For the second straight game, a depleted Vancouver Whitecaps side managed to salvage a point despite going down by two goals.
On Saturday, the Caps were down by two goals after 20 minutes. And on Wednesday the Whitecaps were down by two goals after 59 minutes and still came back.
Fredy Montero’s goal-scoring woes continue
The Vancouver Whitecaps were out-shot 26 to 12. Furthermore, the Whitecaps managed to block ten shots taken inside the box.
It was Fredy Montero who had the two biggest opportunities in the first 45 minutes. The striker, however, has struggled all season when it comes to scoring from open game plays.
Only two of Montero’s six goals going into this game have come from open play with the Colombian scoring the other four from the spot-kick. Then with the second half just moments old, the striker missed the third chance — at this point, the Colombian should have had a hat-trick.
Whitecaps finally find the killer pass
Thankfully for Montero and the Whitecaps, Marc Dos Santos’ men found two goals despite the Colombian’s goal-scoring struggles.
Down 2-0, Yordy Reyna managed a beautifully curled effort from inside the box to beat FC Dallas keeper Jesse González. That goal was important because it highlighted that the Whitecaps can find the net from open play.
Leading up to the goal, Jon Erice played a ball to Lucas Venuto that sliced open Dallas’ entire back-line. With that pass, Erice highlighted his worth to the team as he only missed three passes and had a game-high 11 passes into the final third.
The Venuto goal was more important for #VWFC. But the Yordy Reyna strike was a thing of beauty! pic.twitter.com/qDZzwZVPuT
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) June 27, 2019
Vancouver’s second goal, in the meantime, came in extra time courtesy of a fantastic outside the box strike by Venuto.
Once again, it was an open play goal. This time the Whitecaps pressed high to win the ball and from that turnover produced the goal.
With 45.03 passes per 90 minutes to the final third, the Whitecaps rank third from bottom in the entire MLS. Only the Colorado Rapids (44.59) and DC United (44.57) have managed fewer passes in the league.
It is, therefore, no surprise that the Whitecaps are in the market for a play-maker.
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Brendan McDonough handed first MLS start
Meanwhile, in defense the Caps have depth. With Doneil Henry and Derek Cornelius representing Canada at the Gold Cup, and Jasser Khemiri injured, Vancouver coach Marc Dos Santos pulled out a bit of a surprise on Wednesday.
“For the Dallas game, I don’t expect much rotation,” Dos Santos said. Hence, it was expected that Dos Santos would pretty much start the Colorado lineup on Wednesday night.
But the Whitecaps head coach had observers fooled. Because the head coach opted to hand the club’s first round 2019 MLS SuperDraft pick Brendan McDonough his first ever start for the Caps.
The 22-year-old had a solid game. Playing 66 minutes, McDonough managed to complete 92.1% of his passes and won three out of his four duels.