'Caps crumble in second half, lose to Sounders

The Vancouver Whitecaps gave their fans plenty to talk about this week, giving up a pair of second half goals and falling to the Seattle Sounders 3-2 in front of a massive crowd of over 50,000.

The Whitecaps seemed to be caught off guard to start the match, as the Sounders had the early opportunities and possession. Just five minutes into the match, DeAndre Yedlin's cross almost found Obafemi Martins, but the towering striker couldn't get his head on it.

Just four minutes later, it was Midfielder Andy Rose opening the scoring, sending a low shot past Brad Knighton. The lead was short lived though, as Canadian Russell Teibert would strike back roughly one minute later. Teibert chased a ball down almost until the backline, until he was able to lift a cross high into the air, near the back post. There, a wide open Camilo waited, then headed home his fourth goal of the season, giving Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning absolutely no chance to make a save.

Seattle came storming back, with Lamar Neagle actually beating YP Lee one on one while busting towards the net. While he came out front, he tried a cheeky shot that just missed the far post.

At 26', the deadly combination of Camilo and Teibert would strike again. Teibert took a free kick, while Camilo was able to get past the man marking him, Lamar Neagle. Camilo dove out, just getting his head on the ball and sending it into the net for the 2-1 lead. For a club that has had major struggles on the road, the Whitecaps were playing with the swagger and confidence of a first place club. It was easily one of the most exciting halves of the season for the boys from Van City.

While the Sounders would push for the equalizer late, it was Reo-Coker with the best chance of the final first half minutes. At 47', Reo-Coker surged forward, the backline for the Sounders parting like the red sea. Unfortunately, Reo-Coker couldn't decide when to shoot, and the end result was a block that went out of play.

That would be the half, as the Whitecaps would look to carve out a second straight come from behind victory on the road.

THE SECOND HALF

Hey, remember that Alain Rochat trade? Remember when I said if there was one injury on the back line, the Whitecaps could be sunk? Well, at 62', that nightmare was realized when Andy O'Brien, easily the Whitecaps best defender on the season, went down with a hamstring injury and needed to leave the match. Yes, the decision to trade Rochat almost immediately bit Martin Rennie on the ass, prompting the twitterverse to send out a slew of sarcastic, anti-Rennie tweets.

Ten minutes previous, Seattle almost earned a penalty from a horrible Jun-Marques Davidson challenge in the box. Despite the fact it was OBVIOUSLY, TOTALLY in the box, the official decided it was not and the 'Caps dodged a bullet. It didn't last.

In any case, Seattle would make the Whitecaps weak backline, complete with Jordan Harvey and Greg Klazura, pay with a pair of second half goals. Of course, it would be replacement Greg Klazura sparking the Sounders comeback, with an unforgivable challenge on Neagle, giving Seattle a penalty. Servando Carrasco took the penalty, beating Brad Knighton with a great shot. Knighton guessed right on his leap, but Carrasco's shot was unstoppable.

At 81', the Sounders would finally put the Whitecaps out of their misery. Obafemi Martins in deep gave a perfect pass to a salivating Neagle, who easily put the ball in the net for the 3-2 lead. Rennie would wait until the final minutes of the match before putting a substitution in, finally putting Kekuta Manneh in for Jun-Marques Davidson. At 90', Daigo Kobayashi went in for Matt Watson. Both players did very little, and the Whitecaps would fall 3-2, on the road, against the Seattle Sounders. No Cascadia Cup points. No second straight road win. Just poor asset management by a clueless manager, and another week of disappointment. It's alright though; I think we're all used to it.