The Seattle Sounders finally beat their Cascadia rivals from Portland.
João Paulo’s goal a minute into the second half springboarded the Sounders’ 3-1 win over the “Portland” Whitecaps at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Saturday night.
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The Sounders (8-3-3), who lost twice to the Portland Timbers this past month, dominated Saturday’s game from start to finish and solidified their hold on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Portland-based Whitecaps (5-10-0) — they’ll be based out of the City of Roses for the remainder of the season — lost their third straight game by a cumulative 10-1 tally.
“We knew from the start it would be very difficult to come here and get points. It’s always difficult for any team. Seattle has a lot of experience, a lot of players that can make a difference,” said head coach Marc Dos Santos.
Here’s what we learned …
FIRST BLOOD
For the Whitecaps to have a chance, they have to be the ones to draw first blood.
In the first 50 games under Santos, the Caps are 1-19-3 when the opposition scores first. Saturday’s loss was No. 20.
Paulo’s goal opened the floodgates, precipitating an own goal off the knee of Érik Godoy, and a Raúl Ruidíaz header off a corner kick.
An extremely dubious penalty kick called on Yeimar Gómez — replays showed Lucas Cavallini shoving him in the back before the Whitecaps striker went to ground in the box — led to a Fredy Montero goal in the 65th minute. But any thoughts of a comeback were blown up by a red card to Janio Bikel in the 68th, leaving the Caps down a man.
“I think what really got us, our legs, was the first 15 minutes of the second half,” said Dos Santos. “It was hard for us to get back. They hit us hard in that moment. When you’re playing teams like Seattle or LAFC and you concede that first goal, when you start opening yourself a little bit more up against things like that, you suffer a lot with their quality. We have to make sure that we become a club that has that edge … and the ability to make a difference before the opponent does that. And it’s not the case right now.
“It’s a mindset, it’s a mentality when we concede the goal, to believe that the game is far from being over, but it’s also making sure that we have the advantage before them. And the last year and a half, the opponents have been stronger; that’s the reality.”
Right on target from João Paulo! ? #SEAvVANpic.twitter.com/rc8OzV04S1
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 4, 2020
The Whitecaps did hold one of — if not the — top teams in the league scoreless in the first half, despite being overrun in midfield. Vancouver did have some legs on the break, putting together a few threatening counterattacks, but midfielder Andy Rose agreed conceding a goal so soon after halftime was the breaking point.
“For them to score still early in the second half, that hurts us — especially when you’re looking for those few moments you can break on a team,” said Rose, one of three former Sounders (Montero, Bryan Meredith) playing against their old team.
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“The whole sequence of those three goals was really frustrating because you know they were avoidable, without a doubt. When the first one goes in, happens so early in that half … I don’t think our reaction in that moment as a group was quite good enough.”
EL TANQUE HAS THROWN A TREAD
Through the game’s first 50 minutes, the Caps had just 30 per cent of possession but had the best scoring chance of the game, when an Ali Adnan cross whipped to Cavallini went off his knee and forced a point-blank reaction save from Stefan Frei. It was one of just three shots from the Caps; the Sounders had 22.
The frustration from Cavallini was obvious, and it bled into his game, as a rash challenge in the 52nd minute means he’ll miss next week’s game due to yellow card accumulation.
His 19 touches were the fewest among Caps starters, and the team’s most expensive acquisition in history remains rooted on two goals.
Dos Santos said before the game he was doing his best to protect his star’s volatile psyche.
“We try to help him. We try to help him be confident, we try to help him stay away from maybe external noise around him. The biggest pressures that come into a player’s life is the external pressure; what people say, what people think,” he said.
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“He should have had more than two goals this year already. He could have easily had four or five already — I’m not saying 10 … (but) Cava has goals in him. Players, especially forwards, go through moments that are very grey and difficult, but it doesn’t rain all the time. Sometimes the sun comes out and sometimes the player sees positive things going towards them.”
LET’S GET IN FORMATION
The Whitecaps started in a 4-4-2, partnering Cavallini and Montero up top, with the Colombian playing as more of a false nine or a 10.
A late injury to Leo Owusu saw him replaced in the starting XI by Rose alongside Bikel.
It was the first choice players the rest of the way, with Adnan and Jake Nerwinski bracketing the centre-back duo of Derek Cornelius and Godoy, and David Milinkovic and Cristian Dajome on the wings.
With Cristian Gutierrez and Russell Teibert both missing Saturday’s contest with injuries, the Caps could be shorthanded next week if they don’t recover, a situation exacerbated by Bikel and Cavallini missing the game.
Dos Santos wasn’t going to worry about that game — he’ll do the best he can with the resources he has, his life’s mantra — but bristled slightly when asked about his team’s inconsistent results, considering the challenges this season has posed.
“Talking about consistency this season is very unfair, because people are not living what we live,” he said. “It’s very unfair and I have very little respect for people that talk about … consistency. It’s easy to speak when people are not in our position and living what we live.
“What we need to do is (solve) a problem that we have for a while. On the ball, we need to make sure that we have enough midfielders with personality to play. We have to find (them), we have to make sure that we get midfielders with personality to play and give us opportunity to have more of the ball and breathe more in the right moments. I think that it’s going to be hard to grow there this season.”
THREE for @SoundersFC! #SEAvVANpic.twitter.com/bmMJ3R0SJJ
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 4, 2020
WHAT’S AHEAD
The mystifying San Jose Earthquakes will be the Caps’ next opponents, as Vancouver travels to Avaya Stadium for a Wednesday night tilt.
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The Quakes (3-6-5) suffered through a horrible eight-game winless streak that saw them outscored 28-7, but snapped that skid with a 2-1 away victory at LAFC last week.
An 82nd-minute penalty kick from Andy Rios gave the Quakes a 2-1 home win over the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday, lifting them into ninth place and dropping the Caps and LA to the bottom of the West on 15 points. The Caps own the tiebreaker over the Galaxy, but L.A. has a game in hand.
NEXT GAME
Wednesday
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Quakes
7:30 p.m., Avaya Stadium, TV: TSN; Radio: TSN 1040 AM
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