I don’t think it’s much of a secret that the Whitecaps are in a dogfight to extend their season. Yet if you were to judge the urgency of their situation on in-game performance alone, you’d have to wonder if the players’ copy of the memo ended up in the shredder.
This team had plenty of reasons to come out with intensity against the Portland Timbers. Let us review, briefly.
-With just a single win in their past eight, the team was still miraculously in control of their playoff destiny.
-An absolutely dismal performance last week versus Real Salt Lake’s B-team should have been enough to inspire the squad for a better result.
-It was an opportunity to secure their first victory versus the Portland Timbers.
-A result here would have also gone a long way to bringing home the team’s first Cascadia Cup since entering MLS.
Granted, the game started well enough for the boys in white. They controlled most of the play through the first 30 minutes and didn’t give up much. Except, they didn’t generate a whole lot either.
Normally, this would be fine. The Whitecaps have had difficulty finding offense early in games and the performance on the pitch early on Sunday was a positive sign. But at this stage of the game, it just isn’t enough.
Heck, I would have been happy if they could have maintained equilibrium through to half time. But 30 minutes was about all we got to see before the unraveling began. There were missed assignments and a handful of giveaways before Darlington Nagbe struck the ball past an outstretched Ousted in the 41st minute.
The Timbers would carry that lead deep into the 2nd half until Camilo decided to end his disappearing act and pull a rabbit out of his hat instead. Before the show-stopping encore, Camilo snapped himself out of his comatose state by pulling the Caps level with a fabulous free kick in the 76th minute.
The ball took a Vancouver bounce and had just enough English on it to find it’s way into the onion bag past a diving Donovan Ricketts.
Moments later, Will Johnson quieted the BC Place crown in a hurry, slotting the ball past David Ousted in the 77th minute.
It was a stunning two minutes of play that would only be outdone by the following 60 seconds. The infamous 78th minute.
An otherwise uninspired and unimpressive match from the Brazilian striker will be completely overshadowed by a staggering goal in the 78th minute.
Darren Mattocks, the steadiest Cap on the day, played the ball through the box after a quality run down the left flank.
Y-P Lee flicked the ball back in to Camilo, who pulled off a sensational side scissor-kick volley to bring the Caps back to level.
The marker will surely win Goal of the Week and is a serious contender (front-runner) for Goal of the Year.
Had it not been in such dire circumstances, I would have argued that it was a rather unfortunate goal. A dreadful outing, for which he should have to answer to, will now be remembered for a brief moment of greatness.
It doesn’t excuse Camilo’s first 60 minutes of robotic play. One can’t help but wonder how different the result could have been had the Magician decided to show up for the entire 90 minutes.
All told, the Caps were a little unlucky not to have gained 3 points at the conclusion of the game. Donovan Ricketts made several top-notch saves, some nearly as remarkable as Camilo’s second goal. His efforts ensured the game would remain deadlocked at 2 after making an absolutely sparkling stop on a late Kekuta Manneh drive from twenty yards out.
The lone bright spot in all of this is the opportunity for redemption. What was a disappointing result at home in Vancouver cannot be repeated tonight in Seattle, where the stakes are even higher.
The Whitecaps can still reach the post-season. The Whitecaps can still earn their first piece of hardware in MLS. The Whitecaps can still show us they are invested in this season.
Sure, they can. It remains to be seen if they will.