Darren Mattocks impresses in Whitecaps 2-2 draw with Crew

VANCOUVER – Considering how well the Whitecaps played Wednesday night, to settle for a 2-2 draw with Columbus is disappointing, especially at home. But if Darren Mattocks can string a few performances like the one he had against the Crew, there's at least one reason to be optimistic about the result.

It's hard to believe, but this is already Mattocks' fourth year with the Whitecaps. Taken second overall by the club in the 2012 MLS draft following a standout college career at Akron, much was expected of the now 24-year-old forward.

He's shown glimpses of his talent but the final product was lacking far too often. Frustration mounted last season when Mattocks scored just six goals in 30 appearances, and he was replaced as Vancouver's main man up front over the winter by Octavio Rivero.

Rivero has been a revelation as the club's top striker – on Wednesday he scored his fifth goal in six games – leaving Mattocks to fight for one of the two wing positions in Vancouver's 4-2-3-1 formation. After using him for few games as a substitute, Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson decided to hand Mattocks his first start of 2015 and Mattocks took advantage of his time on the field. He was lively on and off the ball and was rewarded for his efforts, putting in his first goal of the season while coming close to adding a second on a couple occasions.

"He was very good," Robinson said after the game. "He got his goal and maybe could have had one or two more, but there was a lot of positive play there. I felt it was the right time to give Darren that opportunity and the decision was correct because he's come in and put in a very strong performance for 90 minutes."

Mattocks shared his coaches enthusiasm, even though he wishes he could have buried one of his chances late and lifted his team to a win. Columbus forward Kei Kamara opened the scoring in the 24th minute, only to have Rivero respond for the 'Caps in the 31th minute. Kamara struck again in the 50th minute, and this time it was Mattocks who drew the home team back level 15 minutes later.

Vancouver walked off the field Wednesday thinking they deserved a victory. Their winning streak was snapped, though they're still unbeaten in the last five games.

"We should have gotten three points," said Mattocks. "But that's my first 90 minutes and I'm going to take that as a positive. If I can continue creating chances for the team [and] working extremely hard defensively, then I think I'm going to be in pretty good shape going forward."

Given how comfortable he looked in his chance to shine, the Whitecaps may have another dangerous dimension they can add to their already potent attack – and he was in the squad this whole time.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr