CHESTER, Pa.—Carl Robinson made it clear that Octavio Rivero’s days are numbered in Vancouver, saying that “in the next 24-to-48 hours, probably something will happen" with the Designated Player, who did not dress for Saturday's game.
But if the result of the contest is any indication, the Whitecaps may be able to survive in his absence, as Vancouver got goals from several different places in a big 3-2 road win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
“We’re a team,” the Whitecaps head coach said. “We’ve got to score goals by committee. We haven’t got an individual scorer who can score 20 goals like some teams. We know that. Will that change? I’m not sure. Players have to step up.
“You see at Euros now, you’ve got world-class players, superstar forwards that aren’t scoring goals. But the team is stepping up for them. That’s what we are. We’re a team. We stick together I don’t really care who scores. David Ousted can score a goal if he wants.”
Ousted didn’t score Saturday, but he did make two saves to help the Whitecaps overcome an early 1-0 deficit and snap a three-game winless streak.
Vancouver’s offense took care of the rest with Andrew Jacobson, Kekuta Manneh and Christian Bolaños all finding the back of the net as the Whitecaps relied on set pieces, counter attacks and the ridiculous speed of Manneh, who started his goal-scoring run from his own half.
The Whitecaps have now earned seven points this season after dropping the first goal.
“We have good character in the group,” Robinson said. “They get on very well and it’s important because if you don’t do that coming to work for 300 days a year is a bit daunting. The guys worked their socks off … In Major League Soccer in general, teams that concede the first goal don’t usually go on to win the game. We’ve done it well, but we don’t want to do it too often.”
It remains to be seen how the Whitecaps move on from Rivero, who appears to be close to a deal with Chile’s Colo-Colo after scoring 12 goals for Vancouver since the start of last year.
For now, though, Robinson simply wanted to revel in the club’s first-ever win in Philly.
“Today we wanted to show a little bit of character. I think we showed a lot of character.
"All credit to the guys. It's not an easy place to come. We’d never won here – but we have tonight."
