The Vancouver Whitecaps had a hill to climb in Leagues Cup.
After a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Atlante on Tuesday, the ‘Caps looked to get back to winning ways against FC Juarez. (And their glow-in-the-dark/Ben 10 green kits, which kind of hurt my eyes.) The visitors have lost all three of their Liga MX games so far this season. But they did get their first win of the season on Tuesday in St. Paul. That was a 2-1 win over Minnesota United.
This time, head coach Jesper Sørensen started a strong lineup that included Brian White, Emmanuel Sabbi and Thomas Müller. 18-year-old Whitecaps FC 2 Johnny Selemani also got a start on the right wing, his first-ever start for the first team.
It was promising from the Whitecaps, but it was still a frustrating game. Though you could say: “Meh, it’s Leagues Cup.”
First half: Badwal gets things started, but Juarez ties it
For the past couple of games, the Whitecaps had trouble keeping the ball. They were giving it away a lot, especially with the back passes. Against Juarez early, their passing looked so much better.
The way they moved the ball was quick and crisp. Selemani thought he got his first professional goal early, but it was called off because he fouled a Juarez player. Still, it was a good hustle from the academy product.
It was another player that came through the academy that got the Whitecaps on the scoresheet. Edier Ocampo played the ball in the box for Jeevan Badwal. The Surrey native finished with the one-time shot.
Not only was the passing better, but so was the pressing. They were forcing Juarez to sit in their own half and give the ball away. The Mexican side couldn’t even break out. Vancouver faced a ton of low blocks in recent games, but Juarez were not playing like that at that point.
Well, that was until the 33rd minute. Jairo Torres did a great job taking the ball from Selemani. Then Ettson Ayon put a spell on the Whitecaps defence to make them fall asleep, and his shot beat Isaac Boehmer. Just like that, Juarez had tied the game. Once again, the Whitecaps had all that possession and momentum, but one goal from the opponent changed things.
The Whitecaps did keep things in the driver’s seat. Ocampo and Tate Johnson were doing a good job with their through balls. White nearly retook the lead for Vancouver, but he was denied by Tigers goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado. White has scored once since the World Cup break, and that was against Cavalry in the first leg of their Canadian Championship quarterfinal tie.
It looked like White tweaked something on that shot. He had to come off around the 41st minute for Tunisian international Rayan Elloumi. Not a good sight for Whitecaps fans by any means, but given White’s body language and the fact he wasn’t;t surrounded by training staff, it seemed like a minor issue and was just a precaution. Given the condensed schedule, it was understandable.
Elloumi nearly got his goal right before halftime. Selemani’s cross was fantastic, but Elloumi couldn’t redirect the header on goal.
The Whitecaps did look better than they did on Tuesday, but they definitely should’ve scored more goals. Both Badwal and Selemani were cooking though.
Second half: Whitecaps still can’t break down a low block
Ryan Gauld and Mathias Laborda came on for Emmanuel Sabbi and Ralph Priso. Sabbi was coming off knee surgery, and Priso was coming off a hamstring injury. Sørensen did not want to take chances with them, especially with the compact schedule.
With the Whitecaps playing keep-away, Juarez dropped down to the low block and counterattack strategy. Gauld and Müller were trying to create chances, but Juarez shut down the spaces.
The Mexican side looked fast on the counterattack. Tristan Blackmon did a very good job tracking back in the 55th minute to prevent a goal.
Once again, Selemani was impressing with his pace, physicality and his crosses into the box. Perhaps there is a player there. The Edmonton native definitely deserves some more looks this season.
Elloumi was getting service in the box. He just couldn’t connect on the crosses from Gauld and Ngando. It also didn’t help that Juarez was a human wall and making blocks everywhere. Müller was also wide open multiple times, but the ball couldn’t get to him.
And it was a giveaway by Ngando that helped Juarez take the lead. Substitute Oscar Estupinian took Denzell Garcia’s pass and got by Laborda and the Whitecaps high line. Boehmer got a piece of the shot, but there was too much power. (Goalkeeper experts definitely would criticize Boehmer’s positioning) Poor giveaway by Ngando, but what a pass from Garcia. Once again, Vancouver’s defence fell asleep.
Vancouver pushed and pushed. But Juarez’s low block worked perfectly, and Jurado made the saves he needed to make. Nothing was working for the Whitecaps. There were blocked shots and crosses, poor touches, players arriving a tad late to balls and shots that were wide or right at Jurado.
To make things worse, Juarez sealed the win deep into stoppage time. Another substitute, Ricardinho, got ahead of Laborda and caught Boehmer out of his crease and chipped him. That fat lady sang.
Once again, the Whitecaps dominated possession and xG, but they couldn’t break down the low block. This has been a problem for the ‘Caps even before the World Cup break. This team is clearly slumping. There is no creativity or urgency in the attack, and the defending made some careless errors.
On the bright side, Vancouver’s Leagues Cup hopes are dead at this point. They might as well play Whitecaps FC 2 players against Tigres on Tuesday and then focus on MLS. Better to slump in Leagues Cup than in MLS play.
But this team once again needs to get back to the drawing board. This was one of those games that makes you want to smash your phone or something.
Stat of the match
72% possession and just the one goal to show for it.
Tweet of the match
If I’m not mistaken, the Apple TV broadcast mentioned the Whitecaps have just one win in 16 (or 15?) games against Liga MX teams.
Wrap-up
The Whitecaps will travel to Monterrey to face Tigres on Tuesday. That game starts at 7:00 pm Pacific. After that, they return to MLS as they face the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field on Sunday, August 16. That game starts at 7:30 pm Pacific. Seattle has not won a game since May 13.
Can the Whitecaps turn things around? They certainly have the talent to do so. But they clearly need reinforcements, and it is clear they are active in the transfer market, with them looking to sign a current MLS midfielder. Perhaps they are looking at the attack too?
Hopefully this is just a blip for the Whitecaps, but if this continues in MLS play, we’ll have a big problem.
Discover more from A51
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
