After three-peating the Canadian Championship, bigger stakes were ahead for the Vancouver Whitecaps. All points were huge in terms of the MLS Cup Playoff race.
This was also big in the Cascadia Cup standings as the Portland Timbers came to town. It was going to be tough as Ryan Gauld was out with a knee injury and Ali Ahmed’s quad still wasn’t right.
But like a bunch of games this season and of the last couple of seasons, this felt like an oppurtunity lost. That is a shame because it was beautiful at the start but then things wilted and never recovered.
Yeah, coulda, woulda, shoulda is back yet again.
Match musings
Brian White tied his career high in MLS goals with 15. This started with some great footwork by Tristan Blackmon. Levonte Johnson did not get an assist on the goal but this was a smart dummy by him to leave it for White.
Vancouver moved the ball well. Fafa Picault, Johnson, White and Berhalter moved the ball well and their press was very good. With no Gauld, that was encouraging. But there was a noticeable missing piece: No one was getting on the crosses.
The Timbers were like a sleeping giant. The Whitecaps were poking the bear and it woke up. First Jonathan Rodriguez scored off a nice ball from Santiago Moreno but was offside. But just a few minutes later, it was the Whitecaps turn to be put to sleep. The midfield and backline were asleep for a few seconds and Moreno found Rodriguez again. This time it counted. It was unfortunate because it went off Bjorn Inge Utvik and there wasn’t much Yohei Takaoka could’ve done there.
The Whitecaps ran out of gas in the first half and let the Timbers back in the game. It was a very encouraging start but a very deflating finish to the first half.
It turns out there really wasn’t enough fuel.
In the second half, it was clear that the spark from the first 30 minutes of the first half was gone. Some long balls were overhit, the passes weren’t connecting and the Timbers midfield of Diego Chara and Christian Paredes clogged the lanes for Vancouver.
Early in the half, it looked like the Whitecaps were walking on a thin fine line very high up. You could sense they could fall down into the abyss any minute. That was evident with some poor clearances and it looked like the ball was ping-ponging back into the Whitecaps 18 yard box any minute. Luckily, Takaoka didn’t face any difficult saves.
But there were glimpses of the spark the Whitecaps needed. White could’ve surpassed his career high in goals. Much like Cole Palmer earlier in the day for Chelsea, he must have been kicking himself for not scoring more. Like Palmer, White missed a breakaway that hit the post. Before that, he had a breakaway shot stopped by Max Crépeau but he was offside. But unlike Palmer, White only scored one goal.
Andres Cubas had a strong game as he kept on winning duels and tackles. He was back to being the bulldog he is. The Paraguyan Kante could’ve won the game in stoppage time but his shot hit the post. At this point, you have to say: “Stupid post!” like how Homer Simpsons says “Stupid Flanders!”
But once again, this felt like two points lost at home. The Whitecaps have not been as good at BC Place as they have been on the road. They have a 6-4-4 record at home.
The good news is that they clinched a playoff spot with FC Dallas losing 3-1 to Orlando City SC. But if they want to go on a deep run and be taken seriously, they cannot drop valuable points.
Stat of the match
Cubas won five out of five ground duels according to Fotmob. Once again, another at the office for him.
What was said
“I don’t think the energy went down,” said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini on the team’s performance after the match. “At the end we were pushing, pushing and pushing…It’s frustrating because we deserve to win and we didn’t.”
“In my opinion, we were too soft. I think we thought it was going to be easier because we arrived always in the box and we didn’t go through with the killer instinct that we should have done.”
Despite the draw, Sartini was still optimistic about the upcoming stretch.
“We’re still basically (In the hunt) for fourth (place) because fourth is three points ahead and we have a game in hand,” he said. “But yeah, it’s going to be a fight until the end and the quality is there.”
“I think we’re a little bit disappointed not to come away with three points,” said White. “I think we hit the post twice there in the second half. There could have been goals, so we take the point and we move forward.”
“Yeah, I tried to call him off it,” said White on Johnson’s dummy which led to his goal. “He made a great run, drew a defender out and just fell right to my feet. So I think it was a great run by Levy to kind of drag the defender away. A selfish play by him and what we needed for the goal.”
White was asked what it was like for him as a player to play games every few days, especially in an important part of the season.
“Yeah, it’s a grind,” he said. “The staff does a lot of work in terms of preparation, recovery and making sure the nutrition’s right. It goes a lot into it and we have a very professional team, everyone takes care of themselves to be able to play at their best whenever they get called.”
Tweet of the night
This is just it. The attack has the quality but lacks execution and killer instinct. Sure, not having Gauld hurt but it was clear there was quality in the first few minutes. Once again, shots needed to be taken instead of looking for the perfect pass. Portland had five shots on target while Vancouver had just two
The Whitecaps needed more creativity. Both Deiber Caicedo (who had a solid cameo) and Pedro Vite deserved to come on earlier. As for Stuart Armstrong, it is understandable that he is still getting match fit and settled in. But if the Whitecaps want top four, a player of his quality should be getting more minutes.
Wrap-up
The Whitecaps sit seventh in the Western Conference with 47 points. However, they sit just three points behind the fourth-place Colorado Rapids with a game in hand. Both the Timbers and Minnesota United are tied with 45 points and currently hold the play-in spots.
Up next is the Seattle Sounders beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Saturday night. They come to town on Wednesday and kickoff is at 7:30 pm. Another derby day, another chance at a huge victory. But will they Carpe Diem and make the most of it?