Saturday night at PayPal Park, the Vancouver Whitecaps stormed to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, propelled by second half substitute performances from Ali Ahmed, Alessandro Schopf, and Fafa Picault.

While this match was certainly not a perfect 90 minute showing from the Whitecaps, I think the team displayed some impressive maturity throughout. The first half was extremely low-event, and it would have been easy to fall into the trap of forcing the issue, but the Whitecaps remained composed in their defensive structure, completely neutralizing Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse, the only two Earthquakes who were likely to pose Vancouver serious problems.

The same could be said of early in the second half, where the Earthquakes upped the pressure, but the Whitecaps remained resolute. After the Quakes failed to score during that early second half push, it was clear that both emotionally and physically, San Jose no longer had any gas left in the tank. This is when Vancouver started to take over proceedings, with some very well timed substitutions that broke the match wide open. With the Earthquakes on the back foot, they struggled to handle Ali Ahmed and Fafa Picault’s direct and physical approach, and from there, the rest is history.

While the performance on Saturday night was certainly praiseworthy, I do think there are some sustainability concerns as to how this exact approach would play out against teams much better than San Jose. Better teams might be able to punish a reasonably static defensive posture, even if it’s just with a moment of individual brilliance. Similarly, Vancouver needs to find something more dynamic than the current front three combination (either tactically, or in terms of personnel). Overall though, the qualities the Whitecaps showed in San Jose this past weekend serve as a good baseline to build from as the Whitecaps travel down to Dallas next weekend.

Alright, on to the player ratings we go:

Yohei Takaoka – 7.0

The Japanese keeper was not terribly busy, only having to make two saves. That being said, both were quality stops which could have proved tricky if a keeper was having an off day: Espinoza tested Yohei near-post from outside the area on a free kick, and Pellegrino stung a spinning shot that was curling away from Takaoka from an obstructed angle.

Mathias Laborda – 7.0

The whole backline was very solid in this match, and it was nice to have Mathias back in the XI. Laborda’s aggressive nature, often snuffing out attacking phases before they can even start, is something this Vancouver defensive unit has been missing at times, so it was good to see him build on his Champions Cup showings.

Ranko Veselinovic – 7.5

This is the kind of match you want to see from Ranko. He was assertive in the few moments that were needed, and otherwise, he kept things organized at the back and was very sharp with his distribution.

Tristan Blackmon – 7.0

The American defender, along with Luis Martins in front of him, were impressive in the way they largely negated the impact of Cristian Espinoza. As with Ranko, Blackmon fared better on the ball in this match than he did against Charlotte, which is an important part of the way the Whitecaps want to play.

Andres Cubas – 8.5

Cubas was an absolute force in this match, as he was essential to the way the Whitecaps were able to stifle San Jose, especially in the first half. This is what you want from a DP defensive midfielder.

The Cubas effect:

– 85% pass accuracy
– 5/7 tackles won
– 2 clearances
– 4 interceptions
– 9 recoveries
– 10/15 ground duels one
– 1/1 aerial duels won
– fouled 3 times#VWFC

— Nathan Durec (@ndurec) March 10, 2024

Pedro Vite – 7.0

Though Vancouver did not do a ton on the ball in the first 60 minutes, Vite had some silky touches and passes that really caught my attention. With the front three a bit better sorted out, Vite can have real impact as a threat in transition play for Vancouver. It’s worth noting how much his defensive play has developed as well, he’s not on a Cubas level, but he’s certainly a plus defender for Vancouver in the midfield.

Luis Martins – 7.0

While I was not a huge fan of Martins being in the starting XI for this match, I couldn’t help but like what I saw from him in his 60+ minutes. It was not glamorous, but he did the job defensively against Espinoza, and executed the gameplan perfectly. Obviously, there’s no real dynamism or attacking threat from Martins to speak of, but as long as you deploy him in the right spot, he can be a useful player to have in the squad.

Javain Brown – 6.5

Deploying Brown in a more advanced role is good in the sense that it helps avoid some of the pitfalls of his defensive game. In theory, this advanced positioning also gives Brown more of a chance to push forward and add to the attack. The problem is, while Javain does get forward and put himself in the right positions, the final product is most often lacking. I’m not really sure what the Whitecaps should do with Brown, he has some good traits, but tactically, I don’t really see the fit.

Ryan Gauld – 8.0

Though the Scotsman did not feature on the score-sheet, he was responsible for pretty much every other chance that the Whitecaps created, outside the two goals, as he recorded 5 key passes on the evening. With slightly sharper finishing from Brian White, Gauld could have very well had two assists. After a lacklustre showing last week, Vancouver’s most important player looks to be back on track.

Brian White – 6.5

White made some great runs in transition to put himself in dangerous scoring positions, but obviously you’d like to see him finish one of those chances. As mentioned last week, the combination of White and Kreilach is just not doing enough to stress opposing defensive lines at the moment, the two strikers are not getting enough touches from normal buildup play, and even when they do, it’s not often in advantageous positions.

Damir Kreilach – 6.0

Look, I don’t think what has happened to Kreilach over the first two matches is really his fault, he’s simply being asked to play in a role, and to play an amount of minutes, that does not suit him at this stage in his career. His stat line, 26 touches, 2 for 7 on ground duels, 2 for 7 on aerial duels, says it all really.

Ali Ahmed –  8.5

The young Canadian’s impact on the match was immense, particularly given his dynamism in comparison to the static nature of the match leading up to that point. While his roasting of Tommy Thompson leading to a brilliant individual goal was the highlight, there were a bunch of other nice moments in possession where Ahmed offered real threat from his wide role. Vancouver will be a different team with him in the starting XI.

Fafa Picault – 7.5

I’m still a bit curious as to why Fafa did not start, as this seemed like the perfect matchup for him. Like Ahmed, Picault offered a lot more for the San Jose defenders to stress about than they had seen up until that point, especially given their struggles defending in transition. It would be good to see what he can do in a longer stint.

Ryan Raposo – 6.5

The Canadian was solid off the bench replacing Javain Brown, though I can’t remember any particular standout moments.

Alessandro Schopf – 7.0

As mentioned on the broadcast, his first touch of the match might have been his shot from outside the area which opened the scoring for Vancouver. Although he’s not had a great time so far in Vancouver, the Austrian obviously still has a lot of quality, and he demonstrated that on the goal.

Sebastian Berhalter – NS

Michael D’Agostino & Vanni Sartini – 7.0

I’ll recycle my takes from the opening paragraphs a bit here. I thought Vancouver’s discipline sticking to their gameplan was impressive, though I wonder if it would work against better teams. I also think it’s time to try Johnson or Picault up front instead of Kreilach, nothing wrong with bringing the veteran off the bench in the 55th if you think that’s what the match needs. Overall, Vancouver has been super solid defensively so far and that’s a big credit to the work Sartini did this preseason. Equally, despite not being super sharp, Vancouver still has 3 goals though 2 matches, which is a decent offensive output. This match felt like another step in the Whitecaps’ progression, and they are already off to a better start than last year.

Alright, those were my thoughts on this past weekend in San Jose. Let me know yours in the comments!