The Vancouver Whitecaps have won a Leagues Cup game in regulation time for the first time.
It was a game that Vancouver grew into. There were no crazy antics from Tijuana like we saw from Tigres last year or a crazy long penalty shootout but the Whitecaps are on the Round of 32.
Even without Ryan Gauld, the Whitecaps have done well in this tournament so far. Now that’s impressive. Sure, Leagues Cup is still nothing more than an Apple TV marketing ploy but a win is a win.
Match musings
- It was a good start for the Whitecaps in Los Angeles against LAFC, but not against Tijuana. There was some pretty messing defending from Vancouver on Kevin Castenada’s opener.
- Right after, Tijuana nearly got their second. It was like Vancouver was put under a sleeping spell, but Yohei Takaoka stopped Efrain Alvarez
- Tijuana looked dangerous on their transitions and the Whitecaps were giving them space for passing lanes and shot opportunities
- It’s not like the Whitecaps didn’t have their chances. Brian White, Fafa Picault and Sebastian Berhalter lead the charge. White had two glorious chances including a header stopped by Tigres goalkeeper José Antonio Rodriguez. After watching the Canadian women’s team fail to score against Germany in the Olympics earlier in the day, I was sick of wasted chances. But this was a good save though, credit where credit is due.
- Fafa Picault was on a mission in the first half. When the ball was at his feet, he was cooking. The 33-year-old was dancing around defenders and creating chances like a man who wanted to be a monster trying to fight eight heroes.
- Early in the second half, Picault’s efforts paid off. This transition was as satisfying to watch as Deadpool and Wolverine. (well, kind of) Takaoka, to White to Levonte Johnson to Picault. Run Fafa, Run! This goal was pretty, pretty, cool.
- Vancouver’s second half was solid. They moved the ball well, looked very quick and dangerous on the transitions and the passes were cleaner.
- It did help that Rodriguez unfortunately had to be carted off due to an apparent head or neck injury after stopping Johnson. Hopefully, it isn’t too serious but we never had an update. Tigres defender Aaron Meija also get sent off in the 81st minute for aggressively trying to take down Picault. Maybe he watched too many samurai films or something.
- Mathias Laborda, Bjorn Inge Utvik and Belal Halbouni had plenty of nervy moments, mainly in the first half but they calmed down in the second half.
- Johnson also got on the scoresheet himself with a pretty well-taken shot. It wasn’t about power but placement and Johnson placed it perfectly. Tijuana saw that ball rollin, they hatin.
- I was going to save this for the Twitter section but I’ll write it here anyway. Johnson is one of those players who are frustrating but can produce good moments. He had a goal and an assist against Tijuana. But he missed a couple of sitters and before his goal took too long to spring White on the rush, but he made up for it. Now if only he could translate that to MLS play.
- Picault capped off his masterclass with this perfect pass to Vite. It’s about time one of Vite’s long shots went in. He’s tried scoring a long one for the past few months. Sure, the Tijuana backup goalkeeper Jesus Corona could’ve had this one and Johnson’s too. But to the Whitecaps, it don’t matter, no.
- Andres Cubas came on as a second-half sub against LAFC and missed the Wrexham friendly. Against Tijuana, he looked fresh and rejuvenated and did what he usually does: win the ball back no matter the cost.
Stat of the match
Along with his goal and assist, Picault created three chances (two being his goal contributions) and had eight touches in the Tijuana box.
What was said
“It was kind of a game of two halves,” said assistant head coach Michael D’Agostino who was acting head coach for the Whitecaps due to Vanni Sartini picking up a red card against LAFC. “In the second half, we were a little bit more aggressive. We pushed guys a little bit higher on the press, and we were able to win the wall back. And we recognized that they were a little bit vulnerable in transition. We were able to hit them with the first goal with Fafa, and then from there, the game changed a little bit. I thought the boys did well to stick with what we wanted them to do in the second half.”
D’Agonstino was pleased that his team finally beat a team from Liga MX.
“It’s great to always get an international kind of win because I think it bodes well for us as Canadians,” he said. “Being a Canadian team although we’re representing MLS, we’re also representing Canada in this competition, so I think that’s important. It’s never easy to play against a Mexican team.”
“We never really played them at all and I don’t really get to watch their games as much,” said Johnson on playing Liga MX teams. “So playing different competitions is very different to MLS. It’s a different style of play, and it’s very exciting. It just kind of brings a new sort of experience and atmosphere that hopefully helps us back over in MLS.”
Halbouni also spoke to the media after the match.
“The cup games are what brings team camaraderie together, said Halbouni. “It’s something that we all as a team want to strive for, to win that cup, and nonetheless win the league, but the cup is always something special. That’s our goal as of right now because you know we keep fighting every round game by game and that’s the ultimate goal right now.”
I asked Halbouni about the process of waiting for his oppurtunity as it was only his second start with the Whitecaps.
“My religion teaches me to be patient,” he said. “So I am a patient young man and you know when the opportunity comes I just have to be ready. I feel like with the Wrexham game, with the LAFC game, and I think as well with this game, an opportunity came and I ran with it. You know, I feel like that’s the most important thing is to be ready when your chance comes.”
Best of Twitter
Best Man I Love Fafa
More often than not, Picault has made things happen on the pitch. Sure, he had that rough stretch in May and June but overall, he has an excellent season. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the signing at first but I’m glad I was wrong.
Best Steven Gerrard impression
That might have been the funniest thing I’ve seen at BC Place all season. At least Carlos Gonzalez was offside so he doesn’t have to worry about the humiliation too much.
Best Stop The Wave
I never liked the wave. I don’t know why but I never did. It was also really poor taste when the crowd was doing it when Rodriguez was receiving medical attention and had to be carted off. You never want to see the cart come out for a player.
And yes, ban the wave.
Best you learn something new every day
Tijuana winger Jaime Alvarez wears 203 and third string goalkeeper Barrea Geonathan wears 185. That looks wrong, right? Jerseys should be worn from one to 99!
But in Liga MX it is allowed. As Andrew pointed out, every player playing for the club must wear a permanent number. That includes every player from the first time right to the Under-13 team. So if I wanted to wear number 11, there is a chance I wouldn’t get to because a 12-year-old is wearing it.
Sounds dumb right? Academy players are the ones that wear the three-digit numbers. The reason why the permanent number system is in place is because the league finds it easier to register and track players with it.
The more you know. Maybe someone in Liga MX wears 420 or God forbid, 666.
Wrap-up
The Whitecaps will face Pumas in the Round of 32 of Leagues Cup. That is because they beat Monterrey on penalties right when Vancouver was facing Tijuana. A club spokesperson told the members of the media including myself, that the details of the upcoming game will be announced on Sunday morning. It will either be on Wednesday or Thursday.