Good Monday morning, Caps fans. Hope you had a good weekend and that the week ahead is a good one.
The Caps’ perfect start was foiled by San Jose, with a belter from Beau Leroux being the only thing separating the two sides.
Credit to San Jose, who have vastly improved their defensive shape since these two teams last met at BC Place. This was a frustrating one for Vancouver, who did enough to merit a point but struggled to do much in the final third down the stretch and saw Brian White miss a few chances he probably would like back.
I thought the depth pieces who were slotted in did well, particularly Oliver Larraz, who was far more incisive and progressive than we’ve seen to date. The issues arose during the attack, particularly in the second half, when few clear-cut chances were created. Thomas Müller did little to change the match — a mildly worrying trend, as the German continues to not look on the same page as some of his fellow attackers. Indeed, the best chances for Vancouver came in the first half before Müller and Sebastian Berhalter entered the game.
The Caps weren’t going to win every match this season, but this one will feel like it got away. The Leroux goal, special though it was, came immediately after Yohei Takaoka fumbled a straightforward corner (it also came two minutes into what was supposed to be one minute of stoppage time, but who’s counting). And while San Jose had a couple of other half-chances, the Caps generally kept them at bay.
The problem is the same issues seem to keep cropping up for Vancouver, namely, a lack of sharpness in the final third and struggles playing from behind against a low block. I’m not that worried long-term, but you can bet that more teams will try to park the bus in the future, rather than open up and get killed in space. Having Berhalter from the start (and playing AZ on the wing) probably helps. But Jesper Sorensen will have plenty to mull over during the international break.
Shameless Self Promotion
We run down the Caps’ first loss of the year and what it might mean going forward in the post-match.
Best of the Rest
Meanwhile, a late comeback from the Whitecaps 2 fell just short against Real Monarchs.
A tough night in front of goal isn’t deterring Brian White’s hope of becoming the Caps’ all-time goal scorer.
So maybe the Antoine Griezmann transfer to Orlando City is gonna be a thing after all?
More info from Jesse Marsch on his near miss in becoming USMNT manager. I suspect Canada is good with how everything turned out.
i hinted 4-5 months ago about the Whitecap new investors and stadium/entertainment hub at Hastings Park North, alongwith a Skytrain connection to the North Shore next to a new IronWorkers Bridge- i said that was Part 1, meaning there was more to come
Here is Part 2- written in the Province paper by Patrick Johnston, March 25
https://theprovince.com/sports/basketball/nba/nba-expansion-seattle-could-vancouver-be-next
i wrote this as a comment to his article:
i have been hinting at this for months- but think bigger than the NBA and NHL joining under a consortium- think like MLSE in Toronto where a consortium of investors have 5 sports franchises under their umbrella (and it wont include Aquilini whose personal life is ‘off the rails’ to be considered as part of the consortium, unless its in a minor role)- think MLS, NHL, NBA, NLL and at the very far outside, MLB and CFL (remember that BC Place Stadium was initially built to include MLB, alongwith the Whitecaps)
who will- or i believe already has the ball rolling- of creating a sporting consortium in Vancouver? in that question comes the answer
My opinion, if Sabaly is able to just clear the ball vs look to make a run, the ref blows the half time whistle. Would also like to see him take on defenders on the edge of the box but am finding him a bit hesitant in the final third. We also started off looking lost with some of our play.
The team (in my mind) spent too much time looking to score a pretty goal from a cross or from good shooting chance vs creating some chaos where San Jose’s defenders have to turn their back to deal with a ball vs always facing the Caps’s attackers. Also have to give credit to the keeper on the SJ side.
Can’t win them all but felt like the game of a tired team that wasn’t quite over getting knocked out of CCC. A break should be good and time to integrate some new pieces.
Caicedo?