After 98 days, the Vancouver Whitecaps were back home at BC Place.
The 43-year-old stadium in Downtown Vancouver was fresh off hosting seven FIFA World Cup games. Now Whitecaps fans get to watch their local team against Heung-Min Son’s LAFC in a rematch of that epic Western Conference semi-final clash from last November.
LAFC have been flying since the World Cup break ended. They have scored 10 goals and conceded just one since. Son, Canadian World Cup participant Jacob Shaffelburg and notorious ‘Caps killer Denis Bouanga provided a tough test.
The Whitecaps were coming off a 0-0 draw in Minnesota and a wild 4-3 loss in Cincinnati. They were getting healthy bodies back as Emmanuel Sabbi and Ralph Priso were available for selection. Ryan Gauld and Sam Adekugbe were also back from long-term injuries. However, Vancouver was without speedy winger Bruno Caicedo, Kenji Cabrera, Mihail Gherasimencov and new signing Kwasi Poku, who were all out with injuries. (Gherasimencov was out with illness.) Ranko Veselinovic also reinjured his knee in Minnesota, and on Friday, Whitecaps CEO and Sporting Director Axel Schuster hinted he’ll miss some time. Not to mention that Sebastian Berhalter was now a Middlesbrough player, leaving a big hole in the midfield.
This was a battle between two of the elite teams in MLS, and both were going for the Western Conference crown, the Supporters’ Shield, and a deep MLS Cup Playoff run. Vancouver loves to have the ball, and LAFC were fine without it, but they knew how to kill teams in transition.
This game was a battle, and the points were shared.
First half: All that possession and Son bites the Whitecaps
Vancouver pinned LAFC in their own half. Oliver Larraz and Paraguayan World Cup participant Andres Cubas were doing a good job with their tackles and preventing LAFC from breaking out. Cubas and Jeevan Badwal tested Hugo Lloris early. Mathias Laborda nearly opened the scoring the same way he did in the playoffs against this same LAFC side: A header from a corner kick. But this time, he headed it high.
10 minutes in, Brian White nearly thought he opened the scoring and the fans inside BC Place did too. Gauld found Badwal, and he flicked the ball on for White. However, Hugo Lloris made a spectacular save. Now that is a World Cup-winning goalkeeper.
White did beat Lloris 25 minutes in after Gauld played a nice pass to him. However, it looked like White was a tad offside. That was unfortunate because that was vintage Gauld and White. It was like seeing Batman and Robin get back together or something.
The passes from the Whitecaps were all over the place as they were giving the ball away quite a bit. Maybe they were getting used to the new thick turf. Nonetheless, Cubas and Larraz were doing a great job with their recoveries. Son and Bouanga were ready to pounce at any given moment. Thankfully for the Whitecaps, Laborda and Blackmon watched them like hawks.
Well, that was until the 37th minute. Laborda was being pressured by Shaffelburg, and Blackmon lost the ball to Bouanga, and he found Son. The South Korean star buried the ball past Takaoka. Once again, LAFC didn’t need the ball much; they just needed one moment on the transition. For the Whitecaps, their early momentum and possession were for nothing. Now they trailed.
And that was the story of the half; LAFC needed one chance to take the lead. The Whitecaps were too passive with their attack.
Second Half: Müller levels the game
There was another half for Vancouver to get back into it. But early in the second half, Blackmon made another bad giveaway to Son. This time around, he and Bouanga couldn’t find a shooting lane.
The blue and white were still indecisive in the attack. LAFC started clogging the box, and they were unsure where and when to shoot. Sometimes you just got to let it rip. Berhalter knew that well when he was a Whitecap.
LAFC were doing a good job blocking any shot that came their way. The Whitecaps’ attack didn’t have any bite or even bark to it. It also didn’t help that the players were still getting used to the new turf. They were stumbling, and their first touches were poor.
Thomas Müller in particular was having trouble with the turf. It obviously wasn’t an excuse, but he was one of the players who was losing the ball very easily in and around the box. The 2014 World Cup winner nearly got the fans out of their seats with a blast from outside the box in the 67th minute. However, it just went too high.
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen rolled the dice with his substitutions. Gauld and Cubas were taken off for Sabbi and Cheikh Sabaly. That meant Badwal dropped to the midfield alongside Larraz.
Soon after the subs, LAFC’s Evgen Cherberko decided to yank Müller in the box. Clear penalty all day. Maybe Cherbenko really wanted his shirt. It was World Cup winner vs World Cup winner. The Raumdeuter sent Lloris the wrong way, and BC Place erupted.
That goal fired up the crowd and the Whitecaps themselves. They were running with more urgency and charging into the box. Sabaly and Sabbi clearly brought new life on the wings, and so did Priso when he came in for Badwal in the midfield. The press was also really turning on.
Son had a glorious chance to win the game for LAFC. But he shot the ball into Row Z. He was offside anyway, but how in the world did he miss that?
In the end, the points were shared. It once again feels like one that the Whitecaps should’ve won, especially with the chances and possession. Teams have been liking to frustrate them by sitting back, and LAFC was no different. The final third was still toothless, and the only goal on Saturday afternoon was a penalty.
If you want something positive, there are a few. Larraz had his best game of the season, and this was better than the past two games. Plus, with the draw, Vancouver remained top of the West.
Stat of the match
Shots were 20 to 5 in favour of the Whitecaps. Five of the Whitecaps shots were on target. LAFC had one, and that was the goal Son scored in the first half.
What was said
Sørensen was still pleased with the performance despite just getting one point.
“I think the mentality of the team is amazing,” he said. We are not perfect, and we won’t be perfect. But I think we came out great….we got a punch in the face with the goal (by Son). In the second half, we pushed without giving too much…I want to praise the players for their great mentality and patience. It’s always difficult when you have the feeling as a player, and you get disappointed when you are behind.”
He was also asked about the attack needing more from open play.
“Teams are sitting back against us, Minnesota and now LA,” said Sørensen. “Sometimes we need a little bit more. Maybe we need to bring a cross a little earlier to create chaos in the box, and maybe there will be a loose ball. I think we played with good patience. They (LAFC) don’t let in many goals, and they had a lead to defend. Maybe we can do a little bit more in that regard, but it is a thing we work on every day.”
Gauld also spoke about how tough it was to break down LAFC.
“We had a lot of the ball,” he said. “They are a difficult team to break through…I think the persistence showed at the end and we got the penalty and kept pushing after that. Unfortunately, we never created quite as many chances as we would have wanted.”
The Scotsman also talked about starting at home for the first time in over a year.
“I’ve been gone a long time, but I feel good,” said Gauld. “It’s good to be back in front of our fans, and I think we put in a good performance for them. It’s a shame we didn’t come away with three points, but it’s good to be back home. I look forward to playing in a few more games here.”
Tweet of the match
It sure felt like that. They were even getting favourable decisions from the referee. At least they didn’t try to fight the Whitecaps players at full time.
Wrap-up
The Whitecaps will now compete in the Apple TV Cup…er….Leagues Cup. Their first test is on Tuesday at BC Place against Atalante FC. They currently sit 14th in the Liga MX table with a 0-1-1 record.
There are a ton of games coming for the Whitecaps, and they still have lots to figure out.
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