Colorado made the chances, Whittaker made the win

Morgan Whittaker's 81st-minute goal gave Colorado Rapids a 1-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps, though the chances were far more lopsided than the scoreline.

Morgan Whittaker's goal in the 81st minute was the only one at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, but the chances belonged mostly to Colorado. Expected goals, a measure of how likely each shot is to go in based on where it was taken, put the home side at 2.05 for the night. That is above the 1.75 Colorado usually reach at home, so the attack worked better than its normal level, even if the finishing came only once.

The volume was there as well. Colorado took 18 shots, against a home average of 13.6, and most of them came from inside the penalty box, where goals are usually scored from. Yet they had the ball for only 51% of the match, short of the 56.3% they normally keep at home. The chances arrived without the extra possession that usually comes with them.

Vancouver were the reverse, and that is why the chances tell a different story from the ball. They had 49% of the possession, against an away average of 55.1%, and their shot count fell well short of the 15.3 they usually take on the road. Their expected goals total reached only 0.28, and Y. Takaoka made six saves to keep the margin where it stayed.

Whittaker's goal came from a player who had been the most dangerous Colorado forward all evening. He had four shots, three of them on target, more than anyone else in a home shirt. Scoring in the 81st minute meant the lead arrived late enough to decide the match rather than shape it, and Vancouver had little time left to respond.

Vancouver's problem was not the number of attempts so much as their quality. Only two of their efforts were on target, and five of them came from inside the box, yet their expected goals figure says those chances were not clear ones. Colorado's keeper was not tested often, and the visitors could not turn their pressure into anything that troubled the scoreboard.

Neither side had been in a rich vein of results before this. Colorado's recent run has brought four draws, a defeat and a win, while Vancouver's last few away games produced two wins, three draws and a defeat. The result breaks a pattern of stalemates for the hosts more than it confirms a surge for the visitors.

Across the season, Colorado have won 11 of their home games, drawn 6 and lost 13, which leaves them on 39 points and ninth in the table. Vancouver's away record reads 16 wins against 7 draws and 7 defeats, worth 55 points and first in the table on the road.

Player of the matchM. Whittaker1 goal8.2

R. Holding1 shot on target8.0

Y. Takaoka6 saves7.9

K. Thompson7 duels won7.9