After four games, the Vancouver Whitecaps have given us two impressive wins and two unfortunate losses. While they still have less success with set pieces than elite teams (hello, LA Galaxy), in no situation have they looked out of place or flat out lost in the wilderness. This despite losing captain Jay DeMerit to a severe leg injury just minutes into the first game. With game five coming up against the San Jose Earthquakes, we at Pucked in the Head offer up our report card for Whitecaps Wednesday.
Goaltending: C+
Martin Rennie surprised a lot of people by giving Joe Cannon the start in four straight to start the season. (Hey, a goaltending controversy in Vancouver — how novel!) After a rocky stretch mid-season last year, 38-year-old Cannon gave up the net to Brad Knighton, a man 10 years his junior. (Is this sounding eerily familiar?) Knighton was one of the few bright spots for the Caps in the last half of the schedule, and many pundits assumed he would be the #1 guy this year. Instead, Cannon changed his winter workout regimen and added some mental toughness to his game. He threw a clean sheet at TFC in the opening match. Despite giving up two goals in successive games, and poor distribution all year, Cannon gets a C+ for decent shot-stopping and a week 5 Save of the Week nomination.
Ball Movement: B
Additions like Nigel Reo-Coker and Daigo Kobayashi have provided Vancouver with drastically improved ball movement in the early going. The Caps are moving the ball with purpose much of the time, and out of desperation much less than in the past. Pair that up with better positioning without the ball, and you threaten to score far more often. One need only look at Gershon Koffie’s season-opening goal against TFC to see evidence of this – six different players touch the ball in quick succession, with each one utilising open teammates well. This looks to be a better season on the scoresheet, for sure.
Finish: B-
The Caps were unlucky not to gain a point in away games against Houston and Chivas USA. Reo-Coker, Kobayashi and Darren Mattocks each skied beautiful opportunities on the lip of the six-yard box. The big man, Andy O’Brien, put a header off the post, then the keeper’s head, then off the post again before the ball was cleared. On another chance, a Caps shot hit both uprights before careening clear of the danger area. When do you hear of a soccer shot hitting both posts, for goodness sake? Even in the first two games (which Vancouver won), Mattocks, Reo-Coker, Kenny Miller and Alain Rochat denied Craig MacEwen numerous chances to say “It’s in the back of the net!” when they missed the goal from close range. On the other hand, three of the team’s goals have been nominated for MLS Goal of the Week, with Kobayashi’s long distance strike against Columbus winning outright. B- to the white and blue, with hopes they can start capitalizing on the gimmes a little more often.
Defending: C+
Losing your top defensive player in the opening half of the season has to take a mental toll. That said, the Whitecaps have a long way to go if they hope to compete on a week-to-week basis with DeMerit. In four games they’ve only managed one clean sheet, and several of the goals against have come as a direct result of poor decisions by the back line. From defender to striker, the team needs to improve their positioning when they don’t have the ball.
Set Pieces: C+
Corners, goal kicks and free kicks have been a weak spot at both ends of the pitch since the Caps inception two years ago. It’s a tricky business to find chemistry when top players are injured, or off on international duty, but that’s something the best teams manage to do. Unfortunately, Vancouver isn’t there yet, and the blame sits squarely upon the coaching staff this year. They have the personnel to have more success on offensive set pieces now, but need to use those resources more effectively. Even after Kobayashi scored his marvelous goal in game two, he sat idly by as Rochat was given the ball on successive free kicks from a similar distance. With increased ball possession this year, the Caps should earn more corners. With improved speed up front, there ought to be more free kicks. Thus far in the season, the Whitecaps have been fair to middling. They haven’t been as dangerous as their opposition when given the whistle. Until the coaching and execution improve, colour them C+.
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