Another stirring Whitecaps comeback, but another poor draw at home

Davide Chiumiento

Vancouver Whitecaps home matches at Empire Field continue to unfold like basketball games — that is, they boil down to the final seconds. Once again, the cardiac kids struck late.

Davide Chiumiento’s 90th minute cross into the San Jose penalty area eluded a series of charging Whitecaps and, more importantly, keeper Jon Busch. The ball nestled in the corner of the goal, giving the Whitecaps a 1-1 draw with the Earthquakes. With three Whitecaps coming at him, Busch couldn’t try to come out to cut off the cross. He stayed back, anticipating one of the onrushing attackers to make contact. But, the last thing he expected was for the cross to simply hold its line. He was caught in no man’s land as the ball went in.

In stoppage time, Camilo had a point-blank shot on goal to win it for the Whitecaps; and only a block from Quakes defender Ike Opara saved San Jose from leaving Vancouver with nothing.

Once again, a wild finish at Empire Field has led to a… draw. It has been exciting stuff to watch, it has made the Whitecaps the great entertainers of the Canadian soccer scene, but they do take the spotlight away from more serious questions. Can the Whitecaps actually turn some of these rousing performances into wins, not draws? This is a club, after all, that hasn’t won an MLS match since its home opening 4-2 win over Toronto.

This is a team that fell behind 3-0 to Sporting Kansas City and fought back. It played poorly in the first half of Wednesday’s match-up against the Quakes. Between the Quakes and SKC, you get two total wins. One apiece. These aren’t great teams. There has been lack of discipline and suspect defending. But these rousing finishes leave the patrons with smiles on their faces, even though, by being unbeatable AND un-draw-able at home, the Portland Timbers are establishing that they are the better of the expansion bunch… by quite a bit.

San Jose’s goal came because the Whitecaps failed in numerous attempts to make the simple play in order to ease the pressure. Twice, the usually reliable Terry Dunfield tried to pass the ball out of the danger area rather than thump it into safety. On both occasions, the Earthquakes picked off the ill-advised passes. After the second mistake, Brad Ring launched a shot on goal that Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly did well to parry away. But Ryan Johnson collected the ball and rifled a low cross that Chris Wondolowski, last season’s top scorer in MLS, deflected in.

So, rejoice that the Whitecaps are giving full value for the entertainment dollar, Appreciate the Chiumiento is not only the Whitecaps’ best player, he’s one of the best playmakers in MLS. Feel relieved that defender Jay DeMerit was able to end his absence due to injury with an appearance as a sub on Wednesday.

But a look at the standings, where Vancouver has just eight points out of 10 games, is a reminder that, while the comebacks are nice, they shouldn’t take away from the fact that you should be disappointed to only draw the likes of SKC and the Earthquakes at home.