It’s only one game so far but ...
Rebuilt Whitecaps roster was on full display in winning Sunday’s opener
Remember: it’s just one game, so none of this matters. But also remember: we’re here to talk sports, so here are three things of note from the Whitecaps’ 2-1 win over the Montreal Impact on Sunday at home.
Wow, the Whitecaps didn’t get murdered in possession.
At the end of the game, possession sat 50.4 per cent in Montreal’s favour. As the trailing team, it’s not surprising that the Impact finished the day having slightly more of the ball, but that also tells us that, for much of the game, the Caps had more of it than did their opponents.
That’s a far cry from what we saw in 2017, when the Caps were consistently in the low 40s in posses- sion percentage. They were playing a counterattacking game, while looking for set pieces to dominate.
If tighter possession numbers is to be a trend for 2018, you can already see how they’re going to do it.
Efrain Juarez was everywhere against Montreal in midfield, and both Felipe and Jordon Mutch come with reputations as good central midfield engines.
In defensive midfield, Russell Teibert put in one of his best shifts in a very long time, standing in for the injured Aly Ghazal.
They aren’t creative wonders, but they definitely could bring a different shape to what Carl Robinson has trotted out in the last few seasons.
Wow, the Whitecaps started more Canadians than Americans.
Three Canadians got the start on Sunday: Teibert, left back Marcel de Jong and left winger Alphonso Davies.
Both de Jong and Davies look set to pile up the minutes this season, while Teibert will likely get a good run to start the year until Ghazal comes back (and then maybe again in June, when the Egyptian hopes to be at the World Cup).
Only two Americans started: Jake Nerwinski and Aaron Maund, though both Kendall Waston and Kei Kamara hold American green cards and are thus counted as “American” domestic players by MLS.
Who says the Whitecaps hate Canadians?
Wow, Kamara’s goal was much better than the last headed ball on goal of last season.
It was a pretty stunning goal, one which opened up what had been a pretty tight game to that point.
That’s what Kamara is paid to do. The big striker was everywhere in his first game for the Caps.
Like Fredy Montero, his work rate is astounding. Unlike Montero, he’s got tremendous size, and with the Whitecaps pumping more balls than ever into the box, you can see what they’re hoping will be the end result.
Now, do you remember the last headed goal of 2017?
It was a similar header, but from further out ... and by Christian Bolanos.
Is this foreshadowing what’s to come in 2018?
We’ll check back.