In a massive blow to the Whitecaps’ fading Supporters’ Shield hopes, Vancouver dropped all three points at BC Place to lowly Austin FC.

Christian Ramirez converted the only two chances for the away team, and a well-organized Austin side mastered the dark arts to pull out a 2-1 win. The Caps will be incredibly frustrated by a match in which they once again could not put away the litany of chances they created.

Jesper Sørensen didn’t have Thomas Müller available due to injury, but otherwise rolled out a fairly strong lineup, with Ryan Gauld pulling the strings alongside Cheikh Sabaly and Bruno Caicedo in the attack. Andres Cubas and Oliver Larraz partnered in midfield, while Rui Modesto made his debut alongside the usual backline.

Early on, Austin actually had more of the ball and did a decent job playing through the Caps’ press. But when they did turn the ball over, Vancouver looked to hit back quickly with balls over the top for Caicedo or Sabaly. 

The Caps didn’t overly challenge Brad Stuver, but still looked the more dangerous side. When Austin broke forward quickly off a Caps corner kick, it was out of nothing that Facundo Torres hit an inch-perfect cross to find Christian Ramirez. The striker finished his 1v1 chance to give Austin FC a lead against the run of play.

It seemed that Austin FC gifted the Caps a lifeline back into the match. Gauld was looking to corral a loose ball in the box and was absolutely mauled by Besard Sabovic, who seemed to think he was playing in an NFL game. But the Scotsman couldn’t finish the job, beating Stuver but not the upright.

Meanwhile, the wide players in the first half were virtual passengers. Caicedo lacked any bite in his 1v1 dribbling, and Sabaly continued to frustrate fans by giving the ball away in transition moments.

Halftime brought the introduction of Edier Ocampo, whose ability to track back and chemistry with the other players were much needed. His first involvement was a great ball for Sabaly, baiting Guilherme Biro into diving in and picking up a booking.

The Caps wasted no time in the second half to find an equalizer. Gauld played White in with a beautiful little slip pass, and the striker made no mistake, nabbing another goal against Austin and leveling things at 1-1.

Vancouver picked up their energy levels after the goal, with a more biting press, crisper passing, and a clearer idea of what they wanted to do in the attacking third. That’s what made the second goal from Austin even more stunning. Ramirez caught the backline sleeping and snuck in behind, with a thumping finish to put Austin back in the lead. It was an absolute back breaker when the Caps were just starting to find some more momentum.

Virtually the rest of the match before stoppage time was rendered unwatchable by sloppy play from the Caps and referee Victor Rivas falling for every dirty trick Austin FC pulled out of the bag. There was no chance to establish momentum until Biro was sent off for a second bookable offense after denying a quick restart of play on the stroke of full time.

Then the Caps locked in, with two golden chances in stoppage time to secure a point. First, Rayan Elloumi skied a perfect cross from Yadaly Diaby. Then, Mathias Laborda narrowly directed a corner kick header over in what was virtually the last play of the night for Vancouver.

Stray Thoughts 

• Well, that was genetically engineered to be the most frustrating match possible. The Caps did enough to beat themselves, but the added indignity of Victor Rivas forgetting how to officiate a match and letting Austin get away with murder to see out the game was the cherry on top. And then you start adding in the penalty miss, Gauld hitting the upright immediately after the White goal, and the two defensive brain farts that gave Austin a foothold … 
• The wide players just have not been good enough in the second half of the season. Bruno Caicedo is not the same player starting as he is off the bench, running at tired legs. Cheikh Sabaly is just half a step too slow in every match and currently has basically zero confidence. Yadaly Diaby had a promising cameo, but this is an area Jesper Sørensen will have to figure out, as nothing has consistently worked to date.
• I thought Rui Modesto was largely fine, and his profile seems like a clear fit for Sørensen-ball. But he had a tendency to get caught upfield and just hasn’t built up any chemistry with Sabaly, and that was a big blow in the first half.
• Anything is possible, but I think this one pretty much ends the Caps’ hopes of lifting the Supporters’ Shield. Attention now shifts to the Canadian Championship, and the Caps will need to tighten things up in a hurry, as it will basically be CF Montreal’s World Cup final. The Caps have played down to their opponents in recent weeks, most notably tonight. They can’t do that in the midweek.

Man of the Match

Setting aside the penalty miss, it is tough to look past Gauld for this. He struggled in the second half but created seven big chances and should have probably had more than one assist to show for his efforts.