The Vancouver Whitecaps will once again have to find a result in Mexico to keep their CONCACAF Champions Cup hopes alive, drawing 1-1 with Pumas at BC Place as the Mexican side secured a crucial away goal late.

The Whitecaps largely dictated play but were unable to get anything out of a noticeably strong first 15 minutes. They thought they found the winner off a chaotic corner kick but Coco Carrasquilla smashed home an equalizer on Pumas’ first shot on target.

Jesper Sorensen rolled out a strong lineup, with Pedro Vite playing in a more advanced role in lieu of Jayden Nelson, a Ralph Priso/Sebastian Berhalter/J.C. Ngando midfield and Tate Johnson slotted into the Mathias Laborda defensive fullback role.

The Caps nearly struck first inside of four minutes, with some clever footwork from Ngando teeing up Berhalter at the top of the box, with his shot saved only by a fingertips save from Alex Padilla.

That commenced a strong next 10 minutes or so from Vancouver, who were ball dominant and triggered a smothering press when they lost the ball, keeping the Caps on the front foot early.

We then settled into a stasis in the match, with Pumas seeing a bit more of the ball but not gaining much ground outside of some miscues from Vancouver in their own defensive third. The Caps had a couple glimpses of attacking opportunity but had some trouble unpicking the lock upon entering the final third. 

Their best chances came off some excellent service from Edier Ocampo, who benefited from the Pumas midfield collapsing more centrally, giving him space to work. He nearly capitalized on a Padilla turnover, with the keeper well away from goal, but the angle wasn’t quite right for the right back to get a real shot on target.

The status quo largely held at the start of the first half, with the Caps seeing plenty of the ball. But it was an off night for both Ali Ahmed and Pedro Vite and it is tough for Vancouver to make much headway under those circumstances. It wasn’t a shock to see Ahmed withdrawn for Jayden Nelson and Ralph Priso hooked for Emmanuel Sabbi, pushing Vite into a deeper-lying role.

The Caps got a lift with those subs and capitalized off a lovely corner kick from Berhalter, with Pumas unable to clear their lines and Brian White knocking it into the net after a quick round of pinball. It was the first real clear cut chance the Caps had in the box and credit to White for capitalizing to grab a deserved goal.

But Pumas found their own late set piece magic, with some loose marking leaving Coco Carrasquilla open at the back post and the Panamanian made no mistake, lofting a volley past a late arriving Jeevan Badwal to win a vital away goal.

The Caps should have had a late winner, with Ocampo pinging in another excellent ball for Sabbi, who saw his free header pushed off the post by Padilla. Instead, the Caps were left with only heartbreak.

Stray Thoughts

• My God, Pumas’ antics are absolutely horrendous to watch. An entertaining match overall but I was getting secondhand embarrassment from all the diving.
• Ralph Priso got a lot of flack after the Chicago match and I recall saying something to the effect of “Priso will either be bad or Andres Cubas-lite, with no in between.” Well, this match was the latter, as he was crucial in pressure and expertly weaved between Pumas’ midfield to create space going forward.
• An underrated win this season has been the Caps learning how to properly CONCACAF. Jayden Nelson going down after the goal clutching his face after getting shoved in the chest for talking smack is exactly what we’re looking for.
• Unfortunately, the Caps were re-introduced to the other side of CONCACAF: You can be far superior to a Liga MX team and they whip out a moment of magic, rendering everything else moot.
• This went basically to plan for the Caps and was another good performance. They dictated play, their defense largely kept Pumas at bay, they didn’t back down from physical confrontation and they worked some decent opportunities through Ocampo. Pumas were rattled and on the back foot for much of this match. But without Ryan Gauld, the Caps don’t have anyone on the level of Coco Carrasquilla and that was really all Pumas had going for them.
• The struggle for the Caps’ depth right now is having to rely extensively on young players in the dying moments of a key match. While Jeevan Badwal has done well in cameos (and I’m all for getting youngsters minutes), mistakes happen with them and Carrasquilla’s free chance in the box is an example of that. Hopefully not a confidence blow for the youngster long term.

Man of the Match

Edier Ocampo was the creative outlet on a night where Ali Ahmed and Pedro Vite were not so influential and while Brian White couldn’t quite make the most of his service in the first half, Emmanuel Sabbi came so close to doing so in the second. Another fine performance from the youngster.

The entire backline was generally solid, though Tristan Blackmon had some atrocious cross field balls and Ranko had a near moment of disaster. I also thought this was another nice match for Tate Johnson, who was comfortable in possession and largely immovable defensively.

(Image Credit: Keveren Gulliou)