VANCOUVER – After Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers, the Vancouver Whitecaps find themselves with a 3-1-0 record, thanks to three consecutive last-gasp victories.
Scoring late goals have become the hallmark of this Whitecaps squad, and while it doesn’t make for stress-free watching for the Vancouver faithful, you won’t find many complaining.
This game was in line with what’s recently come to be expected, with new addition Robert Earnshaw coming off the bench to score a dramatic game winner.
But while many watching left the stadium elated, the reality is that the Whitecaps can count themselves lucky to have left with any points, let alone all three. Let’s look at what went right for coach Carl Robinson’s men, and what still needs to be improved on.
Super signing, super sub
Earnshaw celebrated like he won the World Cup as the referee blew the final whistle at BC Place on Saturday, pumping his fists and clapping along with a jubilant crowd.
The former Welsh international found himself needing to try out for the Whitecaps this off-season despite a solid pro career as a professional in England and with the Wales national team, and despite having a solid goal-scoring record wherever he’s played.
At 33, there’s still plenty left in the tank, and if he’s coming off the bench he should be a potent option for Robinson, if this game is any evidence.
Was he offside on the game’s decisive play? Maybe by a hair, but his willingness and ability to ride the shoulder of the last defender and find those pockets of space can’t be taught. A great poacher’s finish on this night and further evidence of Robinson’s ability to make sensible signings.
Danish delight
Once again, David Ousted was tremendous in the Vancouver goal. He was awarded the sponsor’s man of the match, and rightfully so after pulling off a tremendous point blank save on Fanendo Adi in the final moments before Earnshaw’s goal, just a few minutes after the player had previously equalized.
It was a crucial stop, as the goalkeeper extended himself courageously to preserve his team’s point, much as he did last weekend in Orlando. Then, as in this match, his save not only preserved his team’s point, but spurred his comrades on to victory.
Beyond that game saving stop late on, Ousted pulled off a couple of impressive saves at full stretch to prevent Portland getting on the board earlier in the game.
Top tactician
From his starting lineup, to his substitution choices, Robinson got things right. It didn’t go entirely to plan, as we’ll discuss below, but the Welsh tactician made some tough calls and got the right results.
Signing Earnshaw and bringing him on in the final minutes looks like genius, but beyond that the substitutions generally worked well. While Nicolas Mezquida perhaps felt a bit hard done by to come off with under an hour played, Kianz Froese came on and made the team better with his confidence in possession and his general industry.
Even before the match began, Robinson made a gutsy call by sticking with Sam Adekugbe at left fullback. The safer move would certainly have been to revert back to Jordan Harvey, a player who may feel aggrieved at being left on the sidelines. But Adekugbe bounced back from injury and a relatively poor outing last weekend with a strong performance on this night.
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Despite the win, things didn’t go entirely to plan for Vancouver. Here’s a look at where the team could have done better.
Possession battle
Playing at home, there was no excuse for the Whitecaps to allow the sort of time on the ball the Timbers enjoyed at times. Indeed, in the first half the Whitecaps only held the ball around 32 percent of the time. It’s a terrible statistic and Vancouver was lucky Portland didn’t do more with the ball when they had it.
Man of the match
It’s nice when your goalkeeper picks up the man of the match award. It usually means the game was a win. It’s also generally indicative of poor defending. That was definitely true at stages in this match, and the Whitecaps are extremely lucky their goalkeeper was on his game.
Lacklustre wing play
Wide play was once again lacking inspiration in this match for the Whitecaps. While Mezquida scored a fantastic set piece goal in the first half, from open play Vancouver generated little from wide positions.
Mezquida showed a few clever touches with Octavio Rivero and Pedro Morales, but was never incisive. Erik Hurtado, coming in for the suspended Kekuta Manneh, was perhaps even more pedestrian.
There are rumours the Whitecaps are on the verge of bringing in Uruguayan winger Cristian Techera. Whitecaps fans will certainly be hoping there’s substance to that chatter.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer. Follow him on Twitter