“Hey Siri-show me a match that defines the cliché a game of two halves”.
“Okay-your taxi to Bogota has been confirmed and the payment has been transferred from your account”.
Well that didn’t work, but no matter because the Whitecaps 4-2 win over the LA Galaxy defines the genre just perfectly.
In the first forty-five minutes Vancouver pressed and passed the Galaxy out of existence and ended the half with a three goal lead and a one man advantage.
In the second forty-five minutes they did not do that.
Perhaps the half-time team talk went something along the lines of “This game is already won so no need to try and score another goal and you might as well let that that little guy with the pink boots have the ball. That should work out fine”?
Riqui Puig may look and sound like a minor character from shark jumping sitcom Happy Days, but he almost helped the Galaxy steal two points from a curiously inert Whitecaps team in the second period.
Since it’s always more interesting to think about what went wrong than what went right let’s do that.
Losing Andres Cubas at half-time didn’t help and his absence created a gaping hole in the midfield that neither Berhalter or Teibert seemed to either notice or feel inclined to fill. And the decision to replace the injured Vite with said Teibert didn’t help either.
The Canadian is no longer fit for purpose, even as a bit part player in MLS, but the plan to field a more defensive eleven against a team that was bad at the back but good going forward completely shifted the initiative toward the visitors.
One can only assume that this was a case of stand in coach Michael D’Agostino either under-thinking or over-thinking the move in the pressure of the moment.
Thankfully the arrival of Ali Ahmed helped restore the balance somewhat as the Whitecaps suddenly possessed a player who both wanted the ball and was willing to expose the LA Galaxy defenders for the statues that they were.
So, in the end, it all worked out just fine and the Whitecaps go into the traditional Leagues Cup break in a decent, if somewhat precarious, position with regard to the playoffs.
They are the second highest scorers in the Conference (Who would have thought that at the start of the season?) and have two Designated Players playing at the top of their games and one more who is starting to look as though he has played football before.
There’s still a tough road to travel down but they have been mostly fun to watch and that’s no mean feat for any team
Time for the Soccer Shorts player ratings!
Takaoka-5, Blackmon-4.5, Veselinovic-5, Martins-5, Rapaoso-6, Gressel-6, Cubas-6, Schopf-5.5, Gressel-6, Gauld-6.5*, Vite-5.5, White-6 (Berhalter-3, Teibert-2, Ahmed-6)
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 