Obviously, other mistakes were made along the way Saturday as Vancouver, once again, squandered a chance to put away FC Dallas in the in the playoff race once and for all.
Passes and traps were missed that might have led to chances, chances that might have been converted to pull away from the eventual 0-0 draw Saturday with Seattle at BC Place. Runs off the ball were missed. A few opportunities to put something on goal came and went.
But the one wasteful moment everyone remembers, the one that still makes Whitecaps fans wince as they replay it in the mind’s eye, belongs to Camilo. It came three minutes deep in injury time as a wonderful ball from Barry Robson curled in from the left with a certain menace.
NBC lead soccer voice Arlo White nailed the instant perfectly as the ball fell beautifully into Camilo’s stride six yards from goal: “Camilo to win it! … And it’s wide! … Two or three of the Vancouver Whitecaps drop to the turf. They are distraught. That was the chance.”
Indeed it was. It all makes tonight’s match at BC Place against Western Conference struggler Chivas USA that much more important. Three points are critical – otherwise, the Whitecaps swing the door wide open for Dallas, which meets Chivas USA this weekend.
And that’s why Camilo, along with everyone else, is still talking about it. What he told The Vancouver Sun:
That night, I was very sorry for the miss. But now, my focus is the next game. …Soccer is like that. The game can change very fast. In this game, I’ll try to score to help my team.”
If he and the Whitecaps can’t make amends tonight, they’ll have an awful lot of time to think about it. Martin Rennie’s side will not be on the field again until Oct. 21.
Here’s “The Miss:”
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