[Updated 9.30pm with post game reaction from both dressing rooms]

Report:

May was highlighted to be a month of firsts for Vancouver Whitecaps. The goals were clear. To achieve their first win over LA Galaxy, to win their first ever Voyageurs Cup and to beat one of their Cascadian rivals in MLS action for the first time.

Despite two wonderstrikes from Camilo Sanvezzo and Gershon Koffie, Vancouver are still searching for that elusive derby win, with Portland coming away with a share of the spoils thanks to a Will Johnson penalty and a controversial late equaliser for the ten man Timbers by Jose Valencia.
...

KEY PLAYERS

Attacking

The Whitecaps gave Camilo the midweek match against Montreal off which makes him one of the most rested attackers available for selection. He may start on the left side but expect the Brazilian to slide into the middle at certain points of the match. So far this season Camilo leads the team in shots and shots on target despite playing limited minutes as he has averaged about 45 minutes per appearance.

Having been more of a role player with RSL everyone expected Will Johnson ...

Kind of pointless perhaps doing our weekly look at the best and worst of the week's MLS action so late and after the next week has begun, but we'd all but finished it and just couldn't get the time to watch the last two games!

We made it in the end and got this far, so we may as well run the piece and if anyone else is interested apart from me for the stats, then great! So what did week 11 of the 2013 season throw up for us?
...

Fan 1: "How was the first leg of the Voyageurs Cup final?"

Fan 2: "It was pretty stale mate"

Vancouver and Montreal played out a goalless draw tonight in a Voyageurs Cup final first leg lacking excitement and action, along with goals.

The Whitecaps turned Stade Saputo into a car park, parking an entire fleet of buses on the way to being outpossessed two to one in a tight defensive display that left the Impact devoid of ideas and unable to break down a resolute Caps side.

It's hard to knock it. It may not have been pretty to watch, but it was a clinical performance that got the job done and saw Vancouver come away from Montreal still very much in with a chance of lifting their first ever Voyageurs Cup trophy.
...

KEY PLAYERS

Attacking

After struggling to score in MLS, Darren Mattocks was finally able to get his second of the season late in the game against the Galaxy. Despite being an insurance tally for him the goal should be a confidence boost for the 2012 second overall pick. Another motivation going into this match is how Montreal passed on selecting Mattocks with the first pick of that draft.

Whether he starts or comes off the bench for the Impact, Marco Di Vaio has been one of the most consistent scorers in MLS this season. Despite being 36 the former Serie A striker has had no trouble in being able to handle the normally younger and more athletic MLS defenders. Since arriving last season Di Vaio has scored eleven times in 26 appearances for Montreal earning his Designated Player status.
...

Episode eight of "There's Still Time", the AFTN podcast, and it's our second post game special.

Recorded at BC Place after the win over Los Angeles Galaxy, it's quite a cock-a-hoop mood for once with myself and Steve.

We bring you audio from both Martin Rennie and Bruce Arena on the game; two goal hero Russell Teibert talks about his standout performance, what it means to him and doing it for his watching family; Darren Mattocks talks about the relief of breaking his goalscoring drought; and Nigel Reo-Coker chats about the game and of being a proud mentor.

We also look ahead to the upcoming Voyageurs Cup final and gets the thoughts of Rennie and Teibert on the match with Montreal.

We're joined for a special roundtable chat on all of this, and the Caps PDL win on Friday night, by two guest co-hosts: Benjamin Massey from Maple Leaf Forever and the Two Fat Bastards podcast, and Andrew Bates from Little Rubber Pellets.
...

After seven attempts, Vancouver Whitecaps finally beat Los Angeles Galaxy in a day of firsts at BC Place.

A second half brace from Russell Teibert and a stoppage time clincher from Darren Mattocks gave the Caps a 3-1 win over the MLS Cup Champions.

Despite some nervy late moments, the Whitecaps came through with a massive and much needed win for the team as they enter one of the key parts of their season.
...

It's episode seven of "There's Still Time", the AFTN podcast.

Steve Pandher and myself take a look back at the Real Salt Lake game and ask why the Whitecaps make it so difficult to win on the road and Andy O'Brien shares his thoughts on the Caps away woes.

One of the big talking points to come out of the game was the post game dressing down from the manager and Nigel Reo-Coker. With the dust settled, we hear from Martin Rennie and Joe Cannon about how good or bad that was for the team to hear.

And there's still time to look ahead to the LA game at the weekend and the Whitecaps PDL season which gets underway on Friday.

You can also hear our brand new theme tune, specially written for us by local Vancouver band The Oh Wells. Check them out and support local music as well as local soccer.
...

In the past, I have often been accused of being hyper-critical and pessimistic of the Whitecaps and their players, so the previous week has taken me by surprise. I shouldn’t be that shocked, as the fickle fans come out of the woodwork when any team in any sport goes on an extended losing streak, but there is a growing swell of fans that are at least willing to entertain the idea of sacking the gaffer.

I find myself feeling the need to plea to fans of the Whitecaps to maintain a level of objectivity. I understand the frustration and disappointment. I feel it too. But let’s not call for Martin Rennie’s head until he’s been given the entire season to turn things around. After all, the Whitecaps have shown noticeable improvements in many areas of the team. Unfortunately, those improvements have not translated to the table.
...

With a busy midweek ahead of games, we finally got back to watching the week's games in a timely manner.

So here's our latest weekly, sometimes offbeat, look at the best and worst of the week's MLS action. We took your suggestions on board and either embedded videos of our best/worst selections or included links. So what did week 10 of the 2013 season throw up for us?
...

Vancouver Whitecaps' road hell continued, going down 2-0 to a Real Salt Lake side that showed what a difference clinical finishing can make to a team.

For all of the Caps speed merchants, it was the quick thinking and quick acting of the home side that led to second half goals from Luis Gil and Javier Morales, with the Whitecaps once again failing to heed the "you snooze, you lose" lessons dished out to them in recent weeks.

Vancouver's two keys to the game were the same as they have been for most of the season - stop making defensive errors and mark up better, and convert more of the numerous chances they have been creating.

Once again they did neither and once again they came away from a road trip with nothing to show for it apart from regrets and a lot to work upon, slipping further behind the pace with those above them in the Western Conference.
...

Whenever we feel like doing it, we think of a subject for a football team to be based around, then fill it with our starting eleven of current and recent MLS players with some appropriate name changes, or even better, just as is.

Your scouting job is to come up with the subs bench, from any player from around the world, and leave your player suggestions in the comments section.

Since today is Star Wars Day, we couldn't let that pass without doing a "Star Wars XI" and we've even brought a special MLS legend out of retirement to manage this one.
...

KEY PLAYERS

Attacking

There is no doubt that Russell Teibert has taken a step in his progression to be a regular MLS starter but the next step for him is to be a consistent performer on the road. His breakthrough performance was at home against RSL, where he was able to make timely runs that stretched the backline. The Canadian midfielder will be needed to make those runs and accurate passes to counteract the possession game of RSL.

The potential loss of their top strikers means that former TFC player Joao Plata will be needed to find the net for RSL. The diminutive Ecuadorian is ranked with the third most shots on the team but has yet to register a goal in seven appearances. While not an aerial threat in the box Plata is a speedy player who is capable of slipping through traffic and is a threat to score on the counter.
...

Late again. So many games to watch, so little time. Damn you life and work for getting in the way.

Anyway, Week 10 has kicked off tonight but we still wanted to run this, so here's our latest weekly, sometimes offbeat, look at the best and worst of the week's MLS action.

We took your suggestions on board and either embedded videos of our best/worst selections or included links. So what did week 9 of the 2013 season throw up for us?
...

Vancouver Whitecaps are hoping it will be third time lucky as they reached their third Voyageurs Cup final under the new format with a comfortable 5-2 aggregate win over FC Edmonton.

Fortunate to head into the second leg with a one goal lead, Vancouver won 2-0 on the night thanks to a stunning 40 yard strike from Corey Hertzog and an equally stunning headed own goal from Shaun Saiko.

It was always going to be a tough ask for Edmonton to get themselves back into the tie and they showed nothing on the night to make anyone think that they were capable of doing that from the first kick to the last.
...

Episode six of "There's Still Time", the AFTN podcast, and it's our first post game special.

Recorded at BC Place after the Dallas game, Steve and myself are joined by Andrew Bates to chat about the comeback, the terrible defending, the diving, the missed opportunities and what the Whitecaps need to do to try and get a MLS win again.

We have post game audio from Caps coach Martin Rennie about Darren Mattocks and Steve takes part in an interesting threesome with Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman and the Province's Marc Weber.

Our main guest this episode is Vancouver Whitecaps' defender Greg Klazura, who made his season debut against FC Edmonton in the Voyageurs Cup on Wednesday. We have a fun chat to Greg about the Eddies game, how he's settling in to life in Vancouver, the frustrations of waiting for his MLS debut and of course his famous headband and faces. And just why was he wearing gloves in nine degrees weather?!
...