It was the dog days of summer, but it was crunch time for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Heading into this match, the Whitecaps sat third in the Western Conference. With 46 points, they were one point behind Minnesota United for second and six points behind San Diego FC for first.
With these being crucial weeks, Vancouver had to be Golden and go Up, Up, Up. Six out of the eight remaining MLS games for the Whitecaps were at home. They needed to take advantage and get wins in front of the home fans with the playoffs looming.
St. Louis City SC was in town and had only one away win prior to Saturday. With 21 points, they were second last in the Western Conference.
With the transfer window now closed, Vancouver had to take their game into overdrive.
First half: Sloppy, Sluggish, and Passive
The Whitecaps displayed some confident passing in and around the box within the first 10 minutes. That was a lot like the early-season version of the Whitecaps.
However, it was St. Louis who struck first. Edward Lowen was left all alone in the box, and he headed in the cross from Conral Wellem. Blackmon and Halboui parted like the Red Sea, and Lowen was in prime real estate to score. Not an ideal start.
The Whitecaps were thrown off beat by the goal. Their rhythm they had earlier, was gone as they were misplacing passes. St. Louis was also dropping deep and clogging up the passing and shooting lanes.
The defense was sloppy. They let St.Louis have these high danger chances and were giving the ball away in high danger areas. The attack was just as sloppy. Neither Jayden Nelson nor Emmanuel Sabbi was showing enough on the wings. Everybody looked passive and hesitant. The low block stifled the Whitecaps.
But Vancouver got their break in stoppage time. First, Sabbi was taken down in the box. That looked like a sure penalty. Then, it was Blackmon on the ensuing corner. This one went to VAR and was given. We’re not sure if that was a penalty. Fortunately, Brian White easily beat Roman Burki.
That was the only Whitecaps shot on target in the entire half. They had five total attempts, which included two missed headers from Thomas Müller, who was wearing the armband as captain in his first Whitecaps start. But that was not a good half at all for Vancouver. They needed to find their rhythm and get the cannons firing.
Second Half: Better from Whitecaps and peak MLS After Dark
Head coach Jesper Sørensen must have given the Whitecaps quite the halftime talk.
They were controlling the play better, and the passes were crisp. Sabbi, Ocampo, Müller, and White looked poised to beat Burki. Sabbi had a low shot saved by Burki, and White hit the crossbar while all alone in the box.
The build-up looked much better. Something lit a fire under this team.
Ali Ahmed and his tenacity were missed as he was taking on the defenders. His speed made it look like he got a star in Mario Kart and was aiming for the finishing line.
St.Louis’ game was all about the counter-attack, and they burned the Whitecaps. Joao Klauss managed to turn like a spinning top around Ocampo and Halbouni and beat Takaoka. That sucked the life out of BC Place, and that was a really poor goal to give up.
Luckily, the Whitecaps were quick to respond this time. Coming off the bench for White, Rios headed in Berhalter’s free kick. Given the amount of criticism Ríos has gotten from fans and media, he really needed that one. And so did his team.
The Whitecaps were pushing. St. Louis was walking the plank. The sharks were swimming at the bottom, and Vancouver needed that final push.
They were winning the ball quickly and getting into the box. However, the shots were either weak, too much, or they were hesitant to shoot once again.
But then the Whitecaps got a little help. In the past, refereeing decisions did not go the Whitecaps way. For example, Tim Ford’s debacles and Müller’s goal being ruled offside last week against the Houston Dynamo,
Now let’s take a look here. It looks like Mathias Laborda fell on his own. But if you look closely and/or slow the clip down, it looks like Mykhi Joyner’s knee makes contact with Laborda’s foot as he was running. While Laborda is running, the knee of Joyner catches him in the back of the foot and causes him to fall.
However, we do not think (and several other media members in the press box also had the same opinion) that this was a penalty. It looked like there was barely any contact. If there was, Laborda did a good job selling it.
St.Louis fans have every right to be upset, and so do the players and coaches. VAR thought this was a penalty, and it looked soft.
For Vancouver, this is a makeup call for Ford’s debacles, Müller’s disallowed goal last week, the non-call on Sabbi in the first half, or any other controversial decision that went against Vancouver. This was the soccer gods’ way of give and take.
Speaking of Müller, he took the penalty. And the Whitecaps big summer signing scored his first goal for the club, and they took the three points. The penalty and the atmosphere at BC Place after it hit the back of the net were just as amazing as the new Wolf Alice album.
Sometimes, you need a bit of luck. A win is a win.
This game was bonkers. It had everything. Bad defending, beautiful possession-based soccer, rough tackles, nice dribbles, penalty controversy, and 10+ minutes of stoppage time. This was peak MLS After Dark. This author needed a drink after watching that. Insert the tired SpongeBob GIF here.
Stat of the match
Müller’s penalty came in the 90+14 minute. That is the latest goal in Whitecaps history.
What was said
“I think for the neutral spectator, it must have been a very entertaining match,” said Sørensen after the match. “I think it was a high-paced game, I think we didn’t start off as well as I’d hoped…My opinion of St. Louis is that they’re way better than the points they’ve got so far this season, and it’s a difficult team to play. They have some strength, especially in the counterattacks, and they hit us a little bit hard a couple of times. I’d also say our structure defensively was not that good in the beginning, but then we took over, and I think the last 20 minutes of the first half were very good. Then in the second half, we turned on the engines and played with force…we dug ourselves into a couple of holes, we were able to crawl out, but we looked strong in many parts of the game, but we also have to be more disciplined.”
Sørensen was asked about the penalty near the end of the match.
“I couldn’t see it,” he said. “Listen, we play with VAR, and the penalty was given. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I disagree. The first time I saw it, the way Mathias fell, it looked like he somehow hit him, maybe unintentionally. I think the biggest penalty I saw today was on Sabbi, but that was not given, and two others were given.”
Rios was pleased that he scored a goal for the first time since June 8 against the Seattle Sounders and tied the game.
“For a striker, it’s very important to score goals, and I’ve been playing in different positions as a winger,” he said. “I always try to score my goals and help the team in any way.”
Müller also spoke to the media after the match.
“I think what I’m enjoying the most is that we are a very good group,” said the former Bayern Munich midfielder. “Everyone tries to put everything he has to share his strengths with the team to win something. I think the whole group is feeling that we are on our way. We are not there, but we are on our way to maybe get something special in the upcoming weeks…We can do something special, but we have to progress now, day by day, week by week.”
Tweet of the match
It feels weird being on the other side, doesn’t it? While it was good, it helped the Whitecaps win, which goes to show why many don’t take MLS seriously. All people ask is consistency from officials,not just in MLS but in all sports.
Wrap-up
With the win (despite how controversial it was), the Whitecaps end the night with 49 points. With San Diego drawing to the Portland Timbers and Minnesota beating Real Salt Lake 3-1, Vancouver still sits in third. However, the Western Conference lead is still within reach, especially with a game in hand.
The Supporters Shield race is still tight. The Philadelphia Union are on top with 54 points. San Diego’s 53 points put them in second, while FC Cincinnati is third with 52, and Minnesota United and Nashville SC are tied for third as each has 50 points. The Whitecaps are right behind them.
Maybe it is the new 4-2-3-1 formation, as the team still needs more time to get used to it, but this game shows there are still problems on the pitch for the Whitecaps. The second half’s response was great, but the two goals given up were very preventable.
Nonetheless, the Whitecaps do not play until September 13 as the away match against Orlando City SC was moved to October 11 due to them being in the Leagues Cup semi-finals. So the ‘Caps have time to train and refine things as well as get new signings Joedrick Pupe and Sebastian Schonlau settled in.
This was a wild game, and the Whitecaps were lucky to get three points out of it. But again, a win is a win. It wasn’t quite Golden, but in this game, the Whitecaps went up, up, up and showed it was their moment, even if it was controversial.
