Coming off a disappointing homestand, the Vancouver Whitecaps started a three-game road trip (four games if you count the August 2nd CCL jaunt to Trinidad) on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo, in need of points against a team who's yielded very little at home in 2016. And despite Vancouver having gone 0-for-MLS in Texas over the past 5+ years, the Whitecaps gutted out a 0-0 draw.
All tonight's stats. Fun fact: With the nil draw, @David_Ousted earns his 31st cleansheet since joining #VWFC pic.twitter.com/LSFsi38t30
— Vancouver Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC) 24 July 2016
Given their history in Texas against both Houston and FC Dallas, a road loss wouldn't have been an unreasonable guess, but there were a number of factors going into the match that suggested the result could be a button-down scoreless draw:
- Both sides were missing significant players: Kekuta Manneh for Vancouver, and Tyler Deric & DeMarcus Beasley for Houston;
- Houston have only conceded eight goals in nine games at home this season (with four coming in a loss to LA Galaxy), while we'll ALWAYS make the argument that the Whitecaps should be scoring more, particularly on the road.