The Whitecaps fall 1-0 to Colorado and it seems Rapid beats a wave. Diego Rubio scored the lone goal on a beautiful free-kick. Keeper William Yarbrough punched two off the line to persevere the lead as Vancouver saw its first loss of the season.
Vancouver was lucky to be down just 1-0 at halftime as Maxime Crepeau had to make several key saves early in the match. Vancouver had lots of chances to tie things but the Rapids were able to hold on. The Whitecaps made only one change to the starting 11 from last week, Caio Alexandre would make his MLS starting debut in place of Michael Baldisimo. Colorado made two changes from last week and if you missed the lineups or pregame news look no further.
“Well, I think the first 20 minutes really set the tone on the game and that was disappointing. I think we didn’t start with the ball well, we gave too much space to them, they attacked us a lot with their switch and were dangerous with it” Said Head Coach Marc Dos Santos after the match. Let’s get to the 1st half action.
Crepeau Plays Superman But Can’t Stop Them All
The pace started off fast and furious to open the first half. Vancouver would get a chance after a nice turn by Lucas Cavallini in the 3rd minute. His pass for Deiber Caicedo was just too heavy and ran out of touch for a goal kick. Colorado would get the first shot of the match in the 4th minute and Crepeau had to make a wonderful save. Younes Namli would switch it in the box and Cristian Gutierrez made a bad read. The ball fell right to Andre Shinyashiki but it couldn’t be the Vancouver Keeper but the ball was cleared away from danger.
The first corner of the match would go to the Rapids in the 8th minute. After breaking the press of the Whitecaps they stormed the box with numbers. Namli tried to chip the ball into the box but Janio Bikel was able to head it up. The ball wasn’t out of danger and Ranko Veselinovic was forced to head it out for the corner. The ball was sent into the back post but Andy Rose was able to clear it out for a deep throw and stop the pressure. Things would open up and the Whitecaps would break through the Rapids line.
Cavallini had a great first touch after the ball bounced to him off of Bikel. He was able to get past Danny Wilson and drive towards the net. He stopped driving and decided to try and cut the ball back into the box but it was right at the feet of a trailing Wilson. Colorado would clear and things would stay scoreless as we moved into the 11th minute. Jack Price was down for the Rapids after colliding with Bikel but would be okay to continue. The Rapids would get a dangerous free-kick chance in the 12th minute after a foul by Dajome. Namli and Price would stand over but Price sent it straight into Crepeau.
The Rapids would stay on the front foot with Diego Rubio sending a shot wide of the target in the 14th minute. They would keep it coming and Barrios would pick out Shinyashiki along the right side of the box. He made a much better shot but Maxime Crepeau was able to dive out and stop it before the ball would ricochet back to him. Gutierrez would get beat at the back once again by Shinkyashiki but his volley was weak at Crepeau was able to volley it up and grab it.
Vancouver would hold the ball and work it around before Namli was shown a yellow card in the 17th minute for standing in front of the free-kick. Deiber Caicedo would get sprung past defender Wilson but he too decided to cut it back into the box instead of getting a shot to test William Yarbrough in the 19th minute. This isn’t a typo but Sinkyashiki would get another chance for the Rapids. A free header in the 21st minute but he sent it wide off the far post and looked skyward.
The back and forth play would continue as Caicedo would be gifted a pass right in front. Caicedo would walk around the keeper but the ball was blocked off the line by Danny Wilson. Vancouver was unlucky to not have a 1-0 lead and would regret not taking advantage of their chances. Janio Bikel would foul Namli just outside the box and Rubio would step up and fire one past Crepeau. Colorado had the 1-0 lead at the 26-minute mark after the brilliant strike.
Lucas Cavallini was given a yellow card for a foul on Shinyashiki shortly after the goal. Referee Baldomero Toldeo would go take another look at the play but it was ruled just a yellow despite Cavallini getting his hands up. Vancouver dodged a bullet staying at 11 men. Cava would try and pull one back for the home side off a free-kick. He wasn’t able to get very much on a 32nd-minute header and it was up straight to Yarbrough. Things would settle down to end the first half as Vancouver would hold the majority of possession to end with 55.2% in the half.
The Whitecaps looked more dangerous to end the half. The quality in the final 3rd was lacking once again, as the front 3 of Cavallini, Caicedo and Dajome continued to get more comfortable with each other. Vancouver would get a great chance to tie things in the 41st minute from a corner. Caicedo would send it in a Dajome would get a head on it but Yarbrough was able to react and punch it off the line. An added 3 minutes but Colorado was happy to sit back and go into halftime with the 1-0 lead. Keegan Rosenberry would pick up a yellow for Colorado in the 37th minute for the Rapids.
Colorado Sits Back In The 2nd Half To Hold On To The Lead
No changes for either team to start the second half as Colorado would start off with the ball. After a quick offside Crepeau would send it long but Cavallini was called for the foul. It was a bit questionable and Toledo blew the play down early before Dajome could break-in on the attack. The Rapids would try and get back on the attack in the 49th minute after the stoppage. The ball would run long to Rubio and go out of touch for a Whitecaps throw. Colorado would keep pressing looking for a second goal.
Barrios would drive down the left side and cut into the middle and beat Nerwinski, he curled a shot just wide of the corner and it would stay 1-0. Colorado was allowing Vancouver to hold the ball and looking to pounce on mistakes. As we rolled past the 50th minute the Rapids picked up the press. Nerwinksi tried to get on the end of a ball from Alexandre, but he hesitated his run it was just off the mark. The Whitecaps would show some promise after some nice footwork by Caicedo in the 55th minute.
Vancouver would win a corner off the ensuing rush and Gutierrez would deliver in a great ball into the box. Veselinovic was able to get a glancing header on target but Yarbrough made his best save of the night to clear it off the line. The Whitecaps just couldn’t catch a break and looked to hit a bit of a wall as the second half continued. The Rapids would get another corner in the 60th minute after a nice overlapping run by Sam Vines. Crepeau was able to punch it out before Barrios had his shot from 25 yards blocked by Russel Teibert.
Colorado would almost make it 2-0 in the 62nd minute as Barrios was able to out muscle Nerwinski on a long ball. He cut it back to Rubio but his blast was blocked by Andy Rose. Robin Fraser would make the first sub in the 64th minute bringing on Cole Bassett for Jack Price. Vancouver was about to bring on substitution as well but a throw was taken quickly. The Whitecaps were able to find Caicedo in the box but his shot was deflected out for a corner in the 66th minute. Gutierrez would deliver the ball to the back post and find a wide-open Cristian Dajome but the Columbians header was over the net.
Both teams would make a sub in the 66th minute as Colorado would replace Andre Shinyashiki with Jonathan Lewis. Marc Dos Santos would look for a playmaking spark in the midfield as he would bring on Michael Baldisimo for Janio Bikel. Right away Lewis was able to body past Nerwinski and the ball came to Bassett but his shot was wide of the net. Colorado would continue the attack and Nerwinksi would redeem himself slightly for the Whitecaps. Bassett would look to pick out Lewis at the back post but a diving header was able to clear it out for a corner. Crepeau was able to come off his line and punch out the corner away from danger.
The Whitecaps would bring on two more substitutions in the 70th minute. Jake Nerwinski, who had been struggling was replaced with Bruno Gaspar and an all-Canadian swap, with Ryan Raposo in for Teibert. Vancouver was trying to man long balls that would run out of touch or right to the keeper. They were also leaving themselves far to open on the counter-attack and in the 73rd Minute Crepeau had to come up with another save to keep it 1-0. Rubio would turn nicely and run 4 vs 4 against Vancouver. Gaspar was far too tight and Lewis was able to get a quality shot away. Gaspar was able to clear it out for a corner.
Vancouver was able to clear and hold possession as they looked to get the equalizing goal. A quick turn down the left side by Raposo would lead to a throw-in for the home side. Deiber Caicedo chipped one looking for Gaspar at the back post but it was a bit too short and cleared away by Sam Vines. Things would tick on into the 77th minute with Vancouver trying to cross everything into the box. After holding the ball down in the Rapids zone, Vancouver was able to win a corner kick. The delivery wasn’t great and the Rapids were able to clear the first chance but would give up another corner as we hit the 79th minute.
Baldisimo would step up for the corner and almost score himself with a beautifully dipping ball. Yarbrough had to be very sharp as he would knock it over for another corner kick. This time Gutierrez would deliver it to the front of the box but Toledo would blow his whistle and call a penalty kick. Kellan Acosta hauled down Caio Alexandre and it looked like Vancouver would get a chance to tie things up in the 80th minute. Not so fast as Allen Chapman wanted another look from VAR. After a second look the penalty was called off and the Whitecaps couldn’t seem to catch a break.
Robin Fraser would make his final substitutions in the 83rd minute for Colorado. Drew Moore and Collen Warner would come on in defensive changes for Namli and Barrios. The Rapids would allow Vancouver to hold the ball but it was kept away from the dangerous areas. A foul by Colorado would further slow things down as we got into the 85th minute of the second half. Colorado was happy to lash it downfield or out of touch whenever it came to them. Vancouver would win a free kick in the 86th minute but Guti would send it long past Rose and Veselinovic and out for a goal kick.
Marc Dos Santos would make his final sub in the 89th minute bringing on the newly called-up Academy player. Kamron Habibullah would replace Alexandre to make his MLS debut. He would get a chance to make an impact right away as the Whitecaps had a free-kick to the left of the box. Colorado would clear it away and the 4th official would show 5 added minutes for the second half. The Rapids would try and kill the first couple of minutes before Vancouver could try and tie things up.
Raposo would try and cross it into the box but it was long and past everyone. Lucas Cavallini looked dejected as he kicked the woodwork and time would tick away. Crepeau would be forced to make one more save on a counter-attack off Lewis. Vancouver would try for the last 2 minutes but couldn’t muster anything dangerous and the Whitecaps fall 1-0 to Colorado.
The Whitecaps held 56.9% of possession but once again were not clinical enough in the final third of the pitch. Marc Dos Santos saw it too and spoke about it in the postgame. Michael Baldisimo needs to be on the pitch whenever he can because he is still one of the only Whitecaps able to play steady progressive passes. Let’s hear from the team after the Whitecaps fall 1-0 to Colorado on Sunday, May 2nd.
Post Game Media And Thoughts After The Whitecaps Fall 1-0 To Colorado
Somber as always after a loss head coach Marc Dos Santos addressed the media with his thoughts on the match, “Even if we get a good chance, they still got the goal they deserved based on the first 20 minutes. I still think we created enough to start but it is disappointing because we all wanted to win this game and we wanted to take this opportunity to win this game to get to seven points. Unfortunately, we were short tonight and that’s it. We have to react, we have another important game on Saturday.”
Tonight marked Caio Alexandre’s first start for his new team and MDS was asked about his play tonight, “We tried with Caio to get a player in behind the three forwards that would connect with more with them, to connect more with passes in behind and out wide. Caio had to come too deep to get on the ball and Colorado defended lower. We didn’t get around them enough, our crosses weren’t effective enough, we tried to play through the middle but it wasn’t easy.”
Academy Player Kamrom Habibullah made his MLS tonight after getting the call up to the big team just hours before the match. He didn’t look out of place making a couple of progressive passes in his limited action. Head coach Marc Dos Santos spoke about the play of the Habibullah.
“What’s important is that we all understand the process of development and how you can slowly grow. It’s always going to depend on your growth and who plays in front of you. If Kam came in today, it’s because he’s done things in the preseason and in training to help the team out. I told Kam the steps of what he has to do to be successful with us. He’s a young player that I’m going to protect. Of course, if he came today it’s because he deserved an opportunity to come in today.”
Ranko Veselinovic spoke quickly to the media after the match and I asked about the first 20 minutes and how the team can look ahead to next week. “In the first 20 minutes, we were too open, We were stretched, we started to play their game. That was the deciding factor at the end of the game but we have to be stronger going forward. The league is a marathon. Win or lose, we always have to learn and become better in each game. Next game, we have to be more compact, play better possession, and perform better.”
Maxime Crepeau was last to speak after the match, “I think we are a tight group and we’re doing some progression. We’re making adjustments and doing some progression. Third game into the season, fourth against an MLS side. So we’re still really building on that. So the first three is out of the way, the fourth is coming. The team is having more and more chemistry but we need still to find some passing lane on the ground.”
“We go over the top a lot in this game and then it becomes a little bit predictable. Once we find those lines on the ground, those angles, it gets more difficult for the other team.” He would continue to say.
The Unnamed Moments Of The Match
Only one goal to choose from tonight but there were lots of moments to choose from. VAR almost made things very difficult for the Whitecaps and it was clear that fans are starting to miss their team. Let’s get to The Unnamed Moments Of The Match presented by The Sports Talk Line Network.
The Unnamed Goal Of The Match
The Goal of the match didn’t disappoint… Well for Whitecaps fans it did, I guess. You know what I mean, it was a perfectly taken free-kick by Diego Rubio.
The only goal to get past Maxime Crepeau who made 5 saves on the night but came up one short as the Whitecaps fall 1-0 to Colorado.
The Unnamed Post Game Reaction Of The Match
The first loss of the year for the Whitecaps so I needed to find out the reaction of the fans after this one.
At least it was just one game and only a 1-0 loss. Expect the team to get after it in training this week to rebound after a tough result.
Vancouver Whitecaps And The Sports Talk Line Network
The Whitecaps fall 1-0 to Colorado and fall to 1-1-1 after 3 games. The Rapids move up to 1-1-1 as both teams have 4 points and sit middle of the pack in the MLS Western Conference. Vancouver will train this weekend before they host CF Montreal on Saturday, May 9th at 12:00 pm PST.
Make sure to follow on Twitter @JoshuaGriffih0 for the latest news and updates about the Vancouver Whitecaps throughout the week. Check back into the Sports Talk Line website for more articles about the Whitecaps and everything else sports.
