Vancouver Whitecaps were frustratingly held to a 1-1 draw by Pumas UNAM in leg one of the Concacaf Champions Cup Quarter Final.

The Whitecaps were comfortably the better side across the game, especially in the first half, and they looked set to take the lead into the second leg when Brian White fired home from a corner. However, another set piece saw Pumas equalize in the 88th minute, meaning they bring a precious away goal back to Mexico and are level in the tie.

The Whitecaps have already come back from 1-1 at home to progress against a Mexican side in the Champions Cup this season, and they will have to repeat that daunting task again if they want to go through.

With that being said, let’s have a look at the player ratings from what was yet another positive display from Jesper Sorensen’s side.

Yohei Takaoka – 6.0

Yohei had next to nothing to do in in this game as he made one save, and that shot was off target, although he was unfortunate that he didn’t see the shot on the Carrasquilla goal until it was too late. When in possession he was solid, but he was not very involved throughout the game.

Tate Johnson – 7.0

Playing Johnson as the defensive fullback after his more attacking role in Toronto was risky, but I thought the young defender was excellent in helping to keep the attacks going and making sure Pumas were quiet.

Ranko Veselinovic – 6.5

Ranko looked as solid as he so often does throughout this game. His partnership with Blackmon is one of the reasons why this Whitecaps team have looked so impressive over the course of the season. One mistake almost saw him give Pumas the ball on the halfway line with a run at goal, but beyond that he was defensively sound.

Tristan Blackmon – 7.0

When watching the Whitecaps under Sorensen, it quickly becomes clear that Blackmon is instrumental to their play style. He impressed again last night, making 20 passes into the final third and often finding Ocampo in dangerous attacking areas. He was also more than willing to do the physical part of the game, which is something that these Concacaf ties against Mexican sides often require.

Edier Ocampo – 7.5

Edier was very impressive going forward, and throughout the game he was the outlet for Tristan Blackmon’s long balls. His crosses always seemed to be a yard in front of Brian White, but his late delivery for Emmanuel Sabbi was great and he was unfortunate not to collect an assist for his efforts.

J.C Ngando – 6.5

Ngando didn’t have his best game, but nevertheless he was a solid creative influence in possession. He had some tidy link up play with Ali Ahmed, and he was defensively solid as he won both of his tackles and made 3 recoveries. Unfortunately most of the good play the Whitecaps did was on the opposite side of the pitch, meaning he had half the amount of touches as Berhalter and was less effective than his midfield counterparts.

Ralph Priso – 7.0

The best compliment I can give Ralph is that the Whitecaps didn’t miss Andres Cubas as much as many anticipated. He was solid when he played, but he was substituted on the hour mark to allow the Caps to go look for a winner.

Sebastian Berhalter – 7.5

In my opinion, Berhalter has been the player who has improved the most since last season, and tonight again he showed his quality as he kept the Whitecaps ticking with some tidy passing and some feisty challenges to win 50/50 balls. His set pieces were largely disappointing, but it was his delivery that caused the chaos necessary for White’s goal, which might prove pivotal in the tie.

Ali Ahmed – 5.5

I was very impressed by Ali in Toronto, but here he seemed less effective at making things happen against a resolute Pumas defence. Clearly having the overlapping fullback on the opposite flank did not help him, as he was more effective when the defenders had another player to consider. He was also substituted after an hour as Sorensen clearly wanted more pace on the wings.

Brian White – 7.5

Brian scored yet another crucial goal in the Champions Cup, and it was finally a case of being in the right place at the right time for the striker. White was behind the play with a few crosses, and if he can get on the end of those, then Vancouver can take advantage of those good positions to have an even more dangerous goal-scoring threat.

Pedro Vite – 5.5

Pedro did not have his best performance of the season in this game. He started in attack, but he appears to be better when he’s playing as part of the midfield. When going forward, he kept drifting inside rather than testing the fullbacks. Whilst it did allow space for Ocampo to attack, it did limit his individual influence on the game, as he had the least touches of any outfield player to complete the full 90 minutes.

Substitutes

I felt that the substitutes Sorensen made were a mixed bag. Wingers Emmanuel Sabbi and Jayden Nelson were brought into the attack as Vancouver sought to stretch Pumas. Sabbi once again showed that he is a quality player, and he was unlucky not to score right at the end, and Nelson also looked to offer a different threat than Ali Ahmed on that left hand side.

However, Daniel Rios was largely ineffective when he came on as he only had 5 touches, and Badwal didn’t have enough time to influence the game, other than his set piece coverage, as he was substituted on late.

The Whitecaps are level on aggregate but behind on away goals heading into the second leg in Mexico. They have already overturned that exact position in the last round against Rayados, and they will be optimistic about doing so again next week.

Those are my thoughts from a tricky game, let me know in the comments what you think.

(Image Credits: Mark Zhuang)