Saturday in Orlando, the Vancouver Whitecaps played out a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Orlando City, as the Whitecaps took a big step closer to securing the top seed in the Western Conference.
Orlando had some good spells of play in the opening 30 minutes, but after that, it was one-way traffic in Vancouver’s favour. At the final whistle, the stats were telling, as the Whitecaps outshot Orlando 24-4, outpossessed them 70-30, and probably should have won this match by more than a goal.
In the end, it took a moment of brilliance from Thomas Müller to secure what felt like it would be inevitable, even after a contentious disallowed goal, but the Whitecaps did enough to come away with three points, and that’s all that really matters. This has only taken on greater significance with LAFC losing to Austin on Sunday night, as the Whitecaps are very clearly in the driver’s seat for best in the West.
Alright, on to the player ratings we go.
Yohei Takaoka – 7.5
There were moments where I forgot Yohei was on the field, given how tilted the match was at times. He only made two saves, but I thought he was very sharp on the ball and made some great passes under pressure when Orlando did try to press up the pitch.
Tate Johnson – 8.0
He continues to impress in possession, and he made a critical tackle with led to the Müller goal.
Mathias Laborda – 7.0
He was close to another set-piece goal on several occasions. Other than one moment in transition, where he collided with Halbouni, things were uneventful defensively.
Belal Halbouni – 6.5
It looked like Belal thought about stepping up in transition, but then was caught in no man’s land on the Orlando goal. He’s been much better lately, but it’s another reminder that he doesn’t see the game very well and often has to use his athleticism to recover. He’s improved a lot playing in possession from the back, so credit to him there.
Edier Ocampo – 7.0
This was a funny match for Edier. He was good in the sense that he was on the ball in dangerous areas a lot. He was bad in the sense that his passes and crosses never quite worked out for him. You could see Müller’s frustration on a couple of occasions. Edier certainly plays better against wide-open teams, because there he’ll have space to roam; against Orlando’s low block, it was more challenging.
Ralph Priso – 8.0
After playing at CB for a couple of matches, it looked like Vancouver’s defensive positioning needed some work inside the first 30 minutes. As soon as that was sorted out, though, it was one-way traffic. Ralph played the destroy-and-progress role perfectly in this match, and he seems to be more and more confident in advanced areas. I even saw him attempt an outside-of-the-boot pass! What have they done with the old Ralph?
Sebasitan Berhlater – 8.0
His shot off the post helped set up the first Vancouver goal, and he should have scored the winner himself, as his late shot was clearly over the line despite MLS’s inept video review process refusing to overturn the call. Otherwise, he was dangerous from set pieces as always and was instrumental in keeping Orlando pinned back, as he shuttled the ball from side to side as the Whitecaps attacked.
Emmanuel Sabbi – 6.5
I can’t think of many big moments from Sabbi, other than drawing a couple of fouls. Like Ocampo, this is a player who suffers a bit more against a low-block, especially without a dangerous winger on the other flank to stretch things out.
Jeevan Badwal – 6.5
Realistically, Badwal is more of a CDM who can play a box-to-box role than he his a midfielder who can play on the wing. I understand Sørensen’s thinking in these circumstances, though. Badwal does have some good on-ball qualities, and the wide role asked less from him defensively. Ultimately, however, this led to a pretty ineffective showing from the youngster.
Thomas Müller – 8.5
It’s quite funny that this wasn’t actually a great match from the German until his final touch. None of that really matters, though. The quality and poise to take that shot on his weak foot in that moment and to finish the way he did was extremely clutch.
Daniel Rios – 6.5
Rios struggles to make himself available for passes in the final third, and when he does get the ball, he’s often surprised or wrong-footed by the service he receives. It’s funny because when he gets the ball with his back to the goal, 40 yards away from the target, he looks great. Brian White can’t come back soon enough.
Substitutes – 8.0
Gauld made a big difference when he entered the match, as he gave the team a more incisive look around the box. Pierre was in the right place at the right time, so credit to him, earning his first Whitecaps goal. JC Ngando also had some bright moments, winning a crucial duel that led to Vancouver’s opener.
Alright, those are my thoughts from Florida this past weekend. Let me know yours in the comments, as always.
Agree on Yohei. Early in the season I said I thought the two weak links were going to be Yohei and not having a decent back-up for White.
I was totally wrong on Yohei – he has got better and better as the season has progressed.
Rios however is not good enough any longer, and I’m sure that will be addressed for next season.
And, as Papa Jo rightly says, Muller has always been a leader. He came here to carry on winning things, not for a decent pay check to wind down his career. Best signing from Europe/UK since the NASL days in my view.
As regards Jasper, what really impresses me is how he has improved individually just about every player in the squad as the season has gone on. The departed Vite, Priso, Laborda etc. And he has quickly turned Johnson into a reliable player at this level – one of the few draft picks that have succeeded in that way for us.
WE CANT COMPLAIN, CAN WE??
sure, the ball was over the line, but that made Muller’s last touch so much more dramatic and exciting- MLS is still a work in-progress when it comes to officiating
1. Thomas Muller- it wasnt just the winning goal that makes him Man-of-the-Match- it was the way he kept the Cap players pressing, pressing, pressing- he used his total football personality to get all the players to keep going- when he did score, we all saw the enthusiasm from the players as they piled on him- when a Team gets that belief and that intensity, they are a tough Team to beat- with Muller pushing the players’ buttons, nobody takes a rest or looses focus- he doesnt slack-off so no other player will or he will suffer Thomas’ wrath- Thomas is so much more than what we expected- 9.0
2. Ralph Priso- what a shift in his footballing since the beginning of the season- how does Jesper keep him out of the starting line-up?? (i never thought i would ever say that!!) Ralph was superb yesterday- 8.0
3. Seba Berhalter – he has become an elite MLS player right before our eyes- 8.5
4. Ryan Gauld- just his presence and soccer intelligence makes us a more dangerous Team- if you notice on Muller’s goal, Ryan briefly shielded the Orlando players away from Thomas just before he shot- it was enough of a split second to make a critical space for Thomas to shoot (did he re-injure??) – 7.5
5. Tate Johnson- our best defender on the day- 8.0
6. Halbouni- some slow-footedness and slow thinking at critical times- his game and footwork need some fine tuning- 6.0
Jesper- the head coach does it all – he brings sunshine, confidence and a solid game plan to his players- putting in the rookie, Nelson Pierre was a stroke of genius as he got our first goal (strikers need some luck)- 9.0
Salty
That was what I expected! That’s how Muller has played his entire career. He was an obvious fit straight into the Caps style of playing. I think the people here that had doubts about him maybe never watched any Bayern games. I can’t believe I get to see my all time favourite player playing just down the road from us. Its magical!! We get to meet him next week too. I also love Ocampo from before Muller time. Might be the smile of his that sealed it LOL. My kid is Johnson all the way ! Go Caps! Next weeks game should be a celebration.
Salty, please answer you’re own question: who would Priso replace? Tate just reliable? He’s a fine athlete. He’s 5.7 yet always finds ways to win his duels. He’s faster than most players out there and that’s a huge part of his game, either defending or in attack. I’ll predict that Tate will be on the next USA U-23 team and may be considered for the full USMNT. It’s funny when you put Halbouni under the magnifiying glass on one play, ignoring how good he’s been taking over for the injured Blackmon as has Laborda. And the 2 recent signings, I wouldn’t consider playing either of them. Who would they replace? Got to say this Caps team keeps on surprising me as to how good they are. Words can’t describe how i felt when Muller scored!!!
Early in the year I was looking at Yohei’s expiring contract and thinking “ya, I can see letting him move on”. His command of the box has always been weak and the rest of his game, while mostly adequate, wasn’t all that stellar.
The last few weeks I’ve had to recalibrate my opinions. His passing has been absolutely devastating and he hasn’t shown any hesitation around the box. If he’s playing for a Whitecaps team that is limiting offensive chances as well as this team does, the offensive part of his game becomes relatively that much more valuable, like having another deep lying playmaker on the pitch. His game may not be perfect, yet he’s pretty much a perfect fit for this team. Sign me up for more.
I’m with you! I also was sort of thinking Boehmer because he’s a more intimidating physical presence but I think Tak is also just more subtle. He’s got some mojo back there and I like that he comes out sometimes with the ball. Sign him up. Also this is a record for me posting twice in a few months. I love reading the posts though !
If Yohei moves on, the next starting keeper has to be similarly good at playing out of the back IMO; can’t just simply be a shot-stopper. The technical ability makes such a massive difference to the build-up possession