Vancouver Whitecaps 2 – Columbus Crew 1
Vancouver needs to get better in scoring the goal opportunities they create. The Whitecaps suffered way too much to win their second game of the season taking into account how many goal opportunities they had.
The offense had a good game, especially Kobayashi, Reo-Coker and Miller. But, on the other hand, the defence at times had a hard time defending Columbus’ free kicks and cross balls.
The key to the ratings, as seems to be the logic on a scale of 1-10, is not to view it as a “grade”, as in a 6 would be a 60 or a C. The formula is that each player begins the game with a 5 and is the equilibrium from which their performance either improves or degrades moving in increments of .5.
Here is the breakdown of the starting XI:
Joe Cannon – 4.5
Cannon made important saves throughout the game but was unable to block Jairo Arrieta’s fairly easy shot in Columbus’ goal play. Also, he was not very accurate during goal kicks, which lead to lost balls for the Whitecaps.
Your rating:
Alain Rochat – 4.5
Rochat had trouble covering Dominic Oduro, which led to Columbus’ attacking often through the right wing. On the other hand, he had some good long passes and helped the offense every time he decided to go forward.
Your rating:
Brad Rusin – 4.5
In Arrieta’s goal play, Rusin unsuccessfully tried to clear the ball with a header. That left him out of position and allowed Jairo Arrieta to be one-on-one against Cannon. But, overall, he had an ok game. On offense, he almost scored just before halftime when the game was 1-0.
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Andy O’Brien – 5
O’Brien, just like the rest of the defense, had trouble defending at times, especially during cross balls and corner kicks. But he complemented fairly well with Rusin and didn’t hesitate to kick the ball away when needed.
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Lee Young-Pyo – 6
Very good game by Lee. He was an offensive threat often and had a couple of very good cross balls. On defense, he complemented fairly well with O’Brien to defend the left wing.
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Jun Marques Davidson – 4.5
Davidson had a hard time covering Federico Higuain. He usually allowed the Columbus player to control the ball and gave him time to give accurate passes that led to offensive plays for the Crew.
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Nigel Reo-Coker – 6
Reo-Coker, just like in last week’s game, acted as a captain for midfielders and enhanced all offensive players’ game. He was involved in most of the Whitecaps offensive plays and proved vital in helping Vancouver to keep possession of the ball.
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Gershon Koffie – 4.5
Koffie didn’t have a great game. He was not as helpful in offense as last week and he had time covering Colombus’ midfielders.
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Kenny Miller – 7
Great game by Miller. He was very dangerous on offense, playing both wings and the middle of the attack, and also played defense well. In his goal play, he created a goal opportunity for himself by pressuring the defence and stealing the ball. He was definitely the man of the match.
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Daigo Kobayashi – 7
Very good game by Kobayashi. As Miller, he was very dangerous during offensive plays. He also associated very well with Reo-Coker. His goal was a thing of beauty.
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Darren Mattocks – 4.5
Not the best game from Mattocks. He looked isolated between Columbus’ defenders. He also wasn’t very successful winning high balls.
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Substitutes:
Camilo Sanvezzo – 5.5
Good game by Sanvezzo. He was very close to scoring during the 20 minutes he played and always proved to be a threat for Colombus’ defense.
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Erik Hurtado – 5
Substituted Kobayashi. Only played the last 10 minutes of the game.
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