This past Sunday at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps levelled their first round series with Los Angeles FC in an emphatic 3-0 win. It was only Vancouver’s second home playoff victory as an MLS club, and their first win over a team of this quality in an elimination match. As much as the Whitecaps struggled to close the season, this is exactly the kind of scenario Vancouver will have been hoping to find themselves in come playoff time. They’re headed to game three for a winner-take-all match against a rival, one where the Whitecaps have shown they have a real chance of advancing to the next round.

Ok, without further delay, let’s take a look at the individual performances from the big home win:

Yohei Takaoka – 8.5

The Japanese goalkeeper made two massive saves when it mattered most. He also seemed to find a good balance of being aggressive with his shot stopping but not getting caught out off his line too often.

Tristan Blackmon – 6.5

It was not a great match from Blackmon, looking a bit too hectic at times and getting lost in one very notable moment against Bouanga. Nonetheless, the Whitecaps kept a clean sheet, so hard to complain too much.

Ranko Veselinovic – 8.5

I thought Ranko was fantastic. In particular, his aggression in clearing away through balls and crosses really allowed the Whitecaps’ gameplan to work.

Sam Adekugbe – 7.0

Sam was really aggressive early on, and that was nice to see. His positioning and passing seemed to loosen, especially early in the second half, but thankfully the Whitecaps weren’t punished for it.

Sebastian Berhalter – 8.0

Berhalter took on a massive task in this match, defending Denis Bouanga, but also playing like a winger in attack. He was incredible through the first 45 minutes, but ran out of gas after that, which is pretty understandable.

Andres Cubas – 8.5

The defensive midfielder was physical in this one, contesting 15 ground duels and winning 10 of them. He also had some nice moments in distribution, as the Whitecaps looked to put LAFC under pressure after winning the ball.

Ali Ahmed – 8.0

Ahmed’s impact in this match is probably better described by the pressure he placed on LA, rather than any moments he had on the ball. The final third instincts still need work, but his range and ball-carrying abilities make him a great partner for Armstrong in the middle.

Stuart Armstrong – 8.0 

I was really impressed Armstrong went 80 minutes, even though it was clearly a battle for the last 20 of those. Simply put, the Whitecaps are a different team when they have a player of his quality that can help deliver the ball to the front three – it’s been massive these past three matches.

Ryan Gauld – 9.0

The captain has hit a different level in these playoffs, with five goals overall, and one goal plus two passes that led to own goals (whatever you want to call that stat) in this match. Basically, he’s been everything the Whitecaps could have asked for so far in these playoffs.

Brian White – 7.0

White gave LAFC enough to worry about centrally, opening up space for other players in wide areas against LA’s marauding fullbacks. He made a nice run which led to the third VWFC goal as well. Overall, the fact that Vancouver is in this position despite not having a goal from White in this series has to be encouraging, it’s only a matter of time.

Fafa Picault – 8.5

Fafa was in his bag of tricks this match, busting out skill moves and pressing with ruthless intensity. He forced LA’s backline into compromising positions with his diagonal runs, and LA has yet to find an answer for it.

Substitutes – 7.0

The Whitecaps had the good fortune of finding a third goal and not needing a massive impact from their bench in this match. That said, Utvik made a big goal-line block that was crucial in preventing any signs of life from the visitors.

Vanni Sartini – 8.5

Sartini deserves massive credit for both sticking with a system that has worked, but also throwing in a tactical curve-ball that Steve Cherundolo and LAFC clearly were not ready to face in this match. Vancouver has done a very good job so far in this series of limiting LAFC’s threats while not completely sacrificing their ability to put their opponents under pressure, exposing some of the weaknesses within a very good LA team. It will be very interesting to see how much Sartini changes, and how much he keeps the same, for the all-important game three.

Alright, those are my thoughts from the big home win. Let me know yours in the comments, as always!