Saturday afternoon in Toronto, the Vancouver Whitecaps played out a 0-0 draw with TFC at BMO Field.

While Vancouver’s positive start to the season remains intact, the match itself continued a run of two straight frustrating results, where Jesper Sørensen’s side will most likely feel they deserved better given the quality of their play. Nonetheless, the Whitecaps will have to reset quickly, as they come back home to host Pumas in Concacaf play midweek.

Alright, without further ado, let’s have a look at the player ratings.

Yohei Takaoka – 7.5

The Japanese keeper was not called upon often, but he did make a massive save on Deiby Flores in the late stages of the match which accounted for about 90% of TFC’s xG on the afternoon.

Mathias Laborda – 6.5

It was a shame to see Laborda come off with a knock, as he’s been in pretty good form this season. The Uruguayan looked a little unsettled in comparison to how good he’s been this year, but I don’t think the grinding nature of this match really suited his normally aggressive approach.

Ranko Veselinovic – 7.0

Ranko was steady as you like at the back, and looked much more comfortable with Blackmon back alongside him. He had a couple of good set piece involvements as well.

Tristan Blackmon – 8.0

I said on our podcast this week that I thought Blackmon might have been the player Vancouver missed most against Chicago, and I’m feeling pretty good about that after watching this match. The American defender has made a trademark this season of reading the play early and making interceptions high up the pitch to cut off opposition attacks and he helps bring that proactive approach to the whole backline. He also did a great job getting out wide and supporting Tate Johnson against Federico Bernardeschi.

Tate Johnson – 6.5

For a youngster in his first matches at the MLS level, I think Tate has done incredibly well. He has good instincts around the box and can hold his own defensively for the most part. That said, it does feel like there is a clear drop-off in comparison to Adekugbe, or Ocampo (who plays on the right, but still), in that spot.

Andres Cubas – 7.5

It is a real shame that the Whitecaps will likely be without Cubas against Pumas. His presence in the midfield was notable in this match, winning those dogged battles in the midfield and spreading the ball around to keep Vancouver humming in possession.

JC Ngando – 7.0

Not everything Ngando did in this match was perfect, as he did have a few stray passes and was knocked off the ball once or twice, but boy, this guy is silky smooth on the ball, and he plays some very clever passes in tight spaces. I do think Ngando benefits from being a secondary midfield option though, so you might get more out of him with the likes of Vite and Gauld back in the starting XI.

Sebastian Berhalter – 7.5

Berhalter has been doing everything in this power the last couple of matches to keep the Whitecaps in attack mode, even without so many of their key contributors. His set piece delivery was very good against TFC (0.69 xA), and you can always count on him to mix things up physically, even with the officials.

Jayden Nelson – 5.5

There is a chance this match meant a little too much to Nelson. He was putting in a massive effort and was trying to do all the right things, but none of that really seemed to work for him. I think this is the version of Nelson that you worry about when he was acquired (not saying I expect it to continue, just illustrating the point), he was 0 for 6 in his dribble attempts against Toronto, and 3 for 17 in his duels.

Brian White – 6.0

White was not very busy in this match, with only 19 touches and 1 shot. I thought TFC’s backline actually did a pretty nice job being physical against him, and Ahmed and Nelson were not offering enough of a direct threat to open up space for him.

Ali Ahmed – 7.0

Ali made some nice passes (0.50 xA) and was generally pretty productive down the left flank. That being said, it would be nice to see Ahmed cut inside more often and threaten the box with the ball at his feet. We see this every time he plays for Canada, but we don’t see it often enough for Vancouver.

Substitutes – 6.5

I thought Pedro Vite looked a bit tired and not particularly sharp in his cameo, but that’s fair enough after a long week. Sabbi, meanwhile, was very positive again in his second appearance for the club. The former Ligue 1 man is very energetic and direct, and it feels like that is a piece that will be useful as the season goes on. I can’t say there was a whole lot that stood out from the other three VWFC subs. As a final thought, shout-out to our Caleb Wilkins, who tapped Ola Brynhildsen as a potential target for the Whitecaps this off-season. I thought he was a bright spot for Toronto off the bench.

Alright, those were my thoughts from the match against TFC. Is the honeymoon phase over for Vancouver? Or will they respond with a big result against Pumas at BC Place on Wednesday night?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

(Image Credit: Vancouver Whitecaps FC)