Issue #13 - Everything's Fine
Whitecaps FC triumph in a wild week, overcoming illness for a 3-0 win against Seattle!
Hello!
Raise your hand if this past week of Whitecaps FC news had you ride a rollercoaster of emotion?
We went from wondering how many ‘Caps would be healthy enough to play, domestically & internationally, to watching a dominant 3-0 victory against a Cascadia rival.
Everything’s fine, eh?
The View
Just as I was clicking send on last week’s newsletter (a day late… my bad), word was starting to leak out that many Whitecaps FC players and personnel were dealing with a serious gastrointestinal illness that came to light on the trip home Mexico.
With so many players ill, questions arose whether the match against Seattle this past Sunday would go ahead. And as the squad cancelled multiple days of training, the presumption was cancellation was the only path forward.
But as we know, the MLS is gonna MLS.
In fairness, I have nothing to back up my claim the MLS elected to force the match to happen. But going into the weekend, the Whitecaps FC had 18 players listed as out or questionable - 1 injured (Ryan Gauld), 9 on international duty (Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekugbe, Jayden Nelson, Brian White, Sebastian Berhalter, Pedro Vite, Andres Cubas, Guiseppe Bovalina, and Tate Johnson), and 8 questionable due to illness (Jeevan Badwal, Tristan Blackmon, Isaac Boehmber, Édier Ocampo, Ralph Priso, Emmanuell Sabbi, Bjørn Inge Utvik, and Ranko Veselinović).
Forgive me for being incredulous that Vancouver would find a means to dress a squad that didn’t include members of the various Supporters Groups.
Now it’s important that in taking shots at the MLS we also recognize they granted a couple “wishes” to help the ailing club by - they allowed four additional short-term contract signings (7 WFC2 players were signed) and also allowed two “cooling” breaks during the match (it wasn’t hot… but… y’know).
Anywho, going into the match on Sunday I was concerned. My hope was whatever side Jesper could patch together could potentially hold the Sounders to a draw, and I’d be ecstatic. Better yet, maybe they’d score a cheeky goal and park the bus through to the end.
Again, nothing to worry about. Everything’s fine.
The starting XI we saw dressed in blue & white was pretty much the lineup we would have expected had everyone been healthy.
And while it was clear a few players were huffing and puffing - I’m looking at you Bjørn Inge Utvik - beyond weathering an early press from Seattle, Vancouver controlled much of the play in both halves (considerably more when Seattle went down two players).
The two red cards aside (more on that below), and the subsequent two goals from Daniel Ríos (an absolute golazzo) and Damir Kreilach (on a penalty that Sabii REALLY wanted to take), it was Jeevan Badwal’s goal in the first half that had me thinking the Whitecaps were going to see it through.
The Good
Jeevan Badwal. Local kid scores his first career MLS goal. He also acquitted himself well throughout the match.
The Not So Good
Gastrointestinal illnesses. They blow. Literally and figuratively.
Around the Pitch
DOGSO. Properly known as “denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity” where a player can be sent off depending on the type of DOGSO infraction committed.
If you happen to be a fan of the Seattle Sounders, you likely took issue with both red cards issued in the match. And if you happen to be a fan of the Whitecaps FC, not so much.
For the sake of clarity, I agreed with both decisions from the view of my seat in 231. Yes I’m a biased Whitecaps FC supporter. Yet I also possess what I think is a good understanding of the considerations that go into any DOGSO call.
So what are they?
Distance - how close to the attacking goal was the incident?
Direction - was the attacker headed towards goal?
Defender - how many defenders, who could make a fair challenge, are between the attacker and goal?
Control - does the attacker have active control or will gain control?
For a DOGSO to be considered, all four of these considerations must be met. Only three? It isn’t DOGSO.
In both incidents, I feel it’s extremely fair to state that considerations Distance, Direction, and Control were met. And with the Nouhou foul, it was clear he was the “last man back” (why he felt the need to foul Laborda though?!).
The contentious call was the one on Jon Bell only 3 minutes after the Nouhou red. I’ve heard a number of people - Whitecaps FC & Sounders supporters alike - suggest it was a “soft” call. And a few others suggested that even if the foul is called, Bell was not the “last man back” and therefore it cannot be DOGSO.
Going back to the consideration of Defender, we have to recognize the Laws of the Game don’t use the words “last man back” and instead simply refer to the number of attackers. If you happen to watch the replay, it’s clear - soft or not - that Bell fouls Sabbi just outside the penalty area. And while there is a defender to the side, that defender is two to three meters away and unlikely to challenge the attacker fairly.
So all four considerations are met.
Now if you want to debate the “softness” of the foul itself, that’s fine. Yet any foul that gets called in that situation - soft or not - goes through the four considerations of DOGSO.
The Whitecaps head out on the road to take on Columbus this Saturday. And while they’ll likely be “healthier,” there will still be a fair number of players away on international duty so expect to see another test of depth.
I also want to give a shoutout to Bird who stopped by pre-match to say hello! If you happen to be in the stadium and care to stop by and do the same, you know what section you can find me in. 😀
From my seat to your browser!
If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing on social media or forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much! ❤️
-Chris (@lyteforce.ca)