Northwest Sports Update

A 5dimes.com review of Vancouver’s season so far in Major League Soccer would show that they’ve played much better than anyone expected in their second season in the league, where they finished ninth last year in their inaugural season. Vancouver Whitecaps FC should have improved a bit, but they have done so by leaps and bounds and even coming off one of their biggest losses of the season, they’re still in good shape.

The Whitecaps were brought down to earth after not losing for five straight matches in a 3-0 loss at Los Angeles, and it shows those that work with price per head bookie services that they still have a way to go to improve as all three goals came in the first half and two came from the boots of international stars Robbie Keane (Ireland) and Landon Donovan (United States). That isn’t to say that Vancouver simply rolled over and they ended up with 11 shots on goal, although only two hit the target and Euro 2012 betting sharps will tell you that you have to hit the target in order to give yourself a chance to win. The Whitecaps also had 47% of the possession and six corner kicks to three for Los Angeles, but the Galaxy finished their chances, and Donovan’s goal was a penalty, so they simply capitalized. Vancouver didn’t back down from Los Angeles, but it did show that they still need a little quality to challenge for the league title.

Still, Vancouver sits in third place in the Western Conference on 26 points, seven behind San Jose and six behind Real Salt Lake and that is as good as the Whitecaps could ask for if ask those that bet on sports (which you can do here). The Whitecaps are off this weekend, but they’ll kick off a crucial stretch on July 4th when they head to Colorado to start a four-game road trip which could have a major effect on their season. Vancouver has two wins and two draws in seven away matches in 2011, and they’ll need to come up even on this stretch in order to keep their chances alive for the postseason as seven points separate third from seventh, and a couple of losses can take all the momentum away from their hot start. The Whitecaps have to bounce back from that tough loss to the Galaxy with at least a draw in Colorado, but they should able to have a go at the sixth-place Rapids, who lost 1-0 in Vancouver on July 16th. It’ll be good to have the weekend off, and that could recharge the Whitecaps before they make a run up the sports betting ladder.