The Whitecaps kicked off a busy stretch of three games in eight days as they hosted the MLS Eastern Conference leading DC United at BC Place. Carl Robinson's squad have been struggling immensely to score goals and they had hoped to abort that trend against the surging DC United.
Unfortunately they don't make football nets any bigger and for that very reason the Whitecaps were once again head scoreless for the 5th time in their last six matches. A disappointed crowd of 18,116 supporters watched the Whitecaps and DC United squander scoring chance after scoring chance in a 0-0 draw. The Whitecaps gaffer was pleased his side were able to get a point during a tough stretch.
"We’ve been through some tough streaks, we got a clean sheet today which was good. They’re a very good team, top of the Eastern Conference and they come in with a game plan. But we weren't able to break them down so credit to them tonight."
Ethan Sampson made his MLS debut drawing in for an injured Steven Beitashour at right-back. The injured Iranian World Cup player missed the match due to a lingering hip injury. Strikers Darren Mattocks and Sebastian Fernandez returned to the Whitecaps lineup in place of sophomore slumbers, Kekuta Manneh, and Erik Hurtado. Robinson changed his teams formations and elected to start the match in a 4-4-2 diamond with skipper Pedro Morales at the top, Matias Laba at the bottom and Russell Teibert and Mauro Rosales on the wings.
The Opening 45
The Whitecaps had a pair of wonderful chances to open the scoring in the early stages of the match. Mauro Rosales broke down the right flank and sent a lovely cross towards Darren Mattocks as he burst into the DC United box. Unfortunately the delivery was a tad too high and the Jamaican international sent his attempt on target well over the bar.
On 12' minutes, Vancouver worked a beautiful display of passing skills as they marched up the pitch on a quick counter attack. Rosales passed to Morales, who then found Sebastian Fernandez on the left flank. The Uruguayan has eyes on sending in the ball towards Darren Mattocks, but a DC United defender was able to disrupt the ball connecting with the intended target. Mattocks was able to eventually to gather the ball only to miss a wide open net as DC United keeper Bill Hamid was caught out of position.
Costa Rican centre-back Kendall Waston almost had his first goal as a Whitecaps player off a free kick in the 31'. Sean Franklin was whistled for a foul on Russell Teibert, and Pedro Morales stepped up to take the free kick. Waston broke free from the crowd of players inside the DC United box only to have his free header bounce off the pitch, and off Bill Hamid before going wide of the far post.
DC Striker Fabian Espindola was the most dangerous visiting player in the opening half. He had a decent strike from well out that David Ousted had to be quick to turn away and in the 38' he almost caught the Danish keeper as he was coming across his net. Luis Silva found Espindola on his left and as Ousted was coming across his net the Argentine striker failed to convert in the top half of the vacant Vancouver net.
Darren Mattocks had a late chance to score in stoppage time, despite appearing to be offside. Mattocks fired directly at Bill Hamid and the 23 year-old keeper did well to force the ball over the net for an ensuing corner. The Whitecaps could not do anything with the resulting corner and the halftime whistle blew.
Vancouver had it's fair share of scoring opportunities, but without a dominant striker they once again failed to take advantage of the chances they created. On the defensive side of the ball they remained solid and compact. DC United had minimal chances to score and they looked just as lost at converting as the Whitecaps in opposition territory. Both sides had a pair of shots on target in the opening half and a dual 50% share of possession as the score remained 0-0.
The Second Half
Neither manager elected to make any changes before the second half, however it would not be long before the first substitute entered the match. Despite making his MLS debut, Ethan Sampson could not sustain a full 90 minute effort. He took a knee on his own and was replaced by the Manchester, England born Sam Adekugbe. Jordan Harvey switched over to play right-back and Adekugbe played his more natural left back position.
Jordan Harvey had a solid match for the home side, and a decent chance to break the deadlock with a diving header in the second half. He talked about the standings and what comes next for Vancouver.
“I think we’re even with Portland right now, so it’s just going to be a battle down the stretch. We’ve got to win more than we lose and get some points. Like I said, we’re playing well, we just need to be more clinical in front of the net, and that includes everybody. Everybody on the field I feel like had a chance tonight. I had a few so that’s everybody.”
Carl Robinson made a double substitution in the 68' when he brought on Mehdi Ballouchy and Kekuta Manneh for Mauro Rosales, and Sebastian Fernandez. With the Whitecaps unable to score any goals their best option was to try to nurse home a 0-0 draw with a fresh pair of legs. At the same time, Ben Olsen made his first exchange of the match for DC United. Lewis Neal came on for midfielder David Estrada.
The substitutions did little to create offense for the Whitecaps or the opposition. Vancouver continued to struggle on offense and when they did get close to the opposition net their confidence was shot, and their attempted scoring chance went awry. Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh both had chances to hit the target in the later stages of the match, but they failed to hit the target or even come close to challenging Bill Hamid.
The lack of a clinical finisher has deserted the Whitecaps during the most crucial time of the season, and they have nobody to blame but themselves for the lack of scoring at this moment.
Man of the Match
Mauro Rosales
Mauro Rosales was dynamic with the ball during his 68 minutes on the pitch. The newest addition to the Whitecaps has a clear vision for finding his teammates and setting up terrific give and go passing plays. The former Chivas USA, and Seattle Sounders playmaker has done well to create chances for Darren Mattocks and the rest of his Caps teammates and one of these days he will have a breakout match with a smorgasbord of assists.
“We’re a little disappointed. We were playing against the top team in the other conference and we still are disappointed because we just got one point. We should take the three today. The chances we generated seems like it was enough to generate one goal, but we just have to be positive for the next game and to try to be more calm in the last part of the field. But with this concentration and with aggressiveness, we can move forward."
Honourable mention
David Ousted was not tested very often, but when he was he did well to turn away the DC United attack. Ousted has now record his 8th clean sheet of the season and overall his 4th clean sheet in the previous six matches. With the Whitecaps not scoring the Danish keeper has done a great job at helping his team earn vital points through recent 0-0 draws including this match. Ousted stopped Fabian Espindola on a few occasions and was in great position when he needed to be. David Ousted has a consistent and stand-out season in his first full campaign in MLS.
Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Ethan Sampson, Andy O’Brien, Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Maura Rosales, Russell Teibert, Pedro Morales(C); Darren Mattocks, Sebastian Fernández. (4-4-2 Diamond)
DC United Starting XI: Bill Hamid; Sean Franklin, Steve Birnbaum, Bobby Boswell(C), Taylor Kemp; Nick DeLeon, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, David Estrada; Luis Silva, Fabian Espindola. (4-4-2)
Notes: The Vancouver Whitecaps will host the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, September 10 at BC Place
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