Wednesday night at Swangard Stadium, the Vancouver Whitecaps returned to competitive action with a 4-1 first leg victory over Cavalry FC, opening the second half of their season on a high note and taking a commanding advantage into the return leg next Monday.
Before diving into the match itself, it is worth taking a moment to appreciate the atmosphere many of us were able to enjoy on Boundary Road. It was a true throwback to the early days of the Whitecaps in this city, and a reminder of the tremendous local support this team continues to enjoy, something that feels especially important at this moment. It also helps when you have a beautiful summer evening providing the backdrop for a competitive soccer match.
In any event, back to the match itself. I will note that my vantage point for this one was from field level, so my ability to comment on some of the finer tactical nuances of the Whitecaps’ play is a little more limited than usual. Nonetheless, the home side started strongly and capitalized on an ugly Cavalry own goal within the opening two minutes of play. It was a nightmare start for the visitors, though they settled into the match and competed well for the remainder of the first half, even if Vancouver largely controlled proceedings.
One of the themes for the Whitecaps in this one was extended opportunities for players we have not seen a great deal from this season. Both Oliver Larraz and JC Ngando started in midfield, and I thought Larraz in particular had a strong showing. He led the Whitecaps with 106 touches and generally did a solid job filling in for Berhalter, moving the ball from side to side in the final third and looking for incisive passes to break down a resolute Cavalry defence.
Despite the early goal and Vancouver’s general dominance, Cavalry found an equalizer just before halftime, as the Whitecaps switched off on a throw-in into their own area. Going into the break, there was a sense that if the visitors could maintain that result, the return leg in Calgary would have been an interesting affair.
What happened in the second half was a demonstration of Vancouver’s quality and the significant steps the club has taken over the last five years. Thomas Müller entered at the break for Ryan Gauld, and with that change, the Whitecaps found the attacking fluidity they had been missing in the final third. Müller and Brian White both capitalized on rebound chances within the span of five minutes, and from there Vancouver took full control. World Cup returnee Rayan Elloumi added a fourth in the 75th minute, leaving little doubt about who controlled the tie.
Even considering the gap between the leagues, it is not often that Cavalry concede four goals in a match. Tommy Wheeldon Jr. spoke after the game about the notable difference in challenge for his side compared to previous meetings with the Whitecaps at BC Place, where Cavalry still hold an undefeated record.
At the end of the day, it is difficult to identify another team in Canada currently capable of matching the Whitecaps’ level. That is more a testament to the squad Vancouver has built than an indictment of the other Canadian clubs, with the possible exception of TFC, who should be performing better given the resources available to them.
Looking ahead, the Whitecaps will launch into the second half of their MLS season following Monday’s second leg in Calgary, with a trip to Chicago coming next Thursday.
With Ryan Gauld returning to match action and Andrés Cubas and Sebastian Berhalter returning from the World Cup, there will be an opportunity to see some interesting new wrinkles under Jesper Sørensen. They will do so from a position of strength, sitting atop the Western Conference and just one point off the Supporters’ Shield lead.
Player Grades
8.0 – Thomas Müller, Brian White, Oliver Larraz
7.5 – Ryan Gauld, Jeevan Badwal, Ranko Veselinovic, Rayan Elloumi
7.0 – Mihail Gherasimencov, JC Ngando, Tristan Blackmon, Edier Ocampo
6.5 – Bruno Caicedo, Isaac Boehmer
N/A – Nikola Djordjevic, Tate Johnson, Mathias Laborda
(Images: Chaehyun Lim, Mark Zhuang)
generally speaking, Vanni didnt make most players better- he hindered their progress as he had little vision of what the players and Team could become- Jesper is so much better! (interestingly, Vanni is coaching in the CPL and has his Halifax team sitting in the middle of the pack)
and having Ryan Gauld getting significant game time really gives me hope for the second half of the season- the big question is- will berhalter return?? we should find out soon
Swangard was a great experience that my son and i enjoyed from 1986-2010- a revamped Swangard of 25 000 seats was in play prior to BC Place Stadium and the 2010 Winter Olympics (my friend was a major player in initiating the Swangard Stadium proposal but politics got involved- he actually still has the final proposal that was going to be presented, but alas never saw the light of day)
onto the return of the MLS season- the first home game is August 1 vs LAFC- that should be a cracker and hopefully a crowd of 30K + will happen
Salty
Agree.
Field was pretty choppy — the comparison with WC fields was not good.
You’re right about Larraz. He’s unlikely to be able to cope with next-level players like Tielemans and company like Seb can, but clearly Jesper excels at making players better (just like Vanni did, to be fair). His confidence and speed-of-decision-making is just so much better than it was in his first couple of appearances for us.