw will be seen as a missed opportunity.
The Fire are struggling, sitting second last in the Eastern Conference and entered this match fresh off a 5-1 beating at the hands of the San Jose Earthquakes. Not exactly world-beaters, and after this match the side has just one win in 10 matches.
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It was clear from the offset that the home side set out to ensure stability rather than style, and the Whitecaps struggled throughout the match to create much in the way of meaningful opportunities.
The visitors had their only real chance through Erik Hurtado, who was played in clear on goal from a lovely chipped pass from Gershon Koffie. But Hurtado took a heavy second touch and ultimately wasn’t able to beat Sean Johnson on a breakaway after getting too close in on goal, which allowed the goalkeeper the cut down the angle.
Apart from that moment, there was very little in the way of entertainment or offence from either side. On the surface of things, picking up a point against an Eastern Conference opponent while on the road should be seen as a positive for Vancouver, but Chicago is a team in turmoil and didn’t look particularly confident despite their home advantage.
If there was a real star on the night from a Whitecaps perspective it was Matias Laba in midfield. The Argentine was at his combative best and disrupted what little the Fire could muster in the centre of the park. He won seemingly every 50/50 ball and likely made a few potentially dangerous counterattacks die before fully developing.
If there is a talking point from this game, it will be that Carlyle Mitchell retained his spot ahead of veteran English-Irish centre-back Andy O’Brien, despite conceding a penalty over the weekend and generally having a nightmare of a game in that 2-2 draw. That’s a big show of confidence from coach Carl Robinson, who had every opportunity to bring O’Brien back into the lineup if he was so inclined.
Mitchell rewarded the Welsh tactician with a very steady road performance alongside Johnny Leveron in the heart of defence, although the scuttlebutt remains that Robinson is looking to bring in an experienced central defender after the unexpected retirement of Jay DeMerit last week.
Matias Laba had seven tackles tonight, increasing his league-leading total to 101. Also leads all midfielders in @MLS with 51 interceptions.
— Vancouver Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC) July 31, 2014
Other interesting lineup notes included the decision to bring Russell Teibert and Omar Salgado into the match near the hour mark. Neither made much of a difference after coming on, and Kekuta Manneh once again looked fairly impotent with his limited cameo off the bench.
The really disappointing thing here from a Whitecaps perspective is that a win would have propelled the side into third place in the Western Conference. Instead, with this draw, the ‘Caps sit in sixth.The side is just one point back of the teams sitting in the 3-5 positions, but it’s the momentum that isn’t on Vancouver’s side.
Robinson’s men have secured just one win from nine matches since returning to league play after the World Cup break. That’s simply not good enough for a club whose executives have stated playoff qualification is the minimum expectation each season.
It’s clear at this point that some sort of shakeup is required, whether that be in the form of a trade or acquisition. There is some extra salary available thanks to DeMerit’s retirement, and there are reports that Nigel Reo-Coker could soon be heading back to England to join Leeds United. That too should free up some salary room for Robinson.
Having Reo-Coker on the books has been a bit of an albatross for Vancouver’s coach, as the player has never looked fit enough to contribute this season, yet still takes up a hefty chunk of salary cap space. The talk has been that Robinson wants to bring in an experienced defender. If indeed Reo-Coker moves on, there might be enough wiggle room to acquire another forward as well.
If this match and recent results are anything to go by, any old forward will do.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.