VANCOUVER—Good teams find ways to grind out victories in tight matches, and the Vancouver Whitecaps certainly did that on Wednesday night in a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in front of 17,583 fans at BC Place.
The win propels the Whitecaps once again to the top of the Major League Soccer standings, leapfrogging the LA Galaxy, with six games left to play.
For the better part of this match, it was a tight, defensive affair. The visiting Rapids came to stifle the high flying Whitecaps, and largely sat back, parking the bus and keeping the home side to the perimeter.
In the early going, even a fairly loyal fan could be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t going to be Vancouver’s night, as nothing seemed to be coming off for either team offensively.
But ultimately the wall the Rapids tried to create wasn't strong enough. Cristian Techera, the diminutive Uruguayan, would ultimately prove the hero, first setting up his countryman Octavio Rivero for a wonderful headed goal in the 73rd minute with a cross from the right, before firing home a goal of his own to seal the deal just four minutes later.
The pint-sized winger has proven a tidy pickup for coach Carl Robinson, and he seems to have an understanding with Rivero which is proving fruitful offensively. Techera did the heavy lifting for Rivero's opener in the second leg of the Canadian Championship final against the Montreal Impact two weeks ago by forcing goalkeeper Eric Kronberg into a save and then hammering a second effort which Rivero guided home after Krongberg got a piece of that too.
Beyond just the goals and assists, Techera also generates a lot of free kicks for the side. His excellent ball control, low centre of gravity and strong ability to shield the ball mean he's an incredibly difficult player to tackle legally. Given his size, referees often give him the benefit of the doubt under any hint of contact.
What makes the victory all the more impressive was that Robinson had to do without two sure-fire starters in centre back Kendall Waston and Designated Player Matias Laba, who both missed out due to suspension. Midfielder Russell Teibert and forward Darren Mattocks were also unavailable due to their participation with Canada and Jamaica, respectively, in World Cup qualifying action.
That's not to say Robinson played a vastly weakened lineup—a testament to the depth he's been able to establish in his squad—but the setup was slightly different.
The most notable change was the use of Designated Player Pedro Morales in a deeper playmaking role, slotting in alongside the more robust Gershon Koffie. Morales has played as a central attacking midfielder in the hole behind a lone striker, usually Rivero.
Something needed to give, however, as Robinson, who prefers to deploy two deep lying midfielders with defensive awareness, didn't have Laba or Teibert available.
The Welsh tactician could have gone for defensive midfielder Deybi Flores in that role, but clearly Robinson's selection showed a desire to go for the win and open things up. That didn't really happen until the final 20 minutes, but it's still an approach that fans will appreciate.
Ultimately, Morales was fairly ineffective in the deeper role, and had to come out halftime due to a tight hamstring. Robinson decided to stay the course with an offensive choice, bringing on 19 year old youth Canadian international Kianz Froese, and the midfielder put in a steady shift alongside Koffie.
Another interesting storyline this match was the centre back partnership of Pa Modou Kah and Tim Parker. The last time they played together they were on the field for a meltdown of epic proportions, as the team conceded three goals to Sporting Kansas City in 10 minutes to throw away a 3-1 lead and lose 4-3 on the road.
The two looked more assured here, and it was also pleasing to see Kah fly in for headers after recovering from a fractured cheekbone suffered in that loss to Sporting last month.
While the Rapids largely did little offensively, David Ousted deserves recognition for getting down well to make a goal-line save on Irish international Kevin Doyle in the 71st minute.
The moment may go down as just a line in most match reports but with the game scoreless at that point, had the all-star Danish goalkeeper not reacted well to Doyle's leaping athletic headed effort, this could have been a very different outcome.
Latest loss drives home hard truths for TFC
TORONTO—It’s time for some hard and uncomfortable truths about Toronto FC.
For all of the hype, for all of the money spent, for all of the superstar talent, TFC is a middle-of-the-pack club in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference, the fifth best side in a 10-team conference featuring two expansion franchises.
That point was forcefully driven home in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the New England Revolution, a result that will surely consign TFC to fifth place in the East—assuming they end up qualifying.
Sunday painted a painfully clear picture of two vastly different MLS clubs fighting for playoff positioning in the East: One that has won five games in a row and is unbeaten in seven (New England) and one that is sputtering along and conceding goals at an alarming rate (Toronto). The Revs are sprinting to the playoff finish line, while TFC are limping along.
New England currently sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, one place and six points ahead of Toronto, although the Reds have a game in hand. The third- and fourth-place teams in the East will have home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS playoffs, so TFC badly needed a victory here to keep the Revs within distance in order to claim that fourth spot.
It’s hard to see that happening now, even with seven games remaining in the regular season. Playoffs? Sure. But a deep run? Don’t bank on it.
“Desperate to get into the home (playoff) position? I don’t think so, not yet,” coach Greg Vanney deflected. “This was an important game... but we have a favourable schedule in front of us.”
Captain Michael Bradley agreed: “We have games at home, games (with teams) right round us (in the standings) and are our ability to take care of business in these last seven games will dictate how good of a position we’ll be in.”
Bradley’s correct, of course. It is in the team’s hands. But recent performances, including this one, suggests that this is the best they can do—that Toronto FC can beat teams below them in the standings, but they can't get the job done against the best in the league.
Despite the loss, Vanney was gushing about how Toronto performed on Sunday, touting his side’s statistical dominance and how they outplayed and out-chanced New England. But that doesn’t matter much when you commit a litany of defensive errors and lose 3-1.
“My honest opinion was that I thought it was one of the best performances that we’ve had all year. But sometimes the ball doesn’t go in the back of the net,” Vanney stated.
He later added: “We don’t give away an own goal, and we don’t give away the ball at the top of the box (on the third goal) and we finish two other of our 21 chances and we’re having a completing different discussion.”
He did, however, admit that this was a was a missed opportunity for TFC.
Vanney had five key starters back in the lineup who missed last week’s loss in Seattle for a variety of reasons, including central defender Damien Perquis, who’d been out with a quad injury since Aug. 5.
The Frenchman has been a liability as the season has progressed, and he had a disastrous start to this game, committing a needless giveaway in the opening moments that nearly led to a goal. In the fourth minute a perfect through ball from Jermaine Jones sprung Teal Bunbury whose low cross was turned into the Toronto net by Perquis.
To their credit, TFC valiantly fought back and forced New England on the back foot with some pretty passing plays and long stretches of possession. The best moment of the half came when Sebastian Giovinco dummied, pirouetted and slalomed his way through a number of Revolution players. Giovinco’s cross from the byline floated over Jonathan Osorio's head at the back post, but the Italian’s marvellous act of improvisation had the BMO Field faithful on their feet in appreciation.
“The most incredible move I’ve ever seen in my life,” Vanney enthused.
Toronto was controlling the pace of the game before they switched off deep in their end of the field in the 39th minute. New England put together a passing sequence that carved open the defence and ended with Diego Fagundez striking a shot from the top of the box past a diving Chris Konopka in the TFC net. It was a world class finish from Fagundez, but he had all the time in the world as no Toronto player tried to close him down.
TFC again responded with great conviction to start the second half. Somewhat culpable on New England’s second goal, defender Justin Morrow made amends when he delivered a fabulous cross for Robbie Findlay to nod him in the 55th minute. It was just reward for Findlay, whose header hit the crossbar in the opening minutes and who was one of TFC’s best attacking players on the day.
But any chance Toronto had of equalizing came to an abrupt end when Bradley was caught in possession inside his box by Lee Nguyen. The Revs took full advantage of Bradley’s dawdling on the ball, as Kelyn Rowe beat Konopka with a low shot to restore his team’s two-goal advantage in the 71st minute.
Vanney called the goal a “dagger” to TFC’s comeback hopes. Bradley admitted it was a momentum killer.
“We’re at a point in the season where we can’t dwell on things and feel sorry for ourselves,” Bradley said.
NOTES: New England leads the all-time MLS series against Toronto with 10 wins and eight draws in 22 meetings... TFC have not defeated the Revolution at home since May 22, 2010... TFC travels to New York City FC for a game on Wednesday before returning home to host the Colorado Rapids next Saturday.
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