The Vancouver Whitecaps, for the second time in as many games, got off to an incredibly bright start and then got pummelled in the second half, dropping a 2-1 decision to the San Jose Earthquakes.
Vancouver’s first 30 minutes were fantastic. We once again saw how the Christmas tree formation, which puts a lot of players in the centre of the park, made it very hard for the opposition to build out of the back. Interestingly, Andres Cubas was stepping out of the midfield three to press Gruezo. This scheme lead directly to Vancouver’s goal with Cubas forcing a bad pass and a quick combination between Schopf and Gressel resulting in an easy goal.