The Vancouver Whitecaps fast start to the season continued.
Toronto FC came to town for an all-Canadian affair. Vancouver was undefeated heading into this game and had yet to concede a single goal. However, they had to figure out their attack.
The Whitecaps were unbeaten in their last eight meetings in all competitions against Toronto FC. Basically, the West Coast has prevailed lately over the East Coast.
The blue and white wanted to keep the early-season momentum going. That was especially because of the number of home games until the end of April.
Fortunately, the Whitecaps took care of business and got another win. Vancouver’s dominance over Toronto FC continued.
First half: One-way Whitecaps traffic
The Whitecaps needed to have a better start compared to their previous matches.
Early on, it looked just like that. They were moving the ball well, and Edier Ocampo and Mathias Laborda made solid defensive plays. Even Yohei Takaoka, calm under pressure as he always is, ran way out of his crease to beat Derrick Etienne Jr from getting a clear scoring chance.
Brian White is known for being a streaky scorer. After all, a lot of strikers are streaky. He had the first good chance of the game from either side as he received Sebastian Berhalter’s pass and timed his run perfectly. However, it was easily handled by TFC goalkeeper Luke Gavran. White just needed one to get back to his scoring ways.
Like a lot of Pink Floyd songs, the Whitecaps attack was building up to something great.
In the 24th minute, on a fast and furious Whitecaps counterattack, AZ was clipped in the box by Walker Zimmerman. And Thomas Müller made no mistake with the penalty. There was no doubt about it.
Like a band of rebel fighters attacking the Death Star, the Whitecaps continued to attack. In the 38th minute, it was The Raumdeuter again. For some reason, Toronto FC forgot to mark him. Maybe Müller wore an invisibility cloak. But he made no mistake pouncing on the loose ball from Laborda’s flick for his second of the game.
Vancouver was cooking in the first half with their possession, passing and set pieces. It was another goal off a corner kick in stoppage time. Gavran made an error, and White finally scored his first of the season. With that goal, White has scored 80 goals as a Whitecap across all competitions. He is now second all-time in Whitecaps history (Not just MLS, all incarnations of the Vancouver Whitecaps dating back to 1974) behind the late Dominic Mobilio’s 170 goals.
It was pretty much a perfect half for the Whitecaps. Not only was their attack clicking, but their defence and midfield prevented Toronto FC from going on the transition and creating any scoring chances.
Second half: Whitecaps hold the fort down
The Whitecaps continue to attack. However, there were a few defensive lapses, including Ralph Priso giving the ball away cheaply, but he redeemed himself with a last-second tackle seconds later. Andres Cubas even had some careless giveaways.
Toronto FC did score, but Djordje Mihailovic was caught offside. It was clear that Vancouver shouldn’t take naps just yet.
Priso seemed to be still wide awake. He was making excellent tackles against his former club, which included a great hustle back on a TFC counter.
Toronto didn’t get its first official shot until the 67th minute. They had nothing going offensively. Attack-wise, TFC was effective as Magikarp’s Splash.
However, Takaoka made a great reactionary save in the 72nd minute of José Cifuentes. At least he was still wide awake.
Vancouver was doing a great job of tracking back and closing the passing lanes. They were making life hell for Toronto. It’s like they were Gandalf saying, “You shall not pass!”
And Toronto FC did not. The Whitecaps held the fort down and remain unbeaten this season.
Stat of the match
Müller has scored 11 goals in 17 appearances across all competitions since joining the Whitecaps. That’s pretty good!
Tweet of the match
Watching the Canucks feels like a chore, but watching the Whitecaps is always something to look forward to.
What was said
“I think the first half was with great flow and pace, and we were aggressive and really had some good patterns in our attack,” said a very pleased Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen after the match. I think that we were able to get the upper hand of the game and have control.”
He was also pleased with the improvement of the attack.
“We’re finding more flow into it, and I think it’s a continuing process of seeing how you can create chances when you play up against different structures and different teams,” said Sørensen. “I think in general, especially the last two games, it’s been very good from our attacking side. Of course, some parts of the second half were not what we hoped for, but OK, we were also a little tired. I think players in general are doing a great job of trying. That’s the most important thing, and then sometimes you succeed a little bit, sometimes you make some mistakes, but the intentions are always right and that’s how we also have to proceed in the future.”
Jeevan Badwal had another excellent game, this time as a right winger.
“I was just getting out in a new role and just helping the team out in a way that I’m good at, whether that’s keeping the ball, keeping it calm or running behind,” he said. “Getting the win, especially three goals in the first half, was really good.”
The Surrey native was asked about playing in different positions to start the season.
“It’s definitely different experiences,” said Badwal. “I like to think of myself as a player that can play in all those roles because you know, as a midfielder, you’ve got to have specific roles. You’re all over the pitch, and if you can play in those different roles, it really helps the team. With guys out and not having a lot of players on the bench, it’s a fun time to come in. But overall, it’s just Jesper giving me that confidence. The players are giving me that confidence, and they have that trust in me to play any role I can play, and I just give them all, and that’s my game.”
White talked about getting on the scoresheet, especially after his frustrating game against Cartagines.
“These things happen,” said White. “You want to get off the mark as soon as possible, but obviously, that didn’t happen. But I always stand confident of working hard for the team, knowing that these chances will come. Then you’ll put them away, and then just move on from there. So yeah, happy to get off the mark for the year and help the team win.”
Wrap-up
It was a well-executed game from the Whitecaps. Their attack looked better, and they were still defensively solid.
Now they have a week off. Next Saturday, they will play their first road game of the MLS season and will face the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Kickoff is at 7:30 pm Pacific.
It hasn’t been a perfectly smooth ride so far to start the season, but so far, it’s been fun.
