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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’: Scandal !

Impact suffers a second straight home loss at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps. The game was marred by a controversial penalty reversal that has left coaches, players and fans fuming at the officiating. But what about the other 89mins? Let’s take a look at what stood out.

By Booya514
Raphael Larcoque-Cyr

Please take note that this week's ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' may be a little off since I viewed the match 50 yards away from my television. I also apologize on being a little late on my report. I actually had everything written up last night but my neighbour who is another 50 yards away from me, ran over to me and told me what really happened in the game. Of course I value my neighbour's opinion and vision and reversed all my thoughts.

The Good...

Wenger / Paponi - After blasting both Andrew Wenger and Daniele Paponi for their weak performances against the Earthquakes , I was encouraged to see a much better display from the two forwards. Wenger looked more comfortable playing in a midfield role than he has at forward in some time.

We know he had midfield experience in NCAA and maybe something worth further exploring by Coach Marco Schallibaum.

As for Paponi, he was far from invisible as a substitute. He was able to unleash two quality strikes on goal but unfortunately saved by the Whitecaps keeper, David Ousted.

Felipe Martins - For mastering the scissor kick. We had already known that the young Brazilian was capable of such a feat by scoring one of the more memorable Impacts goals last season with a scissor kick. But to successfully pull it off twice in one game is quite the accomplishment. The first strike was blocked by a defender and the second one was blocked by the crossbar.

The Bad...

Felipe - What's going on here...Good or Bad?? Well that same Felipe also produced a costly but well deserved yellow card for diving in the box. It was the second dive attempt in the game by Felipe and no doubt referee Jorge Gonzalez took notice of the first one just outside the box.

As good as Felipe can be technically, he does have a reputation for easily going down. Yes I know that 90% of players do the same, but it's something Felipe needs to be concerned about if he wants to get the benefit on future calls.

Felipe will miss the September 28th match against the Chicago Fire for an accumulation of yellows.

The entire Back Line - The whole line was suffering in the game. We saw some lazy passing that led to turnovers, lost battles in the air and the usually reliable Camara might have been the worst of the bunch.

Is it a coincidence that all four starters in the back are crumbling during the busiest part of the schedule? Off course not. When the recently signed Adrian Lopez went down for the season with a torn ACL, the Impact were left with the realization that they have no MLS calibre defenders ready to provide relief.

I hate excuses, but no doubt these four defenders are overused and fatigued.

The first half - The blown penalty call will get all the attention in this loss, but it's easy to forget that the Impact were the second best team on the pitch that day. They were defensively brutal in the first half. Besides the conceded penalty kick by Hassoun Camara, the Whitecaps also hit the crossbar twice and missed some quality opportunities in the first 45 mins.

The reality is that even if Bernier was given his penalty shot, the Impact were lucky to concede just one goal.

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The Ugly...

Jorge Gonzalez - Not the fourth official, but Mr. Gonzalez himself. Whether it was a handball or not, is irrelevant here. The head referee was decisive in pointing to the penalty mark and should have known better then listen to input from someone 50 yards away.

It was a terrible and costly reversal. But as I mentioned, it should not take away from the fact that the loss was deserved. For a more extensive breakdown of the incident, feel free to read Sofiane Benzaza's analysis.

Share your thoughts, Impact fans. Who impressed you? Who did not? And better yet, what did I get wrong?

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