The Vancouver Whitecaps worked hard for two years to get back to the MLS playoffs.
It’s just a shame that it had to end like this.
A controversial penalty decision late in the match helped FC Dallas earn a 2-1 win over the Whitecaps on Wednesday night in the Western Conference knockout round.
Here are my three thoughts on the game.
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It wasn’t a penalty
The penalty decision that led to Michel’s game-winning goal from 12 yards out with six minutes left in regulation was a controversial one.
With the game tied 1-1 and extra time looming, referee Mark Geiger blew his whistle and awarded a penalty after the ball glanced off the arm of Whitecaps defender Kendall Waston. Michel slid his penalty attempt past Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted to give Dallas a lead it wouldn’t relinquish and send them through to the Western Conference semifinals where they’ll meet the Seattle Sounders.
But even though Geiger had a clear sight line, was in close proximity to the incident and decisively pointed to the spot, it was a bad call. Waston didn’t deliberately handle the ball inside the area. In this correspondent’s view, the Costa Rican defender was trying to put his hands behind his back—a clear sign that there was no intent to handle the ball.
We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that overall Vancouver, aside from a big portion of the second half, was poor on this night. More on that later.
But my goodness, you could hardly blame the Whitecaps for feeling aggrieved over Geiger’s blown call.
Morales mystery
Pedro Morales has been the Whitecaps’ most influential player this season. The Chilean midfielder has been one of the best newcomers in MLS, the kind of Designated Player that most teams in the league would love to have.
There has, though, been a significant difference in his home and away form. When he plays at B.C. Place, he’s been sensational—a midfield maestro who sprays passes around the pitch with pinpoint accuracy and who displays great on-field vision while orchestrating the attack.
On the road, he’s been lacklustre, often anonymous. Maybe it’s because he needs to have the ball at his feet and get as many touches as possible—road teams tend to see less of the ball in MLS. Whatever the reason, he fails to duplicate his home form when the Whitecaps are on the road.
This was another one of those games. On a night when the Whitecaps needed their best player to be just that, Morales put in another bland shift. Heavy touches, being caught in possession, errant passes—these were the hallmarks of his game Wednesday night.
It says a lot that the Whitecaps looked an invigorated side after coach Carl Robinson subbed the Chilean out in the 58th minute for Kekuta Manneh.
With the young speedster making direct runs and Mauro Rosales shifted into the middle to take over for Morales, the Whitecaps showed genuine life for the first time in the match and eventually levelled the score through Erik Hurtado in the 64th minute.
Koffie move didn’t pay off
Robinson made a bold move with his lineup, starting Ghanaian Gershon Koffie in central midfield alongside Matias Laba at the expense of Canadian Russell Teibert.
Teibert had started the final 12 games of the regular season, while Koffie, recently hobbled by a foot injury, last saw action on Oct. 18 when he played 29 minutes against San Jose—before that, he had not played since Aug. 10.
The three regular season games between Vancouver and Dallas were chippy and physical affairs, so Robinson wanted to add some steel into his midfield. Koffie offers Vancouver a bit more bite than Teibert, and gives them a little something extra going forward, too.
But this was a laboured performance from Koffie. He looked out of sorts, unable to keep up with the pace of the game right from the start. It also didn’t help matters that Koffie picked up a yellow card in the 14th minute, as he and the rest of the Whitecaps midfield lacked composure in the first half, committing needless turnovers and getting caught in possession a number of times.
Fortune sometimes favours the brave. Robinson gambled by giving Koffie his first start in over two months. The gamble didn’t pay off.