VANCOUVER—Momentum has not been with the Vancouver Whitecaps as of late, but after Saturday’s 2-1 come-from-behind win over Real Salt Lake at BC Place, the tide may finally be turning.
Perhaps more crucially, Pedro Morales was at the heart of the win, scoring twice. The Chilean Designated Player hasn’t been effective in recent weeks, and his first half performance on Saturday was perhaps one of his worse halves as a Whitecap.
But he turned that around in the second frame, scoring from the penalty spot after botching a penalty in first half stoppage time, before finding the winner 12 minutes from time after redirecting a Steven Beitashour effort toward goal past goalkeeper Jeff Attinella.
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Getting Morales in top form for the final four matches of the campaign is just as important as the three points. When he’s firing on all cylinders, the Whitecaps are a different team. But he has faded fast over the past couple of months, and since taking over the role of club captain from the retired Jay DeMerit, he has struggled to do anything particularly inspirational.
Part of this isn’t any fault of the player—he has been playing months and months of consecutive soccer because he came straight after playing in Spain and hasn’t had much in the way of rest since. Naturally, he’s run down, and it’s shown in his performances. There were even whispers this week that coach Carl Robinson was contemplating resting his skipper for this match. But he did play, and what a difference he made.
Morales wasn’t the only hero on the night, though. Matias Laba won seemingly ever 50/50 ball in midfield and never stopped running. Russell Teibert zipped about and was always available to receive a pass, and Kendall Waston put in a defensive performance as big as his massive frame.
In goal, David Ousted made a brilliant reaction save on Javier Morales just before Nat Borchers’ opener and was cool in coming for crosses all night.
Beitashour had a strong game at right fullback. He played a part in the game winner by sending a ball toward goal that Morales converted, but at the other end of the pitch he perhaps saved the game with the score at 1-1 by denying Sebastian Jaime with a block after the RSL player rounded Ousted and appeared to have a free shot at goal.
Jordan Harvey had a steady game at left fullback, and Waston was commanding in the middle.
The lone defensive letdown on the night was Borchers’ goal. There were two failures on that play: Andy O’Brien didn’t do enough to prevent his marker from winning the header, and a player failed to be on the post.
Up front was perhaps was the biggest area of disappointment for Vancouver. In a game in which so many balls were floated up to the forwards, Erik Hurtado lost virtually every duel. While the sophomore attacking player is capable with the ball at his feet, his aerial game leaves a lot to be desired.
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Sebastian Fernandez had a few memorable moments—notably setting Morales up by beating Kyle Beckerman with ease, only for the captain to sky the ball from close range when it looked easier to score—but overall, once again his involvement was minimal.
One thing that will be highly encouraging for Robinson is the performance of Kekuta Manneh. The Gambian was electric in his substitute appearance, and played a part in the game winning goal—it was his ball across to Beitashour in the buildup that directly preceded the game winning play.
Manneh could have scored himself, as well, as he beat three defenders only to have Attinella deny him in the area. That particular play outraged fellow substitute Nicolas Mezquida, who was wide open on the right.
But Manneh took the more difficult option, taking on an opponent on the dribble rather than making the pass. Given the ease at which Manneh set himself up for the shot, Mezquida had no right to be angry with his teammate, but shoved him and shouted at him.
The result propels Vancouver back into a playoff position, and with the Portland Timbers losing on Saturday and seeing their captain Will Johnson suffer a serious injury, this weekend could prove the turning point that sees the Whitecaps eventually sneak into the playoffs.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer. Follow him on Twitter