Saturday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps suffered their first loss of the MLS season by a score of 1-0 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
For the second straight match, the Whitecaps struggled to find a breakthrough when chasing the game, and San Jose, while perhaps not as well drilled and efficient as the Seattle Sounders before them, were equally effective in frustrating Jesper Sørensen’s side by clogging their own box and funnelling the Whitecaps into low-danger areas.
There was a good amount of rotation going into this match, and while it would be easy to blame the weaker XI, I actually thought Vancouver was better in the first half. JC Ngando and Oliver Larraz both put in solid performances, and Vancouver’s second-half changes actually seemed to stagnate the group, as Thomas Müller in particular was very erratic and did not aid Vancouver’s lack of attacking fluidity.
With an international break upcoming, this is a good chance for the Whitecaps to reset and make some tweaks, which feel much needed after the last week or so.
Alright, without further delay, on to the player grades.
Yohei Takaoka – 6.0
The Japanese keeper was not super busy, as Vancouver continues to be very good defensively. Even in this one, where they did not look perfect, they only conceded 0.66 xG. Yohei simply has to claim the ball in the lead-up to San Jose’s goal though. A ball headed that weakly across the area needs to be claimed, even if there’s a slight deflection, and it was a pivotal moment for Vancouver.
Edier Ocampo – 7.5
Maybe Vancouver’s best player on the night? He was not quite as advanced in terms of positioning as I’m used to seeing, but when he did get forward he was dangerous and direct, which was not true of many others on the roster in this match. Two chances created, 0.41 xG + xA.
Tristan Blackmon – 7.0
First, worth noting he was hobbling around near the end of the match, so I hope it’s nothing serious. Otherwise, his passing range is so noticeable when he’s been out for a couple matches, it’s a real weapon in buildup, as he had seven passes into the final third. As mentioned, the Whitecaps’ defence was not super busy, but he held up well.
Ralph Priso – 7.5
The Canadian is a master of defensive recoveries, and had a couple of really nice ones in this match. He also set up Brian White with a great chance dead to rights in front of goal, but the striker couldn’t convert. This is a big chance for him with Canada this window.
Mihail Gherasimencov – 6.5
The former WFC2 product held up well at the fullback spot, and I can’t really pick out any big moments, other than once where he overran the ball but then recovered well. For a young guy in his first year with the first team, I think that’s more than enough to be a good story.
Oliver Larraz – 7.0
I was a bit worried that what I’d seen from Larraz meant he was basically un-startable, but he looked much better against San Jose. It’s a pretty young San Jose midfield, so that probably helped. That said, seeing him get on the front foot and run forward with the ball, making some line-breaking passes, was a sight for sore eyes. Until now, he’d been back pass central, and quite often dribbled into pressure. The Jesper effect might be starting to take hold.
JC Ngando – 6.5
For someone who’s been mostly frozen out this year, it was a surprise to see him start in a double pivot all of a sudden. He was solid and made some good runs, including the one where he darted down the right and fired in a shot that was blocked. If JC could have that moment again, he might have seen three teammates calling for the ball at the back post.
Emmanuel Sabbi – 6.0
I’ve seen a lot of frustration online after the match about Sabbi being too selfish. I can understand the sentiment, but I don’t entirely agree. I’d actually like to see Vancouver’s wingers be a bit more selfish, in the sense that I’d like to see them take on more players 1v1 and drive the byline. However, what did annoy me about Sabbi in this one, along with every Whitecaps wide player, was that they repeatedly cut inside and either dribbled into pressure, played a low-percentage cross into the box, or back-passed and recycled the play. That’s gotta change going forward.
AZ Jackson – 6.5
Weirdly, playing Jackson more centrally seemed to take him out of the game, as he only had 33 touches in 75 minutes. I think Jackson is a really smart player with great passing vision and the ability to draw pressure, but we did not see much of that in this setup.
Cheikh Sabaly – 5.5
It’s been a pretty lukewarm start for Sabaly given his decent scoring profile from Ligue 2. He’s suffered from a bad case of trampoline touch at times, and he got absolutely bodied by Beau Leroux right before his game-deciding strike.
Brian White – 5.5
This one was an advanced stats nightmare for White, as he had three big chances missed, and a total of 1.46 expected goals on target (xGOT). It didn’t feel that bad watching the match, but his lack of impact outside those chances was notable, as his hold-up play has disappeared this season, and he continues to struggle when up against very physical opposing CBs.
Substitutes
As mentioned off the top, the replacements almost seemed to make things worse for Vancouver, as they held 74% of the ball in the second half but did next to nothing of substance. I thought Thomas Müller – 5.0 was very bad, perhaps the worst we have seen him in a Whitecaps shirt, with constant loose passes and touches. Otherwise, Jeevan Badwal – 6.0 and Sebastian Berhalter – 6.0 were alright, but did not have much impact. Lastly, Kenji Cabrera – 6.0, a bit like Sabbi, was a member of the cut-inside winger club, which made for a very frustrating watch. Cabrera almost made us forget about that entirely with a 90th-minute curling strike that looked labelled for the top bin, but the shot seemed to knuckle on him just enough to keep it wide of the far corner, and Vancouver’s hopes of a point died at that moment.
Alright, those were my thoughts from a tough home loss to San Jose. Is there early reason for concern in Vancouver? Or is this just a minor blip on the radar?
Sabaly did a lot of 1 v 1 defending on the left, with Gherasimencov tucking deeper towards the CBs and the goal, so I will give him a plus for that, but his offensive contributions are just not there. He struggles with keeping possession on the dribble on the Field Turf.
i am not going to dwell on the ratings– seems ok with my take of the game
but i am a little concerned as the Caps will need to adjust their attack in the final 3rd- sticking with the same approaches isnt working against defences that are well-tuned into the Caps’ habits, especially in coming in from the wings- monotonous and and uncreative – not happy with the wide players – other Teams will be using the same tactics– the next 2 home games should tell us if the Cap strikers have the ability to adapt and break down defences (we havent seen that for the last 2 games)- i see no wizardry from the wing players- if not, its time for Axel to ramp up the scouts for the summer window
Salty