SEATTLE – After starting a season with two losses for the first time in their MLS history, the Vancouver Whitecaps were delighted to finally kick-start their new campaign with their first points of the year in a 2-1 road victory over their Cascadian rivals the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night.
A brace of Pedro Morales penalties did the damage in an assured display, but it was a new-look Vancouver side that took to the CenturyLink pitch, with 'Caps coach Carl Robinson ditching his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in favor of a two-striker system, with MLS veteran Blas Perez getting his first start as a Whitecap.
"I thought Blas Perez was one of the best players on the field," 'Caps coach Carl Robinson told reporters after the game. "I thought he was excellent in his hold-up play and brought leadership into the young team that we have. It gave us a different option and we’ll do that at different times this year.
"I don’t get caught up in formations. It’s about players. If you've got good players, they're able to play in different formations in different games.”
Perez was a nuisance to Seattle all night, earning the match-winning penalty in the 73rd minute. The new formation gave Vancouver the perfect mix of counterattacking play and players to hold up the ball and slow the game down when needed.
"Maybe if we lost today, would you say it's important to play two forwards? I don't know," Morales mused after the game when asked about playing with two strikers. "When you play with two forwards, it's more pleasure for the fans and less chance for [Osvaldo] Alonso to keep the ball sometimes.
"Blas is very important [to us]. Other players are the same, but for this game sometimes you need players to keep the ball and take time when you have the ball."
The 4-4-2 allowed Vancouver to work their trademark counterattacking to perfection. After a couple of lackluster performances to start the season, goalkeeper David Ousted had challenged his teammates to show some more urgency, and he was delighted by the results the new formation brought.
"I asked for urgency and we showed that," Ousted enthused. "We showed over 90 minutes how competitive we can be, and then if we're focused, how tough of a team we are to play against. Now the next task is to get that urgency out every single game."
After two shaky outings so far for the Whitecaps defense this year, Ousted had additional praise for his back line, who returned to their league-leading defensive form of last season in the win.
"It was solid tonight," Ousted said of his defense. "The four guys in front of me did extremely well. We showed why last year we were one of the best defenses in the league. The first two games were a little bit of a transition period for us. Hopefully now we're back to being solid.”
