During the first half of the 3-2 loss to the Seattle Sounders it seemed as though the Whitecaps could hurt the visitors most effectively from set-pieces.
But in the second half the hunter became the hunted and the three goals conceded from Seattle set-pieces decided the game.
Kind of.
There was always the concern after the LAFC result and performance that Vanni Sartini would drift back to thinking that “interesting” tactical decisions were better than sensible ones and so we got three at the back and Johnson and Raposo as wing backs for this game.
To be fair to Johnson he grew into the game and offered some genuine threat going forward, but please spare us the continuing sight of Raposo being targeted by the opposition as a clear defensive weak link while also offering very little of value going forward.
There are so many times when he has the ball at his feet and space to drive into where he opts to dawdle, stop and play the safe pass inside.
Vancouver have been better with four at the back all year and this game cried out for just that, with that extra man in midfield helping to counteract the loss of Andres Cubas.
And Cubas was the big loss for the Whitecaps in this game.
Without his energy in midfield they allowed the Sounders far too much time on the ball and were ultimately punished.
I suppose we should also mention that the time for Sergio Cordova to start games is gone. He has had enough opportunities to provide his worth and he can’t be accommodated any more just because he is paid a lot of money.
Are the Whitecaps in trouble?
Well, the top half of the top half of the table now seems out of reach and the crazy schedule probably means that they will be scrapping for fifth place at best come season end.
That feels like an underachievement.
They can argue they have been missing crucial players in recent games but the counterpoint to that is they had a long spell with a fully healthy squad and didn’t take advantage of it.
They are now reaping the harvest of that failure.
Time for the Soccer Shorts player ratings!
Takaoka-5.5, Raposo-3, Johnson-5, Veselonovic-5.5, Laborda-5.5, Martins-5.5, Berhalter-5.5, Schopff-4.5, Gauld-6*, White-5.5, Cordova-3
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 
I have no doubt that the philosophical Vanni Sartini knows well the definition of “hubris” and regrets his over-enthusiastic comments following the win over LAFC which are now coming back to nip him sharply on the gluteus Maximus.
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