It’s hard to know whether the Whitecaps 2-2 tie with Colorado was two points dropped or a point gained.
Probably a little bit of column A and little bit of column B.
They ended the first half a goal to the good and should have had a bigger lead. But throughout the half it felt as though they were trying to manage a game that they should have been trying to kill off. The Rapids were there for the taking but Vancouver let them off the hook
Still, if there was one thing learned from the defeat in Salt Lake it’s to be focused for the first few minutes of the second half and not allow the home team to gain a foothold back into the game.
Wait, that wasn’t the lesson learned at all as the Whitecaps started the half at a stroll (both mentally and physically) and the game was immediately back on the line.
It was no surprise when Colorado took the lead and that was partly because Sartini was too slow to make changes to a team that looked gassed as soon as that equalizer went in.
It’s hard to gauge if it was the eventual substitutes or just being able to get a goal from a set-piece that revitalized Vancouver but they ended the game looking the more likely of the two teams to score the elusive winning goal.
All this leaves them in a decent position in the standings but not in the genuinely good position that might have been.
Sartini will need to figure out his best eleven for the remaining four games but right now Raposo looks a better option than Adekugbe, Vite looks a better option than Hoilett and Laryea still has an awful lot to do to convince that he can offer an attacking threat.
Ditch the marquee signings for a crucial end of season run in?
That’s probably the best (if hardest) choice the coach can make.
Time for the Soccer Shorts Player Ratings!
Takaoka-4, Laborda-5, Adekugbe-3, Veselinovic-4, Blackmon-3, Cubas-6*, Ahmed-3, Laryea-3, Hoilett-4, Gauld-4.5, White-4.5 (Becher-2, Vite-4, Raposo-5, Berhalter-4.5, Schopf-4)
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 