So the rollercoaster continues.
The Whitecaps followed two uninspiring road defeats with what was probably their best performance of the season.
Beating the Sounders 2-0 is never a bad thing but beating the Sounders 2-0 and making them look like …well…. like we expect the Whitecaps to look is a horse of a different colour.
Vanni Sartini opted to revert to his favoured three at the back for this game and his players responded to the change with Laborda in particular making a compelling case for a starting role (in central defence).
And Brown had one of those days where his pace and pressing from the back make him seem undroppable.
There were no bad performances anywhere but having Gauld back to his best made a huge difference to the end product and having Luis Martins attacking with such threat was something of a revelation.
Having said all that the Whitecaps still looked a better team when they switched to a back four and added an extra body in the midfield.
And credit to the coach for that change.
The last time his team took a two goal lead at home he opted to switch to a defensive shape and almost cost his team the game. This time around his changes added to Vancouver’s dominance and, by the end, the score line could have been much more emphatic than it was.
The caveat to all this is that Seattle really did look awful.
But to see the Whitecaps pass the ball with purpose (and comfort) and to press with such cohesion was a genuine pleasure.
Who knows what we will get in the next game? But the ceiling for this team does look higher than the floor looks low (that’s just Architecture 101).
Time for the Soccer Shorts player ratings!
Takaoka-5.5, Brown-6.5, Laborda-6.5, Blackmon-6, Ahmed-5.5, Martins-6.5, Cubas-6, Berhalter-6, Vite-6, Gauld-7*, White-6
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 