The Whitecaps saved all of their fireworks for late on Saturday night, turning around a discouraging start with a 90th minute banger from Pedro Vite. It looked like a long night after Vancouver shipped two goals in the first 10 minutes. Instead, they clawed back into things by half time and should have been well clear of RSL, even before Vite’s winner.
A chaotic match leaves plenty to digest and some defensive errors contrasted with plenty of standout performers. Read all about it in the Report Card:
Yohei Takaoka: 4.5
An awful decision to punch the ball to tee up RSL’s second goal signalled a return of the Taka of old. He made up for it with some solid saves as the match went along but always seemed to be one moment away from disaster (his whiff on a corner in the second half had my heart in my throat).
Sam Adekugbe: 6
Grew into the match as things went along but also had some nervy moments in possession and had to track back a lot to cover ground and help Utvik out (he had seven clearances, underscoring his level of defensive duties).
Bjorn Utvik: 4.5
A second straight match where Utvik really struggled, getting cooked on the opening goal and being second best in the air to pave the way for the second. A worrying trend for Utvik, who has historically been a dependable depth option. He struggled a bit even in possession, historically a strength.
Tristan Blackmon: 6.5
Looked more comfortable, both in rest defense and 1v1, though he shares some of the blame for the chaotic first five minutes. There were never any real questions asked of Blackmon after that point, however, and he embraced the physicality of the match. Was potentially lucky not to concede a penalty, however.
Edier Ocampo: 5.5
It will be interesting to track Ocampo’s role across from Adekugbe, compared with Tate Johnson. It was a bit more reserved tonight, though he still had an impact making runs to open up space for Ahmed on the right hand side. All in all, a pretty quiet night for Ocampo, who never really seemed settled.
Ralph Priso: 6.5
Priso’s capacity for big errors always makes him an out-sized target for fan ire, but I thought he was solid enough in this one. Had moments where he lacked control in midfield, with one or two rather ill-advised runs or passes. But overall he helped halt RSL advances in the centre of the pitch, cutting down passing lanes in the middle of the park and frustrating Diego Luna, who dropped deep to try and build things up.
Pedro Vite: 7
I was going to ding Vite for attempting some ambitious shots outside the box…but yeah, I should know better by now. The superlative winner from Pedro masked an otherwise pedestrian game that was sloppier than we have come to expect from the budding star. He had a better second half, however, so the goal was perhaps a fitting way to end the night.
Sebastian Berhalter: 7.5
You’ve come to expect excellent set piece delivery from Seb but he still never ceases to amaze, and his corner helped create the chaos that won Vancouver a penalty. Made some very smart runs out of deeper lying areas to create problems for RSL in the box and was only denied a goal by the fingertips of Rafael Cabral. His four key passes led the team and he was the main creative engine for Vancouver in this one.
Jayden Nelson: 5.5
Less effective on the left, opting to cut inside rather than try and use Adekugbe’s overlapping runs and not having as much success. Ahmed made better use of the ample space that RSL was leaking on the left side after Nelson was subbed off and the wingers swapped sides.
Brian White: 8
Got engaged with the match in a hurry, capitalizing on some poor RSL defending to steer a Berhalter corner. He didn’t have to do much more to get his brace, polishing off a penalty moments later. Got himself into excellent positions to get a hat trick but somehow managed not to. Is man of the match anyway.
Ali Ahmed: 7
The better of the two wingers, creating some nice link up play with White, Ocampo and Vite, Ahmed had plenty of space to work with and made decent use of it, with some nice saves from Cabral the only thing keeping him from grabbing an assist.
Emmanuel Sabbi: 5.5
Another anonymous appearance from Sabbi, who just doesn’t look comfortable out there at the moment. His best assets — his pace and off the ball movement — haven’t really gotten him much lately and he has been wasteful in terms of crossing and shooting.
Tate Johnson: 7.5
Came on and instantly created danger with a couple of surging runs forward and kept things up, having some excellent switches of play to capitalize on opportunities along RSL’s right-hand flank. While Johnson didn’t have to play in the midweek, he looked comfortably better than Adekugbe and I don’t think it is terribly close.
Mathias Laborda, Daniel Rios, JC Ngando: N/A
Came on to see out the match and provide some rest for weary/yellow card laden players. Job done.
Are we ever going to get an explanation on why the first 3-2 goal on the corner kick was mysteriously disallowed or is it an MLS rule that your head coach has to do the Postal Vanni or the Phil Neville Shuffle to get an inexplicable call explained?
As I’ve been saying all season, Taka is the weak link in an otherwise exceptional side.
He parries everything and doesn’t even attempt to catch anything. On top of that, instead of parrying shots to safety, he often parries them straight into a dangerous area.
Yes, his distribution is excellent, but I would sacrifice that for a better shot stopper. Taka will cost us points this season – the rest of the team can’t keep bailing him out.
He literally salvaged two draws in a row just earlier this month, that’s earning points not costing
This.
What about the great saves he made to keep us in the game giving us a chance at a result. Anyway it’s your opinion. Just hope you’re not coaching at any level
Re Seb Berhalter…. It turns out that practicing with Ryan Gauld and Andres Cubas every day for three years can be great for your career. I bet having these two leading the past few years has been a big contribution to this year’s success.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Takaoka’s error on the 2nd goal came from being blinded by the sun. But if that was indeed the case, wear a hat dude.
THE USUAL AND THE UNUSUAL:
1. BRIAN WHITE- the guy is simply amazing and without him, i think we would miss him more than we have with Ryan Gauld’s injury; i suggest to him to practice to chip balls over goalies, most who fall to the grass and hope the ball hits some part of their flailing body – he could have had 4 goals yesterday- he has to be the #1 MLS player in the #9 role because he does so much more than just score goals- 8.5
2. Tate Johnson (brings energy and more pace) or Sam Adekugbe (brings experience and some offensive skills) vs Cruz Azul- this is a tough decision for Jesper- maybe start both as i think either could play on the right back position- 6.5s
3. Seb Berhalter- the guy is a smart workhorse and all his extra practice at crossing the ball into the box brings him/the Team/us the rewards – who would have thought he would make such progress ? his game focus and determination makes him a dynamic MF presence– remember 3 years ago when he was sub and nobody expected much? 7.5
4. Pedro Vite- made some horrible mistakes trying to dribble through the MF area, but then something magical happens with him… a WONDER STRIKE – we need him to get the energy and creativity at the get-go vs Cruz Azul- 7.5 because the wonder goal is worth the price of watching the rest of his game
5. Edier Ocampo- his defensive awareness is a major concern vs Cruz – he makes some poor decisions- Laborda or Johnson on the right might be better choices vs Cruz- 5.0
6. Ralph Priso- never thought i would say this- for his tool kit, he is playing well- 6.5- (but hopefully Cubas will be ready to go vs Cruz)
7. Sabbi- the more i watch him, the more i see his lack of skills and offensive moves… but he did get the assist on Vite’s goal- 4.5 (Nelson has to start vs Cruz)
8. Ali Ahmed- he brings pace and guile for our attack- and often sets the opposing defenders back on their heels- he is a necessary tone-setter in all important games- 7.5
9. Tristain Blackmon- steady, but he missed Veselinovic alongside him (and Utvik always gives 100%, but just lacks pace)- 6.0
10. Yohei Takaoka- you knew this was coming- a short-sided miss and a push out of the ball to the middle caused us RSL’s 2 goals -AGAIN- aside from his terrific kick-outs, he is my biggest worry vs Cruz- we need to count on him to not make the BIG mistakes- expect Cruz to do a lot of cross balls from the wing areas (a disaster in the making for the defence) and short sided shots- 4.0
11. The Come-Back Kids- we dont need to worry about this Team folding under pressure – their wins on the road and 2 comebacks from 2 goals down should inspire confidence in the Team and us supporters – and remember the game vs Pumas- 10.0
12. Jesper- i like when he praises or yells at players during the game- he knows how to push buttons to get the best from the Team- his focus has to be on getting the Team ready to play with energy at the kick-off- we have started flat for the last 3 games- 8.5
how can i – the Team focus on Wednesday’s game vs Minnesota?
Salty
I knew you were going to lose it over the goals allowed. Guess I’m more forgiving/pragmatic about what a keeper should stop and when they’re beaten fair and square. Goal 1 a well placed shot with pace going thru Utvik’s legs meaning Takaoka doesn’t see it until it’s too late. And that Utvik got “cooked”. Well, the ball was played into the space that Ocampo had vacated so Utvik was already a step behind a speedy forward so a quick move and shot to beat him was not surprising. Where was Ocampo? That’s the issue with this goal. Goal 2. I’m sure that’s all Takaoka could in stopping that hard shot. Where was he supposed to parry it to? Anyway Takaoka made some fantastic saves to keep us in the game and get the result. I’d give him 6.0
i knew you would praise him– nothing wrong with debate and disagreement – thats a beautiful part of the beautiful game
on the first goal to his short side, Taki is already leaning to the far post before the ball is kicked… and he never made it back in time – guarantee you that Cruz will test him
on the second goal, if you can get your hands on the low cross, you hold onto it – thats what good goalies do – i would be drilling all week on these 2 types of ball handling- low and high cross balls into the box
those high cross balls into the box need defenders to block them off, so maybe laborda and adekugbe should be the right and left defenders- experience counts in big games
who is “taki”? if anything, isn’t his nickname taka