Saturday's win over Real Salt Lake was one of those games that the Whitecaps simply had to win if they wanted to keep pace with those around them.
They were up for the challenge and with the way other results in the West went, it could have an important part to play in the Caps quest to host at least one playoff game this season.
Seattle's last ditch lost at San Jose leaves Vancouver sitting joint third and two wins in the next two games would give us at least third place on our own and open up a little gap over both the Sounders and Galaxy.
This Saturday’s Cascadia Cup clash just got that bit more tastier.
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It was a strange performance on Saturday.
Vancouver probably played better in Salt Lake, but came away empty handed. That said, this was a comfortable 2-1 victory for the Caps, even though they didn’t look at their best.
Some players were more prominent away from home and Barry Robson was a prime example of that. He ran the show at Rio Tinto and everything was going through him. This time though he was more ineffectual, either as a result of being closed down more or a plan by Rennie to go through other means.
You never really felt that the Whitecaps weren't going to get the result. RSL just didn't really seem at the races and only when they scored very late on did you wonder if they could storm back and take a point.
It could all have been very different if Saborio's first half header was just a few more inches to the right, but you still have to think that the Caps would have fought back.
Once again Vancouver were a team of two halves. Whether by plan or by the play of the opposition, the Caps only looked truly dangerous in the second half. It’s becoming the norm.
Darren Mattocks seems to struggle to have a good ninety minutes and always seems reinvigorated after Martin Rennie's half time team talks.
If he gets the goals and assists that help us win, we can take that, but at some point he needs to either step up or take a little rest.
He'll get that rest from the Caps at least on Wednesday as he heads off to play for Jamaica in a friendly.
The Caps were already going to be missing five players to international duty on Wednesday (as we discussed in our <a href="http://metronews.ca/voices/all-caps-the-vancouver-whitecaps-blog/332996/away-from-the-numbers-international-call-ups-not-friendly-to-whitecaps/" target="_blank"><b>Metro column</b></a> this week), and now they will also be missing Gershon Koffie through suspension and possibly Jay DeMerit after his head knock.
Of the Jamaican duo that will be missing, I think we're actually going to miss Dane Richards more than Mattocks.
Richards has been a revelation since he made the move to Vancouver. We knew he was talented but he’s really been turning it on for the Caps and Saturday was another example.
He covered a lot of that pitch and is proving a handful to every defence. They know he’s going to do a speed burst, but there’s not much you can do to stop it (legally). The fact that he has a cool and accurate finish in his locker just makes him dangerous both inside and outside of the box. He’s proving to be a magnificent pick up.
Another player putting in one hell of a shift these days is Camilo.
A few weeks ago Martin Rennie said it was like having a new player the way the Brazilian had been playing. The last few games have shown that, as he tracks back to defend and do it well.
Saturday showed something else different for Camilo. The selfishness he has been criticised for in the past was gone. We hope not temporarily either.
The Camilo of old would have shot on goal and not set up Richards for what proved to be the match winner.
I just thought his all round game was fantastic and the departures of Chiumiento and Hassli has rejuvenated him. He was given his chance of reclaiming a regular starting berth and he grabbed it with both hands and he’s going to be a key player for the Caps going in to the playoffs.
Martin Rennie was asked post-game what he felt the difference was between the loss two weeks ago and the win this weekend. The defence was the prime factor.
They looked far more solid and Brad Knighton proved once again what a great back up he is to Joe Cannon. And whenever the veteran does decide to hang up his boots, the Caps goalkeeping future looks to be in safe hands.
We didn’t seem to miss Jay DeMerit one bit when he went off, which bodes well for our central defensive cover down the line.
I thought Andy O’Brien had an excellent debut, even more so when you consider his mind wasn’t really in game mode.
To come in after just four days training and marshal the defence so well gives an indication that he could be a great pick up for Vancouver. There didn’t seem to be too many communication issues with Martin Bonjour and we even noticed a few times that Bonjour was giving instruction to O’Brien and he made the necessary changes, and vice versa.
It’s all looking pretty good but obviously we can never be complacent in such a tight league.
Galaxy destroying Chivas gives us a chance to really separate the top five from the rest if we can do the same against Dallas.
It’s not going to be easy with the missing personnel, but Dallas will be missing key players too like Brek Shea and Julian de Guzman.
San Jose look to be running away with the top seeding but the 2nd to 5th seedings are all very much still there for anyone’s taking.
At this moment in time, I’m not too bothered which position Vancouver finish. I just want us to avoid LA in the first and second rounds. My money is on them finishing second by the end of the season so a 4th place finish for us might not be too at all.
It’s all about to start to get very close and interesting indeed.
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<b><u>AFTN 3-2-1:</u></b>
It's one of those games you really want where there are a number of player vying for the points. Went back and forth a couple of times with this but eventually settled for the following:
3 points - CAMILO SANVEZZO (Really getting back to his best form from last season and covering a lot more of the pitch than he ever did before)
2 points - DANE RICHARDS (Was the more dangerous and lively of our Jamaican duo and put in some shift on both sides of the pitch, as his chalkboard shows)
1 point - ANDY O'BRIEN (Giving him the one for doing so well and coming in when he wasn't fully prepared or expecting to get the call. Looked solid and organised the back well)
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