So once again we were forced to watch another shameful first half performance from the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Sleepwalking their way to conceding an early goal while failing to produce anything remotely approaching a respectable passage of football.
Only the hustle of Julian Gressel offered any redemption.
His crosses may have been terrible but at least he was making the effort to kick the ball into the opposition penalty area
The second half wasn’t much better.
Houston sat back and allowed the Whitecaps to pass the ball very, very slowly without any real intent and perhaps occasionally float in half-hearted crosses that were gobbled up by a defence specifically designed for such a purpose.
Meanwhile the visitors looked dangerous every time they sprang forward.
It’s true that Andres Cubas was sorely missed, but having two central midfielders who are incapable of even remotely understanding where the ball will be in the next five seconds seems like a dangerously casual approach to the basics of the game.
It became increasingly obvious that the Whitecaps had neither the will nor the guile to create even the shadow of meaningful chance let alone score an actual goal.
A disgraceful display all round.
Oh, and then they scored two late goals and walked away with three points that keeps the season very much alive.
Nothing makes sense any more.
Time for the Soccer Shorts player ratings!
Cropper-3, Gressel-4*, Raposo-3.5, Brown-1, Veselinovic-1.5, Blackmon-1.5, Teibert-1, Owusu-1, Vite-1.5, Gauld -3, Ricketts-2 (Baldisimo-2, Cavallini-3.5)
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 