Whitecaps remain a mystery as season begins

The Vancouver Whitecaps gave fans what they wanted in the first half of their 2015 MLS season opener.
In the second half? Not so much.
Sheer excitement turned into utter disappointment in the second half as the Whitecaps fell 3-1 to Toronto FC before a sellout crowd of 21,210 at B.C. Place.
“First half, there was really only one team in it,” said Vancouver coach Carl Robinson. “We could have scored a couple of goals, didn’t, scored one goal. Second half, I think they used their experience to keep the ball, and we just didn’t react right in the second half, so we take it on the chin.”
As a result, the Whitecaps lost an MLS season opener for the first time in five campaigns, while also suffering their first-ever home loss to TFC.
“I actually enjoyed watching it after 45 minutes,” said Robinson. “I’m probably like you. In the second half, I was pulling my little bit of hair that I’ve got left.”
Newcomer Raul Octavio Rivero scored a spectacular goal in the 19th minute as he ran onto a lead ball from defender Pa-Modou Kah and beat Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik with a left-footed strike. The goal made up for a chance earlier when a wide open Rivero stumbled on the ball after running onto it for a clear chance just steps from the net.
The Whitecaps dominated even after Jozy Altidore scored the first of his two goals, in the 32nd minute as he ran on to a through ball in the box and then went around Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted. But, after posting eight attempts on goal in the first half, the Whitecaps managed only five in the second half – while Toronto had 10 and finished with 15 compared to Vancouver’s total of 13.
“They take their chances and we don’t take our chances – and that’s what the game is about,” lamented Robinson. “The game is not about what you do in the middle third. It’s about what you do in the box.”
The outcome was effectively decided when Robbie Findley put in Sebastian Giovinco’s pass from along the goal line in the 59th minute. Altidore’s second goal of the game, which came on a penalty-kick in the 85th minute after Kah took him down with a high tackle in the Vancouver area, was akin to a kick in the gut.
“If I sat here and said to you that I’m going to win every game this year, you’d look at me funny, because we’re not gonna win every game,” said Robinson. “But we’ll try and play the right way, and in the first half, we played the right way. We played the way I wanted to play – an attacking brand of soccer. Second half, we didn’t. It was like we were void of ideas in certain areas.”
Kah could have been more imaginative as he tried to defend Altidore on the the play that led to Altidore’s goal. The Whitecaps centre back disputed the call, contending that Altidore leaned into him, but Kah really did not have much of an argument, considering how high his legs were on Altidore.
He did not refute his team's sub-par play in the final 45 minutes, though.
“In the first half, we played very good,” he said. “We played a high-pressing line. We were winning the balls. But in the second half, we forgot to play which is part of our game. We didn’t play well enough. We allowed them to play, and when you allow teams to play …
“Toronto are quality players, and they will start to play and dominate. I think we let ourselves down, because we didn’t finish our chances in the first half.”
Accordingly, Kah took little consolation from his assist on Rivero’s goal.
“I’m delighted that I did assist, but for me that doesn’t count – because we didn’t win the game,” said Kah.
Robinson said teams learn much more from a loss than a win, and he will have plenty of things to consider, including: A supposedly high-powered offence that quickly became anemic, poor passing that he cited as a concern and the failure of players to link up effectively as Vancouver attempted to move forward.
Captain Pedro Morales was off form, Kekuta Manneh showed flashes of brilliance as he attempted to run at players with the ball – but had no teammates to dish it off to. Meanwhile, Vancouver's midfield was out of sync, Rivero became obscure after his early heroics and three Vancouver substitutions generated little in the way of energy or scoring chances.
But, fortunately, the Whitecaps, who returned to the playoffs last season after a one-year absence, have 33 more games to get things right. Canadian international midfielder Russell Teibert said the Caps strayed from the things they do well – making good passes, creating scoring chances and being clinical in the final third of the pitch, but he is willing to be patient.
“We can break down teams,” said Teibert. “We showed that in the first half we can do it at will, and we dominated in the first half of the game. Those are all positive things. If we can do that over the course of 90 minutes, we’ll give ourselves a good chance (to win.)”
But until they can do so consistently, the 2015 edition of the Whitecaps will remain a mystery without a good ending.