VANCOUVER, B.C. – Vancouver Whitecaps got back to winning ways at home on Sunday evening, cruising to a comfortable 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
Having already dropped 14 points at BC Place this year, the win was an obvious relief for head coach Carl Robinson, but it was the nature of Vancouver's victory that pleased the Welshman the most.
"There were a lot of good aspects in the game today,” Robinson told reporters after the match. “Scoring goals is one, obviously. But there are a lot of aspects we need to improve upon as well.”
It's only the second time this season that Whitecaps have scored more than two goals in a game. Despite creating numerous chances in matches, the floodgates haven't opened in the goals department, although Robinson always felt it was a matter of time.
"We took out chances today,” he said. “Still probably didn't take enough chances. We could have put the game to bed a lot earlier, but we'll take the three points."
The Whitecaps shared the goals around, with both Mauro Rosales and Kendall Waston getting their first of the season, and Octavio Rivero ending his streak of three games without a goal by grabbing his eighth of the year with a penalty.
Rivero put in an immense shift throughout, linking up well with his fellow Uruguayan Nicolas Mezquida.
"They work a lot together in training," Robinson said of the pair. "When training's finished they hang around together off the field as well. In preseason they had a very good relationship in scoring goals. Different players have different aspects and areas that they're good at.
"Nico plays a little bit closer to Octavio than sometimes Pedro [Morales] does. It worked today and it's credit to both of them and it helped us score a couple of goals."
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Several other results went Vancouver’s way this weekend – allowing the ‘Caps to jump into second place in the Western Conference, two points clear of third-place LA Galaxy – after squandering previous opportunities to give themselves some breathing space following a three-game winless streak coming into the game. The win also gives them a four-point cushion over Seattle heading into next week's Cascadian derby.
"It's a very difficult game for us," Robinson said. "We know they done us in our own backyard last time, which hurt. We'll got there, we beat them at the end of last year in their backyard. On any given day you can beat anyone in this league, as proven.
"A lot of the top teams lost yesterday, and the chasing pack caught up. So it was important. Every week's going to be different, but we know it's going to be a massive battle next game for us, and it's one we really, really look forward to."
