Whitecaps Unable to Pull Out A “W”

Photo Credit Wes Shotbug Press

Locally the pro teams in the area continue to impress with their level of talent they manage to put on the diamond, field or the pitch 

The interesting aspect about sport as we all know is that each day brings something new and different for the clubs, which can be challenging for the coaching staff let alone management. 

The Whitecaps of late have begun to show their depth of the talent they have on the team and with the recent play of Ryan Gauld he not only has become the team leader but continues to lead in MLS goals dating back to May 31st collecting 10 goals and 8 assists.

In fairness to other players on the squad Brian White has managed 15 goals as well as his 11th in the MLS citing three behind the golden boot lead while Ryan Raposo notched his second assist

There is no question in all sports the one area that continues to frustrate coaches is the

undisciplined play when players get tagged with infringement penalties from the officials.

One that comes to mind is the play  of the Whitecaps in the recent match against Houston that saw the Whitecaps into foul trouble.

The Dynamo playing in front of 13,866 supporters opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a free-kick that saw a deflection. Héctor Herrera’s direct kick would deflect off the ‘Caps wall and leave Yohei Takaoka stranded, redirecting into the far side.

Despite pressure from the Whitecaps it would be Griffin Dorsey who put Houston up 2-nil prior to the half giving them the lead at the half. 

Whitecaps came out strong in the second half that saw Gauld narrowly miss, but with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation time it was Ibrahim Aliyu who grabbed a loose ball in the box sending it past Takaoka but they did manage a goal in the 90th minute. 

This unfortunately was an own goal. Javain Brown would force Erik Sviatchenko to put the ball into the back of his own net through a driven cross across goal. That would be the last chance of the match before the final whistle.

Whitecaps FC are back in action on Saturday, September 23 against Real Salt Lake in Utah at 6:30 p.m. PT, available to watch on Apple TV+ MLS Season Pass and listen on AM730. ‘Caps are back at BC Place on September 30 against D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.

Statistics

Possession: HOU 49% – VAN 51%, Shots: HOU 6 – VAN 11, Shots on Goal: HOU 5 – VAN 4