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TSN Soccer Analyst

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The Vancouver Whitecaps picked up their second consecutive road victory on Saturday, defeating the expansion team Orlando City SC 1-0 with a stoppage time goal from Octavio Rivero. Here are five things that stood out from the game:

Are we being too critical of Pedro Morales?

I said earlier this week on the TSN FC podcast that I felt I was being overly critical of the Whitecaps skipper, Pedro Morales. The reason I’ve been critical is because I know what a good player he is and I expect him to play up to his potential for 90 minutes in every game – something he only seems able to do at BC Place.

Against Orlando, it was another subdued performance from Morales. He did not dominate the game and he didn't pull the strings in midfield; that honour fell to Orlando’s star player, Kaka. However, the two best chances of the game both came from the boot of Morales.

The first, a sublime defence-splitting pass that released Octavio Rivero in alone on goal, was classic Morales. The timing and weight of the pass was superb and, if not for the hulking figure of Donovan Ricketts in Orlando’s goal, Rivero would have opened the scoring then.

The second was the free kick delivery that was masterfully flicked home by Rivero deep into stoppage time. Credit has to go to the striker for contorting his body to head the ball beyond Ricketts, but once again Morales demonstrated just what a threat he is from dead ball situations.

It isn’t as though Morales is failing to impact the game when the Whitecaps are on the road – clearly he is. Perhaps, we’ve just been spoiled by some of his displays at BC Place over the last year. I, for one, will be tempering my expectations so long as Morales continues to produce moments of brilliance that put the Whitecaps in positions to score away from home.

Carl Robinson has a difficult decision to make next week

Does he re-instate Pah-Modou Kah into his back four for the game against Portland next Saturday or does he continue with Diego Rodriguez in Kah’s place?

Rodriguez was outstanding against Orlando, and I showed a clip of his defensive play during the half-time show that perfectly illustrated his proficiency. After a Morales turnover, Kaka burst forward looking to get the ball played to him in behind Rodriguez. The Brazilian wouldn’t get close to the ball.

Rodriguez simply absorbed Kaka’s run, as if telling the superstar, “Here you go, climb in to my pocket, I’ve got lots of room for you," then intercepted the pass and played out of the back. It was a play that I like to call “proper defending."

It is such a rarity to see players who love to defend (and who happen to be good at it), but Rodriguez is such a player. It is easy to see what Robinson and the coaching staff saw in him that tempted them to bring him to Vancouver, but whether he stays in the team next week is a difficult decision for Robinson.

He left Pah-Modou Kah back in Vancouver to spare the veteran the lengthy trip to Orlando and the 90 minutes in the heat – with a view to playing Kah against his former club, Portland, next week. If Robinson decides to stick with Rodriguez, it compromises his relationship with Kah. If Robinson decides to go with Kah, he will have to have a difficult conversation with Rodriguez as to why the 24-year-old is being left out. Whatever his decision, this is a challenging situation that I expect Robinson will meet head on.

Kekuta Manneh could be facing a suspension

Whitecaps speedster, Kekuta Manneh, was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Aurelien Collin in the 65th-minute. Make no mistake about it – Manneh should have been sent off.

The youngster left his feet and extended both legs forward, launching himself into a classic two-footed challenge on Collin – who was rightly livid when referee Jorge Gonzalez only showed Manneh a yellow card. (As an aside, I thought Gonzalez was excellent on Saturday. He let the game flow and, handed out yellow cards for persistent infringement when needed - something that needs to be done more often - and otherwise officiated the game extremely well. But on Manneh’s challenge, I suspect he failed to see that Manneh tackled with both feet.)

The league’s Disciplinary Committee does not usually issue supplemental discipline if the referee has issued a yellow card, however, if the Committee is unanimous in its decision that the foul is a “clear and unequivocal red card” and that “the play in question is of an egregious or reckless nature, such that the Committee must act to protect player safety or the integrity of the game”, then the Committee can hand out a red card and subsequent suspension.

In Manneh’s defence, I think he was simply frustrated at his inability to impact the game in his usual fashion and made a rash challenge. I don’t believe that he has a nasty bone in his body and his previous disciplinary record, which is by no means excessive, may work in his favour.

Matias Laba is the best defensive midfielder in MLS

This is an opinion shared by many Whitecaps fans (and probably by a few Toronto FC fans, as well!) but Matias Laba is like a well-kept secret south of the border.

Very few pundits in the U.S. mention Laba’s name when naming the top defensive midfielder in MLS; they instead choose the likes of Real Salt Lake’s Kyle Beckerman or the Seattle Sounders’ Osvaldo Alonso. I’d take Laba over either of those players every day of the week and twice on a Sunday.

He does the simple things that never get highlighted so well, like tracking runs beyond the back four when the Whitecaps get caught in transition. He is tidy in possession, rarely forces a pass when it isn’t on and is always a passing option for defenders looking to move the ball into midfield – something that is vastly underappreciated.

Laba is like a well-trained dog; he will do exactly what you instruct him to do and won’t make a fuss about it. He knows what his job is and just goes out and does it, week in, week out.

If the Whitecaps’ central defenders aren’t already wise to this, they should pay attention: If you communicate to Laba and keep him on a tight leash in front of you, you can play the game in flip-flops because you’ll never have to do anything – Laba will do it all for you by cutting out every threat before it gets anywhere near your penalty area.

David Ousted earned the Whitecaps three points on Saturday

With the game looking destined to end in a scoreless draw late in the game, David Ousted produced a moment of brilliance to defy Orlando substitute, Cyle Larin. Put through on goal, Larin tried to round Ousted, only for the big Dane to get down and smack the ball away with his gloved hand.

Ousted had very little to do against Orlando, but when it mattered most, he delivered a top-notch save. There is a reason he led the league in shutouts last season and he has started this season where last season left off, picking up two clean sheets in three games.

It is a widely held belief in football that a top-class goalkeeper is worth 10-15 points per season. Ousted certainly deserves credit for the Whitecaps picking up six points on the road over the last week.

Up next for the Whitecaps is a Cascadia derby at home against the Portland Timbers on Saturday, live on TSN1 at 8pm et/5pm pt.