Rivero shines in disappointing Whitecaps effort

The Vancouver Whitecaps had several causes for concern Saturday – but, for a change, Octavio Rivero wasn’t one of them.

Rivero’s goal in the 52nd minute gave the Vancouver Whitecaps a 1-1 tie with the Houston Dynamo before a sellout crowd of 22,120 at B.C. Place Stadium, sparing the home side a huge embarrassment.

Rivero, who has come under criticism for his lack of offence in two seasons with Vancouver, put home a a rebound off a corner-kick. He helped the Whitecaps (6-6-3) gain at least a share of third place in the Western Conference, pending the results of games later Saturday involving the L.A. Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.

Rivero’s performance was encouraging to see, considering that the 24-year-old Uruguay native has been an enigma since joining the Whitecaps for the start of the 2015 Major League Soccer season. The goal was only his second of the season. Two weeks ago, he was the subject of trade speculation, and he has struggled to stay in the starting 11 when not injured.

“He’ll be delighted with the goal, and I’m delighted for him for the goal, but his all-around performance, I thought, was excellent,” said Whitecaps coach Robinson. “I thought he held the ball up. He was a problem for their two centre backs, who are real good players, and he was a platform for our team to build. I put him in the team today. I left Erik Hurtado out, who’d done very well. I put (Rivero) in the team because he’d trained well. He’d been finishing up a number of training lately and doing extra work because he wants to get better, and that showed in his performance today.”

On the other hand, most of the other Whitecaps were not up to par for much of the game, which saw both teams reduced 10 players following a skirmish between Houston’s Alex and Vancouver captain Pedro Morales, who were sent off shortly before half-time.

The Dynamo, the Western Conference cellar dweller, entered the game deep in the doldrums after coach Owen Coyle parted ways with the club by mutual consent Wednesday. But Houston, which had lost all five of its previous games in Vancouver, controlled play at the start, keeping the ball in the Whitecaps half for about the first 12 minutes. You would never have known that the visitors had lost 10 straight road games.

DaMarcus Beasley gave the Dynamo a 1-0 lead in the 20th when he was allowed to take the ball down the left wing and chip a shot over Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted after eluding central defender Tim Parker’s attempted sliding tackle. Based on where the teams were in the Western Conference standings – Vancouver near the top and Houston at the bottom – the Whitecaps should have had a chance at a romp.

But they only looked good after Rivero’s goal turned their fortunes around.

“Great goal,” said Ousted. “I thought he found the right decision. He struck it perfectly, and I’m happy for the guy for getting that goal. He deserves it. He works so hard in this league. In the second half, he had a number of chances, so I’m happy with that goal.”

From that point on, Vancouver forced Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric to make a number of difficult saves. But Houston also could have won, if not stymied by Ousted.

“I do feel we need to be better on a number of points, especially in the first half,” said Ousted. “We weren’t at the races. But, the second half, we can take a lot away from that performance. The work rate was up to standards, and we had the chances.”

However, even forever-positive Canadian midfielder Russell Teibert was subdued after the comeback draw. The Niagara Falls, Ont., native did not like a reporter’s suggestion that the Caps had squandered two of a possible three points, but he was not about to sugar-coat his team’s effort.

“That would be the negative way to look at it – two points lost,” said Teibert. “The positive of it is one point gained, and that could be a crucial point coming down to the end of the season. But I do agree with you in the sense that three points (are) crucial in a game like this, and we had opportunities to go out and win that game.”

But all things considered, the Caps struggled when they should have controlled the game from the outset against a vulnerable Houston side. The Dynamo’s 10-game road losing streak was part of a longer winless slide that has extended to 15 games, including ties.

“It’s been an interesting week around our camp,” said Wade Barrett, one of three Houston assistant coaches who guided the club against the Whitecaps.

Fortunately for the Caps, Rivero made Saturday’s game much more interesting for the Whitecaps than it could have been. And, he offered some hope of providing even better showings in the future.

 

Japanese star earns kudos in first MLS start

Masato Kudo made his mark Saturday night in his first Major League Soccer start.

The Whitecaps striker was at the centre of the play that led to Vancouver’s controversial 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo at B.C. Place Stadium.

Pedro Morales scored on a penalty-kick in the 23rd minute after Kudo was pushed down from behind by Dynamo defender Jalil Anibaba in the Houston box. Vancouver (2-2-0) posted its second consecutive win, while the Dynamo fell to 1-2-1.

The goal from the PK punctuated a strong opening for Kudo, who was robbed by Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis on a two-on-one with Kekuta Manneh in the 15th minute.

 “I thought (Kudo’s) movement was very good," said Vancouver coach Carl Robinson. “He’ll be disappointed he didn’t score the goal. It was a great bit of link-up play. He usually eats them up in training.”

Kudo, a former Japanese League star, joined the Whitecaps on a free transfer in the off-season. He gave the Whitecaps an offensive spark almost from the get-go. Willis was forced to stop Octavio Rivero on a back-heeled shot in the 12th minute off a pass from Kudo, who made a number of dangerous runs and caused Dynamo coach Owen Coyle fits on the decisive penalty call.

Kudo was fouled while trying to field a cross that was already beyond him.

"That's never a penalty in a million years," said Coyle. "Unfortunately for us, it's been given."

Coyle felt his team dominated after that point, but Kudo helped the Whitecaps control play in the early going as Houston goalkeeper Willis delivered a masterful effort. The Whitecaps were credited with six shots on target in the first half alone.

“It’s hard to sit here having no points in that game, given the level of the performance that we put into the match,” said Coyle. “But there you go. As you know, it can be a very cruel game.”

The timing of international call-ups can also be cruel, as the Whitecaps found out Saturday while playing with a make-shift back line. It contained contained only veteran starter in left back Jordan Harvey and just one natural central defender in Pa-Modou Kah.

Houston’s domination, as Coyle saw it, was probably debatable, although the Dynamo did put a shot off the crossbar and another off the post. The visitors rarely threatened to score until the Whitecaps withstood a free kick from the top of their box and a corner-kick in the closing minutes.

“We’ve got a squad for a reason – to give guys an opportunity to play,” said Robinson. “I think the guys who stepped in did themselves a lot of good.”

Robinson also bolstered his team’s defensive coverage by substituting Sam Adekugbe and Jordan Smith, who are usually defenders, into midfield positions in the second half.

“From Carl’s point of view, we, maybe, wanted to get a bit more of a strong presence in the box with Sam Adekugbe and Jordan Smith,” said goalkeeper David Ousted. “I think that was the idea. We were trying to make sure we didn’t get over-run on the flanks.”

Ousted did not dispute Coyle’s contention that Houston dominated after the controversial penalty-kick. But the Caps goalkeeper only cared about the final result after his team blanked a Dynamo squad that scored 11 goals in its three previous games.

“We kept a clean sheet and won 1-0,” said Ousted. “So, looking at it that way, we did tremendously well.”

Thanks in large part to Kudo’s early exploits.