The Vancouver Whitecaps put on a dominant display in the first match of their playoff series, bossing FC Dallas in a 3-0 win at BC Place in which the home side didn’t even concede a shot. The win gives Vancouver a chance to advance to the next round with a win in Frisco next week.

A first-half header from Daniel Rios sent the ‘Caps on their way and Thomas Müller and Kenji Cabrera put the match out of reach in the second 45 minutes to cap a brilliant display that will surely purge any remaining frustrations from Decision Day.

Jesper Sørensen didn’t overcomplicate things and went with his best available starting XI. Without Mathias Laborda, Ralph Priso slotted in beside Belal Halbouni as expected. The usual suspects were in midfield (Cubas/Berhalter/Müller), with Emmanuel Sabbi and Ali Ahmed starting on the wings, flanking Rios.

Vancouver tried to ride the energy from the packed crowd, playing direct balls down the wings to try to spring Sabbi and Ahmed and put pressure on Dallas from wide areas. The ‘Caps nearly struck early, with Sabbi and Müller playing a brilliantly worked one-two that left Sabbi 1v1, but the winger was denied by Michael Collodi. 

Sabbi was a clear target, as he was denied by Collodi on two other occasions in the first half. Vancouver were trying to find half spaces out wide in between the wingbacks, with a resolute Dallas packing things in the centre of the park to try to force mistakes in and around the box to launch a counterattack. That congestion made it hard to find space to work shots, though that didn’t stop Ahmed and Berhalter from working excellent chances that could only clang around off the Dallas backline.

The away side’s game plan clearly was to win the ball back and quickly strike on the counter, but the ‘Caps deserve credit for mustering a suffocating counter press. Dallas barely advanced out of their own third before turning the ball back over to Vancouver.

It was an unlikely goalscorer who finally broke the dam, however. Berhalter found space to turn upfield and play a lovely line-breaking ball to Ahmed, whose cross found the head of a late-arriving Rios, who continued his habit of scoring in the playoffs with a massive goal.

The goal prompted Dallas to make changes at halftime, bringing on the always dangerous Logan Farrington and centreback Lalas Abubakar (of Decision Day penalty giveaway fame). Dallas saw marginally more of the ball in the second half, with the game being contested more in the midfield third. The ‘Caps had more space to work when they did have the ball, with a couple of neat flicks teeing up Sabbi in space on the right-hand side. 

It was that man, Sabbi, who glided up the pitch on a fantastic solo run, collecting the ball in his own half and outmanoeuvring the entire Dallas defence until Osaze Urhoghide hauled him down in the box. Victor Rivas pointed to the spot, and Müller made no mistake to tally his second penalty against Dallas in as many weeks.

The second goal, which came right at the hour mark, forced Dallas to throw caution to the wind. They changed to a back four, and while they certainly threw more men forward, they seemed unsure of their defensive assignments, giving Ali Ahmed acres of space every time Vancouver regained possession. 

Truthfully, Dallas didn’t come up with any answers for Vancouver’s dominance, and it was one-way traffic until Rayan Elloumi and Kenji Cabrera linked up to put the icing on the cake. Elloumi bodied Abubakar to hold the ball up and slip in Cabrera, with the sub sliding in to poke it past Collodi and bury game one.

Stray Thoughts

• Heading into this match, some people (me) saw Vancouver as a bit vulnerable without Mathias Laborda, given Dallas’ strength in the air and Ralph Priso’s relative inexperience as a centreback. Well, we needn’t have worried, as Dallas barely got a sniff of goal, much less a chance to test the Vancouver’s makeshift backline. Much of this was down to excellent work from the midfield to halt any Dallas advances, even before they exited their own half of the field, immediately recycling the ball and pinning the lower seed back until they finally broke. Zero shots in a playoff match should be cause for calling off the second match.
• Tate Johnson worked his rear end off on both ends of the pitch and continues to fit right in when he takes the field in big matches. He had one vital defensive header that sparked a counter, and you just forget the dude is a rookie. Ocampo was equally key, patrolling the danger of Anderson Julio and creating chaos with his overlapping runs.
• The wingers were fantastic, finding half spaces to operate in between the wingbacks when Dallas tried to jam things up in the middle of the pitch. On another night, Sabbi could have had a hat trick inside a half hour in one of his best matches of the season — his run to win the penalty kick was nothing short of spectacular. Scintillating stuff and smart tactics from Sørensen to target a clear weakness for Dallas.
• A couple of dirty challenges from Dallas late and Enes Salli was lucky to remain on the pitch after scissoring down Ocampo from behind. Gives Vancouver a bit more motivation heading into the away leg.
• This is how you manage the first match of this best-of-three playoff format. Vancouver dominated from the opening whistle and never let the lower seed get a foothold. An away match next week will present a new challenge, but you can be sure the ‘Caps will look to take the initiative, even on the road.

Man of the Match

A plethora of options can lay claim to being man of the match. Andres Cubas for his energy in midfield, Johnson and Ocampo for their quality up and down the pitch and Berhalter and Müller for driving the game forward in the centre of the park. But Sabbi was the standout for me, testing Dallas essentially from the opening whistle with dangerous runs and technical brilliance. His run to draw the PK deserves an assist in its own right, and this performance was one of his best displays as a Whitecaps player.

(Image: MLS)