It was part two of Texas Hold ‘Em for the Vancouver Whitecaps. They looked to play their cards right against FC Dallas.
After a frustrating 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, the Whitecaps seriously needed some goals. Head coach Jesper Sørensen called the finishing against Houston horrible as the ‘Caps only managed one shot on target on 11 shots.
As a result, he went with what is the strongest lineup since the World Cup break. Ryan Gauld and Thomas Müller were starting, and Brian White was back from his hamstring injury. With Emmanuel Sabbi also starting, this looked like a strong attack on paper.
FC Dallas had a strong attack as well, especially with Croatian striker Peter Musa. He led the MLS Golden Boot race with 15 heading into Saturday and even scored for Croatia against England at the World Cup. Musa started the game on the bench, and Vancouver knew they had to take advantage.
It’s safe to say they did. They played their cards well in this game of Texas Hold ‘Em and cooked FC Dallas in the style of a Texas BBQ.
First half: Whitecaps go full throttle
The Whitecaps started the game by pressing high and controlling possession. White nearly got FC Dallas goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois to make a mistake three minutes in as he pressed him. But Sirois managed to hang onto the ball. Gauld and Sabbi also looked very quick on the wings.
Speaking of Sabbi, he was the one who opened the scoring 10 minutes in. On Gauld’s corner kick, Sabbi was left alone on the edge of the box. He had all the time and space in the world to shoot, and he made no mistake beating Sirois.
It was clear a message was sent over the past couple of days. The Whitecaps were moving the ball really quickly and weren’t waiting or overthinking to fire shots on Sirois.
Another guy who looked full of energy was Edier Ocampo. The Colombian full-back made an excellent run down the right flank and cut inside after taking a great ball from Tristan Blackmon. Ocampo left Nolan Norris in the dust and then found White for the tap-in goal. Guess who’s back? Back again? White is back, tell a friend. White knew it looked like a job for him.
White wasn’t finished, and neither were the Whitecaps. They were hungry, like lions hunting their prey. FC Dallas tried to clear Gauld’s corner kick, and they did it poorly. White made them pay with the left-footed volley. The American striker was up to 12 goals in MLS play this season.
FC Dallas nearly got back into it soon after. Logan Farrington was in alone on Yohei Takaoka but ended up hitting the bar. Ralph Priso also saved a goal with a great run and tackle on Sam Sarver. It looked like it was a penalty from the press box, but after the referee checked VAR, none was given. But it also looked like Sarver and Priso fell at the same time.
Vancouver was putting on a show for the fans at BC Place. Andres Cubas delivered an exquisite ball to Ocampo, who was by the far post. He headed the ball over Sirois and danced for his celebration. The Whitecaps were dancing all over Dallas. That was also not a good look on Sirois either.
The blue and white were fluid, quick and dominated Dallas with their press and possession. This was what the Whitecaps fans have missed.
Second half: No country (and goals) for overwhelmed men
FC Dallas made four substitutions, and that included taking off Farrington for Musa. They were willing to not waste time trying to get back into the game.
Vancouver still looked like a runaway train. Gauld had a chance where he just missed by the right post.
Cubas was still winning the ball back as he always did. The backline also did their job when Dallas entered the Whitecaps 18-yard box. (Mathias Laborda slotted in for Ralph Priso at the start of the second half, so he was next to Blackmon.)
The Whitecaps continued to pin Dallas in their own half. Substitute Bruno Caicedo kept the party inside BC Place going in the 67th minute. Müller found the young Ecuadorian by the left post, and he buried it for his third goal of the season. Caicedo scored that goal six minutes after coming on for Sabbi.
No matter what Dallas did, they ran into a white wall. The Whitecaps made sure Takaoka didn’t see any of the shots taken. Well, that was until stoppage time when Takaoka made a good save off Musa.
It was a five-star performance from the Whitecaps. The attack clicked, and the team was fun to watch.
Stat of the match
Takaoka notched his 45th clean sheet as a Whitecap. He is now tied for the most clean sheets by a Whitecaps goalkeeper in the MLS era with David Ousted. The clean sheet leader in the Whitecaps franchise as a whole is Paul Dolan, with 51 clean sheets. Dolan was the colour commentator for this game (and many other Whitecaps games) with Blake Price as the play-by-play guy.
What was said
“We came out with a lot of force, and we came out wanting to make sure that we didn’t waste time,” said Sørensen to the media after the game. “I think that we looked good and fresh from the start. Dallas was threatening the other way with a few counter moments. I think…it’s also a big thing getting ahead in the game and having the lead to rely on. In general, we played a very good game in many ways. A couple of things we need to look at, of course, but apart from that, I was quite satisfied.”
He also spoke about White and his two goals.
“It was great that Brian could step up and he played very well and blended in very well with the guys,” said Sørensen. “You couldn’t see that he had been out for a while.”
White also spoke to the media.
“This was stuff we worked on in training,” said White on his goals. “We have space to get the ball in behind, and Edier played a good ball in between the gap, goalie and backline, and I was able to get there and tap it in. With the set piece, they’re physically marking and…I was able to find a bit of space, and the ball came to me, and I was able to finish it off. Good overall performance from the boys and good to get goals in the back of the net.”
“Obviously it’s no secret that we haven’t been in the greatest run of form in terms of getting results. The performances have been really good, but it’s good to get goals to really solidify how well the team has been playing and get three points.”
Tweet of the match
Hopefully, this leads to more starts for Gauld, Müller, White and Sabbi together.
Wrap-up
With the win and Houston losing 2-1 in St. Louis, the Whitecaps end the matchday on top of the Western Conference with 40 points. That’s two ahead of Houston with a game in hand.
Vancouver has a rare week off. On Saturday, they take on Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. Kickoff is at 5:30 pm Pacific. Let’s see if the ‘Caps can string two wins in a row.
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