In the end, Toronto was a class above Vancouver. After handing the Whitecaps a crushing 5-2 defeat Wednesday night, Toronto FC lifted the Canadian Championship trophy into Ontario sky. Here are three things we learned from the series.
The Canadian Championship had the potential to salvage the Whitecaps’ season
Whereas this was Toronto’s sixth triumph in the competition, the Whitecaps have now finished runners-up for the seventh time. Losing out on the competition will now have major implications as Toronto, and not Vancouver, will represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Given the Whitecaps’ slim playoff hopes at the moment, lifting a title and qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League had the potential to salvage the season.
Vancouver, after all, seldom dazzled this season. Fantastic displays, like a 4-2 victory over Minnesota United, were to often overshadowed by late disappointments and poor performances.
The Canadian Championship is the Vancouver season in a nutshell. During the first leg, Vancouver gave away a late lead by scoring an own goal.
Then in the second leg, Vancouver was easily dismantled despite playing with its first team, highlighting many of the shortcomings in the Whitecaps setup.
Have the Whitecaps been found out?
In the second leg, Carl Robinson went all in. The head coach elected to start his team in an aggressive 4-2-2-2 attacking setup and even fielded star Alphonso Davies, who had struggled with fitness this week.
While Vancouver needed to win, the aggressive setup made little sense. After all, a 1-0 victory at BMO Field would have been enough.
Furthermore, the Whitecaps struggle playing attacking football. For years the Caps have been drilled to defend deep and hit teams on the counter-attack.
Commonly known as “Robbo Ball,” the setup has seen increasing criticism among the fan base. Robinson, some fans argue, is too one dimensional and unable to change his tactical setup.
Wednesday night’s performance has done little to change that outlook. The Whitecaps tried something new but were quickly thrown into chaos by a Toronto side that explored the wide gaps left in Vancouver’s defence.
Toronto had 60 percent ball possession, outshot the Whitecaps 13 to four (on target) and allowed 14 shots inside the box. Had it not been for goalkeeper Stefan Marinović, the result could have been even worse.
What is next for the Whitecaps?
FiveThirtyEight currently gives the Whitecaps a 29 per cent chance of making the playoffs. It is a big jump from the 14 percent the Caps ahead of beating Portland last weekend.
The Whitecaps will host New York Red Bulls on Saturday. With just ten games left in the regular season, every game is like a final in the race for the playoffs.
With the Canadian Championship final lost, making the playoffs will be imperative to keep an increasingly grumbling fan base quiet.
After all, the biggest success story this season, thus far, has been selling the clubs biggest talent, Davies, to Bayern.