Whitecaps can’t find comfort at home
The Whitecaps want to make B.C. Place a fortress. But hold off on the moat and alligators — they’re still working on the walls.
Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders dropped the Caps’ home record to 3-3-1 this MLS season.
They’re 3-3-2 if you count Wednesday’s drab tie against the NASL’s Edmonton Eddies in the first leg of the Canadian championship semifinal.
Vancouver’s battling for first overall in MLS because they’re 3-1-1 on the road, where they can use their grit and a gaggle of counter-attacking weapons to frustrate teams and find points.
They’ve only allowed one goal away from B.C. Place.
At home, though, despite all their firepower, they’ve ended games unhappy and elated in equal parts.
“We haven’t found the balance yet — we haven’t found the consistency yet,” said goalkeeper David Ousted, who was beaten twice by Chad Barrett, both excellent finishes.
“We really want to put on a show for the fans. But we need to find that balance and look at how we can get better.”
You could interpret that comment as meaning the Caps — in the name of entertainment — can’t just throw numbers forward at the risk of giving up something silly.
And that’s one way to look at what happened in the opening minutes on Saturday, although there was an element of luck in the ball landing right at Clint Dempsey’s feet before he picked out Barrett.
The Caps also paid for being too open against Columbus in April — a fun 2-2 tie — but there have been other factors in giving up points at home. It’s not so simple to pinpoint their home struggles.
They paid a heavy price for wasting a ton of first-half chances in their season opener against Toronto, so that was simply down to finishing.
And the red card to Matias Laba was their undoing in a 2-1 loss to D.C. United last month.
“It’s not a trend we want to continues,” said fullback Steven Beitashour. “We want to play in front of our crowd. They’re so supportive and so loud and get behind us.”
But, at least for now, perhaps a trip to Denver is just what the Caps need.