By Alexandre-Gangue-Ruzic and Samuel Rowan.

A victory just didn’t seem to be in the cards for the Vancouver Whitecaps against Austin on Saturday night. 

Ironically, despite putting up one of their most complete and dominant performances of the season, it only yielded a frustrating home draw, as they settled for a 0-0 draw against a red-hot Austin side. 

Despite Austin’s resurgent form, however, as they entered this game having won four of their last five games in MLS play, they played anything like that as they only mustered up four shots and kept 34% of possession on the night, spending most of the game ceding control of the match to their hosts. 

Part of that is a credit to the Whitecaps, who were elite at defending, especially in transition, and were dangerous all night long in possession, but Austin were able to escape unscathed as one big element was lacking for the Whitecaps on the night – that killer blow. 

After scoring in every game this MLS season, they were held off the board for the first time, which was unfortunate as it meant they wasted their fourth clean sheet in 10 games. 

Given that’s been their bread-and-butter this season – defend resolutely and then be clinical at the other end – that will certainly frustrate them, as they were one moment of magic away from pulling off another important win as they continue their early push up the table. 

Yet, this was a match riddled with frustration from the start, so in a sense, the warning signs were there early, starting with the first half can be best described as a rollercoaster. Despite applying most of the pressure on Austin, surviving an early Austin wave before spending most of the half on the front foot, they were unable to find a first-half goal

In particular, refereeing ended up dominating the storylines, as the Whitecaps had two glorious opportunities, which ended up being wiped out by VAR intervention, with one being a goal that was ultimately disallowed for a handball, and then a penalty shout that was waived away despite seeming quite convincing. 

Other than those two moments, the Whitecaps couldn’t have professed to have that greatest of chances, however, as most of their other opportunities weren’t dangerous enough to breach Brad Stuver, who was having a solid game in the Austin net, showing why he’s one of the top goalkeepers in MLS. 

For example, he made an excellent diving stop on a curling Ryan Gauld strike that most goalkeepers would’ve struggled to get a hand on, and then routinely dealt with a pair of Fafà Picault chances – one from a header right on top of him and the other from a long shot. 

Had it not been for him, Austin would’ve been in a big hole early, as they were struggling to complete simple passes, turning over possession needlessly on several occasions, making it tough for them to enter the Whitecaps half of the field. 

Stuver’s magic continued into the second half, too. The Whitecaps didn’t slow down their offensive push, as they looked to send a strong crowd home happy with a goal, but Stuver stood tall in the face of that. 

The Whitecaps did also miss a few chances they’ll want back, as Picault sent a header wide from close range, Ryan Gauld curled a shot just wide from a dangerous spot, Brian White had a header sail just over, and Pedro Vite had a dangerous volley blocked, but even those that found the target were handled easily by Stuver. 

A dangerous Ryan Raposo header seemed destined to at least force a corner, but Stuver managed to catch it, and then Bjørn Inge Utvik had an excellent header denied by the Austin goalkeeper, who somehow made the save ook easy. 

And at the end, it led the Whitecaps to fall short of what could’ve been a crucial victory, one that would’ve seen them finish the night second in the Western Conference, as they instead stayed in third. Ahead of a busy stretch of games the rest of May, including their two-legged Canadian Championship tie and some midweek MLS games, those points could’ve been massive ahead of a crucial stretch of play, one where it could be tough for them to maintain their current points-per-game total. 

To their credit, they’re not too worried about what’s to come, as they feel that if they play like this in those games, they will be more than alright, although they’ll have to hope this was truly a case of bad luck and not a return to what the 2023 iteration of this team often famously did – play well but be wasteful in front of goal. 

Given what they’ve shown so far this season, they’re justified in carrying that belief that they’ve moved on from their 2023 frustrations, but they’ll need to prove that this Austin game was a blip, not a sign of things to come, which they’ve more than earned the right to do after their start to the year. 

Here are three thoughts on today’s game, as we saw it from inside BC Place.

The low-block continues to frustrate the Whitecaps:

It again continues to be the Whitecaps’ kryptonite – breaking down teams who sit back in a low block. 

When the game opens up, the Whitecaps have no problem opening the gates and letting their horses run, which can lead to fun performances like their 4-0 victory over Toronto FC.

As soon as teams sit back, however, they just seem to lack that same killer edge in front of goal, and this game was another example of that. It’s not for a lack of chances – they had their moments in this match, but it just seemed like once they entered the last 30 minutes of the game still tied, the game wasn’t going to end any differently. 

Hard to land a knockout blow when the other guy's only goal is to not get knocked out. #vwfc

— Caleb Wilkins (@wilkins_caleb24) May 5, 2024

And it’s not the first time this season they’ve faced that issue, as they struggled to break down the New York Red Bulls last week when they hunkered down for the last 15 minutes of that clash after a red card, and they had the same issue the week before against the Seattle Sounders, with their high press carrying them offensively in that one. 

Yet, it remains hard to identify an issue as to why they struggle with that. It’s not a lack of quality, as Ryan Gauld loves to break down defences, the likes of Ryan Raposo, Sam Adekugbe and Fafà Picault can whip in a dangerous cross, and Brian White can score a header, so that idea can go out the window. 

And it’s not like they’re not generating any chances, either, as they had their moments to put away Austin, and just weren’t able to score. 

Could it be psychological? Gauld didn’t seem to think so when asked, but one can only wonder if the Whitecaps get into their heads when they’re chasing a goal and facing strong defensive resistance. 

For what it’s worth, head coach Vanni Sartini did offer up an interesting solution, one that seems to track with the idea that the problem does come down to mentality as much as it does tactics. 

When asked about low blocks, he notes that he wants to see his team make more near-post runs when they’re out wide, drawing the defenders out with that movement to then create more space in the penalty box and at the back post, saying that he finds his team makes too many hopeful runs at the far post. 

Yet, that seems to back a key point when it comes to low blocks – the Whitecaps sometimes seem guilty of thinking that the goal is going to fall for them because they’re getting into good areas and providing dangerous service, and are not doing the extra action they need to find a goal, be it a sacrificial run off the ball or through the conviction they’re putting into their shots. 

In a bit of a return to 2023 for #VWFC, they just couldn't break down Austin's low block in a 0-0 draw

They outshot Austin 22-5, and the xG was 1.5-0.1, but Brad Stuver was immense, and he didn't have a lot to do in the last 20'

Low blocks continue to be a 'Caps kryptonite

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 5, 2024

They often want the perfect goal, and when it comes, it can be a thing of beauty – just look at White’s goal last week against New York – but that isn’t always going to come every night. 

Ugly goals count just the game, and that might just be the solution to their low block problem, one they’ll need to fix soon or else they will need to start getting used to playing against them more regularly as teams around MLS catch on. -Alex

Controversial decisions loom large in loss:

It was a night of frustration for the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place, and in the first half, officiating decisions were the primary focus of that frustration. 

While ultimately Vancouver needed to do more in this game in order to secure three points, you can understand why they will feel hard done by the early decisions at the same time.

Perhaps I am in the minority here – I certainly was in the press box – but I can see the logic behind both decisions that were made on the night. Let me explain.

First, the ball does appear to clip Fafà Picault’s hand in the buildup to Ryan Gauld’s disallowed goal. The problem is that the handball was not called on the field, and I think it was far from “clear” whether it was a handball offence based on the replays that were made available. Ultimately, my issues lie with the inconsistency in terms of what meets the threshold for overturning a decision, not the decision itself. 

It didn't count on the field, but it still counts in our hearts 😜 #VWFC | #VANvATX pic.twitter.com/HJ0CEJzixO

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) May 5, 2024

Picault was also at the centre of the second contentious moment, where he fell to the turf in the box after a stern challenge from Alex Ring. 

Here, I didn’t mind the no-call on the pitch, I thought live that it would have been a soft penalty. Picault is a good distance away from the ball, and Ring gains enough body position to earn the right to challenge for it. 

tbf its not quite "square in the back" but what they keep calling "shoulder to shoulder" doesn't negate the stick put in Fafa's spokes pic.twitter.com/ykJ0Cf4Rqj

— The Third Sub (@The3rdSub) May 5, 2024

The problem is, when you view the challenge on replay several times, you can see the way that Ring lunges in from distance and how he clips Picault’s legs before he ever gets shoulder to shoulder. My question is, if you used replay to overturn a call in the first instance, without overwhelming evidence, why would you not do the same in the second?

In the end, those decisions are not the only reason Vancouver dropped points at home. Yet, they certainly will look back on those moments and wonder what would have happened had those decisions gone the other way. – Sam

Injuries set to test Whitecaps squad depth as big month looms:

A big moment in this match was Sam Adekugbe going down with a calf injury. Not necessarily because it changed the match itself in a massive way, as Ryan Raposo was very good after he came on, but because of what the next month and beyond looks like for Vancouver.

This was Vancouver’s first match of the season with both Ali Ahmed and Adekugbe starting in their preferred wide midfield roles at the same time, and just as quickly as that came into play for Vancouver after a lengthy wait to make it happen, it’s gone again.

With the Canadian Championship and MLS midweek fixtures upcoming, some thin position groups for Vancouver will now be tested. When looking at the forward group, Fafà Picault is only just recovering from back issues, while Damir Kreilach was seen in a walking boot during the match. We haven’t experienced much of Levonte Johnson this season, but it might be time that we see more from him in terms of minutes, whether he’s ready for it or not.

At wing back, if Adekugbe misses serious time, it will push either Raposo into a regular starting role, or see Alessandro Schopf shift back out wide. 

Then, in the middle of the park, regardless of where Vanni Sartini goes, there is very little depth in terms of dynamic midfielders. Sebastian Berhalter and Ralph Priso are good system fits as defensive mids, but not as the kind of creative players Vancouver might need if the ‘Caps are forced to rotate heavily in the coming weeks and months.

Vancouver has been successful to start this season, in part without the likes of Adekugbe in the mix, so I don’t think it’s fair to push the panic button quite yet. However, with Adekugbe facing the possibility of being out for a good period of time, I do think Vanni Sartini will be forced to consider his options carefully in terms of how he manages his squad going forward. – Sam

This post was done in collaboration with Canadian Soccer Daily, who cover all things Canadian Soccer at https://canadiansoccerdaily.com