Eighty Six Forever, Post Match, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Whitecaps use youthful energy, red card to pummel shorthanded CF Montreal

It was a memorable first win of the season for the Caps, as they used a burst of youthful brilliance to put five goals past a 10-man CF Montreal Saturday night at BC Place.

A roll of the dice to start Simon Becher and Ali Ahmed paid off, was each player had multiple goal contributions in what was easily the crispest league performance in recent memory, helped along by yet another red card for Rudy Camacho in Vancouver.

The party forged on without Ryan Gauld, as Vanni Sartini opted for some tweaks to the standard 4-3-2-1. Javain Brown and Luis Martins were back as fullbacks and Ahmed made his full MLS debut in the midfield. Becher slotted in next to Brian White both featured, knocking out Gauld, and Pedro Vite got a well-earned start over Cristian Dajome.

The Caps started brightly enough, though both sides had a fair share of loose touches and passes over the first 20 minutes or so. One of those poor turnovers from Montreal prompted the clearest break of the match, before Joel Waterman cynically pulled back Ahmed, who was about to be clear in on goal. Julian Gressel shrugged off the frustration and nearly jarred the resulting free kick, but for the full stretch stop from Jonathan Sirois.

The Caps kept the pressure on and it earned two of the CFM centerbacks a yellow card and, soon, stiffer punishment. A lovely through ball lead to Rudy Camacho hauling down Becher. He was adjudged to have denied a clear goal scoring chance and sent off for the second time in the last two BC Place appearances.

Ahmed’s first half was worth the wait for his first MLS start, as he pushed forward and let Vite slide back when the time was ripe. His energy was electric and pace welcomed. He was denied a goal off a lovely touch from Brian White, whose involvement continued to be excellent and his three key passes paced the Caps in the first 45 minutes.

And White finally added a goal for his efforts, after a fantastic series of play for the Caps. Javain Brown won the ball back at the edge of the Montreal attacking third with a crunching tackle and delivered a perfect through ball to Becher, who teed up a wide open White for an easy finish to grab a deserved 1-0 lead.

The two youngsters hooked up for a second goal, shortly thereafter. Ahmed and Martins made use of ample space on the lefthand side and his cut back for Becher just outside the six led to a toe poke that slipped by Sirois to put the Caps on cruise control.

A third came in quick succession. White was denied a second by Sirois but it was tipped only as far as Gressel, who supplied White in the first place. The midfielder made no mistake to add his name to the scoresheet.

Only minutes after half time and Ali Ahmed decided he wanted to get his first MLS goal as well. More excellent hold up play from White helped him slip the ball to Ahmed, who made no mistake to put the Caps firmly out of sight and give them a fourth, with a deserved goal for the youngster.

Despite the scoreline, a fifth goal seemed inevitable, as the Caps remained comfortable and in control of possession, hungry for more. Javain Brown, who had a very good match at right back, found ample space and his Becher grabbed a brace, beating a downtrodden Waterman to the punch and flicking it home.

The underrated side benefit of an absolute blasting: Lots of rest for Gressel, Andres Cubas and Brian White ahead of a midweek match and no need to trouble Ryan Gauld’s sore hamstring. Plus a solid half hour as a rehab assignment for Deiber Caicedo and more time for JC Ngando to see the pitch.

Stray Thoughts

  • Even before the Camacho red card, the Caps’ press was causing all kinds of problems and forcing turnovers. Once that pressure saw the centerback sent packing, they were able to turn those mistakes into real chances and, eventually, goals. The notion that the Caps would rack up 19 shots in an entire game, much less one half, seemed impossible but they seemed to seize the intent from the opening whistle.
  • I never thought I would write this when he was drafted but Simon Becher is the missing piece to the attacking puzzle and the Sartini correctly seems to have figured out that he must play consistently. His movement and pace helped get Camacho sent off and his hold up play and passing (combined with his movement to take advantage of White’s hold up play) was excellent. Five goals in limited game time ain’t bad either.
  • Ahmed presents a similarly welcome dilemma, as he was incredibly impressive in midfield and his pace and ball control were key. His rapport with all of the attacking band and Luis Martins seemed natural and a pairing with Ryan Raposo on the left side seems to make even more sense. Ahmed can progress the ball so well, feasting on the extra space following the red card. A fantastic first start and one that seemingly is the start of things to come.
  • A sneaky good performance from Javain Brown, helped by more space because of the sending off but his crossing was decent and his defensive work stout — his tackle helped feed the second goal.
  • Winning is fun. Scoring five goals is fun. Let’s try and do that more!

Man of the Match

Simon Becher is the only possible choice here; his finishing, passing, hold up play and movement were all exceptional. If this feels unfair to Ahmed, Gressel and White, well, it is and they all certainly merit a mention. But Becher is the new sensation with good reason: he reminds me of peak 2021 in form Brian White, with pace to boot. And that is an absolutely tantalizing proposition.

(Image Credit: Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

7 thoughts on “Whitecaps use youthful energy, red card to pummel shorthanded CF Montreal”

  1. It honestly baffles me that there are still so many people who still don’t understand why “This is no not on TSN”. This outrage comes out after National Team matches relentlessly since One Soccer came on board. Now that TSN opted to reduce its MLS coverage, we are seeing it here. I don’t know how many posts or replies on social media it will take. So, perhaps we can just say it again:

    No media corp in Canada wanted to pay rights fees for the National Team program. In fact, the CSA was paying TSN up to a million dollars per year so they could show the matches. So, with a CPL needed and no media companies on board, CSB was formed and off they went door knocking until they found Media Pro willing to invest in a streaming service and pay rights fees. We get more matches from women and youth teams than ever before, and every mens match is on OneSoccer. So, people who get mad why national team is not on TSN just keep reminding them that TSN didn’t want to pay for it!

    When MLS did their Apple deal, TSN was allowed to keep the same broadcast package of Canadian matches that they have had for years. TSN decided to scale it down and only show one per week (on average , with special weekends like opening match day getting extra). That is on TSN. Not MLS, not Apple, not the whitecaps.

    So, if one has standard “cable television” and is not willing to pay for One Soccer or Apple TV MLS, then… they should be mad at Rogers and BELL, not the CSA or MLS, etc.

    I suppose people will just never want to learn that as it is much easier to be mad about it.

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  2. I enjoyed the game but could not believe the social media comments about Apple TV.
    1) Can’t we just enjoy one win without bitching like a little kid told that he can’t have ice cream after dinner?
    2) People need to get over the fact that TSN didn’t want the games. In the past TSN have asked the league to pay THEM to showing the games
    3) It cost $10 per month for TSN and about the same for Apple TV.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Coffee with the Caps: Monday, April 3 – The Third Sub

  4. I was at the game so I didn’t need mess around with Apple TV trying to watch on the delay basis and avoiding the score.

    Sartini deserves a lot of credit for his lineup. Did anyone foresee White as the withdrawn striker and Becher right up front. Astute.

    Was Martins on anybody’s radar? He had a fine game. He’s a good player. Not as athletic as Brown but very skillful, which it seems those in Caps Land don’t realize / see (there always has to be someone to slag).

    Our attacking play has been the best ever this season, with the exception of when Davies was on the pitch. I felt this type of breakout game was coming. Can this be sustained against top MLS opponents? Probably not, but for me, the belief is there.

    Ahmed was electrifying!!! The whole team put in 7.0 performances and some better.

    My only concern: too many shots not hitting the target. What’s best? A side footer from distance aiming for for the far corner or a put your laces through it screamer forcing the goalie to make a save. I’d like to see more shots on target. Too many side footers not on target.

    Vite was good but he was, for me, one of least impressive out there. The other being Teibert, who showed he doesn’t posses the attacking DNA that we need

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  5. and they were not fluke goals by becher last night- he has surprisingly quick feet and adjusts his body to get the ball to go where he wants it to go — to the corner of the net or in a pass to give to another teammate- what a difference 2 weeks makes for a young player and for the team- the belief is coming back that this team can be competitive and drive for a playoff spot

    but not convinced we have the head coach to pull it off- lets see what transpires over the next 2 games

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  6. lets say it as it is– Montreal looked horrible and would even struggle– in this game- to hold their own in a CPL game– they have lost 3 critical players and their head coach– its going to take time and other than games vs vancouver, i hope they do get it better

    and on another admittance, i have been super critical of the academy being totally ineffective since 2011- not 1 player made an impact in all those years- NOW, well, really on the night, both the tricky ahmed and the amazing becher were shot out of the cannon and were simply scintillating on the night – Vanni had best not screw this up-

    becher is clearly ‘lightening in the bottle’ and as i wrote last week, could very well cause white to loosen up and be a striker with force- it worked wonders as the chemistry between the 2 was a treat for all of us; and ahmed has to be the pick over Schopf or raposo- his pace, dribbling and intelligence were simply magical on the night, creating multiple chances

    the game was a total package from a tight and solid defence, to an energetic, crisp passing MF, to a flowing and creative attack- IT WAS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER as its been sooooo long and painful a journey –

    we all know the BIG QUESTION– a 1 hit wonder, or the possibility of more- with what i saw last night, we can expect more – the keys driving this will be– Becher continuing his dynamic form and Vanni not screwing it up

    Reply

    1. would it be fair to say Sartini did a good job and set us up well for Wednesday’s game against LAFC?

      Reply

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