Sjöberg's Stoppage-Time Strike Silences the Supporters and Stuns the 'Caps

July 9, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-07-09 Round 19; Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Colorado Rapids SC.jpg

2016-07-09 Curva Collective Goal Reaction (Waston).jpg

2016-07-09 Vancouver Southsiders Goal Reaction (Waston).jpg

2016-07-09 Marco Pappa, Matias Laba, and Kekuta Manneh.jpg

2016-07-09 Jordan Harvey and Marco Pappa.jpg

2016-07-09 Chewbacca and the Curva Collective.jpg

2016-07-09 Eric Miller and Kendall Waston.jpg

2016-07-09 Tim Howard and Christian Bolanos.jpg

2016-07-09 Tim Howard and Erik Hurtado.jpg

2016-07-09 Dillon Powers, Marc Burch, and Christian Bolanos.jpg

2016-07-09 Christian Bolanos and Marc Burch.jpg

2016-07-09 Matias Laba and Marc Burch.jpg

2016-07-09 Jared Watts and Cristian Techera.jpg

2016-07-09 Cristian Techera and Nicolas Mezquida.jpg

2016-07-09 Cristian Techera Goal (Penalty).jpg

2016-07-09 Cristian Techera Goal Celebration 1.jpg

2016-07-09 Cristian Techera Goal Celebration 2.jpg

2016-07-09 David Ousted Goal Reaction (Sjoberg).jpg

The problems of the 2016 edition of Vancouver Whitecaps FC are well documented. At its most basic level, the 'Caps are having trouble scoring goals, and preventing them; but a better summary might be to say that they are finding ways of turning wins into draws, and draws into losses.

Tonight, it was Axel Sjöberg who broke the supporters' hearts. Sjöberg as you may recall, was the 14th pick in 2015, exactly one spot behind Vancouver's Tim Parker.

After tonight's result, Parker has still scored one more goal than Sjöberg, collected four fewer yellow cards (none of which were in the same match), while playing the equivalent of almost 18 more games. But if tangents like that are any indication, it's becoming harder and harder to find some silver linings.

Name on the trophy, the 'Caps are still in the Voyageurs Cup

June 8, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-06-08 Round 1; Second Leg, Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Ottawa Fury FC.jpg

2016-06-08 Pedro Morales Penalty Kick.jpg

2016-06-08 Pedro Morales Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-06-08 Curva Collective Goal Reaction (Morales).jpg

2016-06-08 Rafael Alves, Tim Parker, and Paolo Tornaghi.jpg

2016-06-08 Jonny Steele, Nicolas Mezquida, and Alphonso Davies.jpg

2016-06-08 Nicolas Mezquida Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-06-08 Curva Collective Goal Reaction (Mezquida).jpg

2016-06-08 Paulo Araujo and Jordan Harvey.jpg

2016-06-08 Carl Robinson and Jordan Harvey.jpg

2016-06-08 Cristian Techera and Carl Haworth.jpg

2016-06-08 James Bailey, Nicolas Mezquida, and Fernando Timbo.jpg

2016-06-08 Octavio Rivero Goal Celebration 1.jpg

2016-06-08 Octavio Rivero Goal Celebration 2.jpg

2016-06-08 Octavio Rivero Goal Celebration 3.jpg

2016-06-08 Octavio Rivero and Jonny Steele.jpg

2016-06-08 Onua Obasi and Erik Hurtado.jpg

Last week in Ottawa, Vancouver Whitecaps FC were battered, and they were beaten. They returned home with tails firmly tucked between legs, where they would need to reverse a 2-goal deficit. Vancouver had gone into that first leg thinking that they could rest some players. They are after all the defending Champions of Canada, and they finished 3rd in the Major League last year. But Ottawa Fury FC were no pushovers. It took three tiebreakers to separate them from New York Cosmos, and they were Cup Finalists last year. Fielding a nearly full strength squad, the 'Caps didn't waste any time in the second leg. Nicolás Mezquida won a 3rd minute penalty after Rafael Alves pushed him down in the box. Pedro Morales calmly sent Ottawa goalkeeper Romuald Peiser the wrong way, and cut the deficit in half. Less than twenty minutes later, Mezquida erased that deficit when he converted a nifty cross from Octavio Rivero. Alphonso Davies, a 15-year old striker from Liberia making his first professional start, would have sent the crowd of 17,863 into rapture had it not been for the woodwork. But there was a sense of when the third goal would come, not if.

Kendall Waston sent off, but ten-man Whitecaps hang on for 1-1 draw with Sporting

April 28, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-04-27 Round 9; Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Sporting Kansas City.jpg

2016-04-27 Sporting Kansas City Supporters Tifo.jpg

2016-04-27 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Goal Celebration (Bolaños).jpg

2016-04-27 Curva Collective Goal Reaction (Bolaños).jpg

2016-04-27 Matias Laba and Roger Espinoza.jpg

2016-04-27 Diego Rubio Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-04-27 Sporting Kansas City Goal Reaction (Rubio).jpg

2016-04-27 Christian Bolaños Goal Reaction (Rubio).jpg

2016-04-27 Benny Feilhaber and Matias Laba.jpg

2016-04-27 Kendall Waston's First Yellow Card.jpg

2016-04-27 Kendall Waston's Second Yellow Card 1.jpg

2016-04-27 Kendall Waston's Second Yellow Card.jpg

2016-04-27 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Supporters Red Card Reaction (Waston).jpg

2016-04-27 David Ousted and Nuno Andre Coelho.jpg

2016-04-27 Cristian Techera and Saad Abdul Salaam.jpg

Vancouver's Christian Bolaños and Kansas City's Diego Rubio scored first half goals, and the Whitecaps held on with only ten men for a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night.

Bolaños scored his first Major League goal, connecting with a Cristian Techera corner kick in the 14th minute. Bolaños deftly slotted the ball into the top corner with a left-footed volley, which beat Sporting goalkeeper Alec Kann.

Sporting tied it 13 minutes later on Rubio's first Major League goal. He scored off a scuffed shot by Kansas City's Lawrence Olum.

Vancouver went down to ten men in the 51st minute when an uncharacteristically poor back pass from Tim Parker to goalkeeper David Ousted forced fellow defender Kendall Waston to take down Rubio for his second yellow card.

Vancouver Whitecaps thump FC Dallas 3-0 as Major League improvement continues

April 23, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-04-23 Round 8; Vancouver Whitecaps FC v FC Dallas.jpg

2016-04-23 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Supporter 1.jpg

2016-04-23 Tesho Akindele, Tim Parker, and Michael Barrios.jpg

2016-04-23 Atiba Harris and Kendall Waston.jpg

2016-04-23 David Ousted and Kendall Waston.jpg

2016-04-23 Vancouver Whitecaps FC's First Goal Celebration (Figueroa).jpg

2016-04-23 Curva Collective Goal Reaction (Figueroa).jpg

2016-04-23 Victor Ulloa and Kekuta Manneh.jpg

2016-04-23 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Supporter 2.jpg

2016-04-23 Octavio Rivero and Zach Loyd.jpg

2016-04-23 Jordan Harvey Goal Celebration 1.jpg

2016-04-23 Jordan Harvey Goal Celebration 2.jpg

2016-04-23 Octavio Rivero and Zach Loyd-2.jpg

2016-04-23 Nicolas Mezquida and Walker Zimmerman.jpg

2016-04-23 Blas Pérez and Kekuta Manneh.jpg

2016-04-23 Blas Pérez, Walker Zimmerman, and Kekuta Manneh.jpg

2016-04-23 Kekuta Manneh Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-04-23 Nicolas Mezquida and Carlos Gruezo.jpg

2016-04-23 Pa Modou Kah, Kekuta Manneh, and Sam Adekugbe.jpg

2016-04-23 Pa Modou Kah and Kekuta Manneh.jpg

Jordan Harvey and Kekuta Manneh scored for Vancouver and Dallas had an own-goal in the Whitecaps' 3-0 victory.

Vancouver took the lead in 35th minute, to end their three-match scoring drought, when Manneh whipped a cross in that Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz punched off defender Maynor Figueroa, and into his own net.

Harvey made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute off a Cristian Techera corner, after the ball fell to him in the Dallas penalty area. Manneh sealed it in the 77th when Blas Pérez — just into the match as a substitute against his former club — touched the ball to Manneh for a shot through Seitz's legs.

Major League-leading Dallas were unbeaten in their previous six matches.

Vancouver Whitecaps and LA Galaxy play controversial goalless draw as Major League refs cop more criticism

April 2, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-04-02 Round 5; Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Los Angeles Galaxy.jpg

2016-04-02 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Supporters.jpg

2016-04-02 Pedro Morales and Jake Joachim.jpg

2016-04-02 Robbie Rogers and Jordan Harvey.jpg

2016-04-02 Daniel Steres and Octavio Rivero.jpg

2016-04-02 Mike Magee and Cristian Techera.jpg

2016-04-02 Kekuta Manneh and Robbie Rogers.jpg

2016-04-02 Nicolas Mezquida and Nigel de Jong.jpg

2016-04-02 Jelle Van Damme, Nicolas Mezquida, and Baggio Husidic.jpg

2016-04-02 Brian Rowe and Tim Parker.jpg

2016-04-02 Ashley Cole and Octavio Rivero.jpg

2016-04-02 Daniel Steres and Octavio Rivero-2.jpg

2016-04-02 Tim Parker and Sebastian Lletget.jpg

2016-04-02 Alan Gordon and Tim Parker.jpg

Matías Laba was shown a straight red card in the first half, but the Vancouver Whitecaps still held on for a 0-0 tie with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night.

The midfielder was sent off in the 28th minute for a challenge on Los Angeles counterpart Mike Magee, outside the Whitecaps' penalty area.

Vancouver is now unbeaten in three straight, while Los Angeles picked up its first away point of the season.

After an emotionally charged opening 45 minutes that included Laba's dismissal, the Whitecaps sat back after halftime, down a man, content to soak up the pressure, and try to hit the visitors on the counterattack.

Dubious penalty earns Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 victory over Houston Dynamo

March 26, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-03-26 Round 4; Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Houston Dynamo.jpg

2016-03-26 Cristian Techera, Raul Rodriguez, and Octavio Rivero.jpg

2016-03-26 Octavio Rivero, DaMarcus Beasley, and Joe Willis.jpg

2016-03-26 Pa Modou Kah and David Horst.jpg

2016-03-26 David Gantar, Joe Willis, and Raul Rodriguez.jpg

2016-03-26 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Supporters.jpg

2016-03-26 Pedro Morales Goal (Penalty Kick).jpg

2016-03-26 Pedro Morales Goal Celebration 1.jpg

2016-03-26 Pedro Morales Goal Celebration 2.jpg

2016-03-26 Leonel Miranda and Octavio Rivero.jpg

2016-03-26 Raul Rodriguez and Octavio Rivero.jpg

2016-03-26 Kudo Masato and DaMarcus Beasley.jpg

2016-03-26 Show Racism the Red Card Tifo.jpg

2016-03-26 Jalil Anibaba and Kekuta Manneh.jpg

2016-03-26 David Ousted and David Horst.jpg

Pedro Morales scored a penalty kick in the 23rd minute, and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Saturday night.

The Whitecaps' captain sent goalkeeper Joe Willis the wrong way from the spot, after Dynamo defender Jalil Anibaba was judged to have fouled Vancouver striker Kudo Masto in the box.

Morales currently leads the Major League with four goals in four matches to start the season, all penalties. Vancouver's other two goals also have come from dead-ball situations — off a corner and an indirect free kick.

Post-Match: Vancouver 2, Seattle 1

March 19, 2016 Christopher Vose

2016-03-19 Round 3; Seattle Sounders FC v Vancouver Whitecasp FC.jpg

2016-03-19 Curva Collective, Rain City Brigade, and Vancouver Southsiders 1.jpg

2016-03-19 Curva Collective Rain City Brigade, and Vancouver Southsiders 2.jpg

2016-03-19 Curva Collective, Rain City Brigade, and Vancouver Southsiders Tifo.jpg

2016-03-19 Andreas Ivanschitz, Kendall Waston, and Nelson Valdez.jpg

2016-03-19 Pedro Morales's First Penalty Kick.jpg

2016-03-19 Pedro Morales' First Goal (Penalty Kick).jpg

2016-03-19 Pedro Morales' First Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-03-19 Eastside Supporterss Goal Reaction (Morales' First Goal).jpg

2016-03-19 Chad Marshall, Matias Laba, and Blas Perez.jpg

2016-03-19 Blas Perez and Mark Geiger.jpg

2016-03-19 David Ousted and Jordan Morris.jpg

2016-03-19 Chad Marshall, Blas Perez, and Osvaldo Alonso.jpg

2016-03-19 Blas Perez and Cristian Roldan.jpg

2016-03-19 David Ousted, Nelson Valdez, and Kendall Waston.jpg

2016-03-19 Blas Perez and Zach Scott.jpg

2016-03-19 Clint Dempsey and Matias Laba.jpg

2016-03-19 Cristian Roldan and Fraser Aird.jpg

2016-03-19 Andreas Ivanschitz, Kendall Waston, and Fraser Aird.jpg

2016-03-19 Kendall Waston, Clint Dempsey, and Tim Parker.jpg

2016-03-19 Matias Laba and Andreas Ivanschitz.jpg

2016-03-19 Chad Marshall, Blas Perez, and Stefan Frei.jpg

2016-03-19 Mark Geiger and Andreas Ivanschitz.jpg

2016-03-19 Kendall Waston and Clint Dempsey.jpg

2016-03-19 Pedro Morales and Joevin Jones.jpg

2016-03-19 Chad Marshall and Tim Parker.jpg

2016-03-19 Octavio Rivero and Zach Scott.jpg

2016-03-19 Andreas Ivanschitz Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-03-19 Eastside Supporters Goal Reaction (Ivanschitz).jpg

2016-03-19 Joevin Jones and Christian Bolanos.jpg

2016-03-19 Zach Scott, Tyrone Mears, and Octavio Rivero.jpg

2016-03-19 Zach Scott and Blas Perez.jpg

2016-03-19 Nelson Valdez and Kendall Waston.jpg

2016-03-19 Blas Perez and Chad Marshall 1.jpg

2016-03-19 Blas Perez and Chad Marshall 2.jpg

2016-03-19 Pedro Morales' Second Penalty Kick.jpg

2016-03-19 Pedro Morales' Second Goal Celebration.jpg

2016-03-19 Eastside Supporter Goal Reaction (Morales' Second).jpg

2016-03-19 Curva Collective, Rain City Brigade, and Vancouver Southsiders Goal Reaction (Morales' Second).jpg

2016-03-19 Seattle Sounders FC Supporters Goal Reaction (Morales' Second).jpg

2016-03-19 Nelson Valdez and Kendall Waston-2.jpg

2016-03-19 Andreas Ivanschitz and Andrew Jacobson.jpg

2016-03-19 Blas Perez and Zach Scott-2.jpg

2016-03-19 Cristian Techera and Chad Marshall.jpg

2016-03-19 Curva Collective and Rain City Brigade.jpg

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Manager Carl Robinson

Opening statement:

"It was a better performance. This game is a process, and if you put the right performances in, the results will come. I think we tripped ourselves up with mistakes in the first two games and we accepted that. Today was a team performance."

On Seattle's equaliser:

"(There was) lots of character shown today. It's not an easy place to come. We know we have to have a very good game against a very good team. We know they're going to put you under pressure, and they did that today. When they got the goal, it was a set piece, and a fantastic finish on a free kick. But we showed character, and we probably played our best little bit of football after they scored. That shows the team has character."

CHRISTOPHeR VOSE

Mynor Campos

Tyler Green