In a courageous performance, a 10-man Whitecaps side ground out a 1-1 draw with LAFC on Saturday night at BMO Field, overcoming an early Tristan Blackmon red card.

Blackmon’s sending off in the sixth minute seemed to doom the Caps to another defeat but the away side responded well, nabbing a goal from Oliver Larraz late in the first half to take a deserved lead. Denis Bouanga equalized moments into the second 45 minutes, but Vancouver were able to hold on and get the result.

Even without Thomas Müller, this was pretty close to a full choice XI for the Caps. Ralph Priso returned to the starting lineup alongside Blackmon, as did international call-ups Andres Cubas and Edier Ocampo. Emmanuel Sabbi and Yadaly Diaby started out wide, with Brian White in the middle.

Vancouver started brightly, winning balls back with eager abandon and putting a lot of pressure on LAFC. The return of Cubas was immediately felt and this seemed to embolden Oliver Larraz and Ryan Gauld into being more aggressive as well.

That all seemed to come undone when Blackmon was sent off. Priso cheaply gave the ball away, and while Son’s pass seemed to let LAFC down, it also caught Blackmon off guard, forcing him to haul down Jacob Shaffelburg in the process. Guido Gonzales made no mistake to reach for the back pocket, and there can really be no argument from the defender that it was not DOGSO. Yohei Takaoka did well to save Son’s shot on the resulting free kick.

Mathias Laborda entered moments later, with Sabbi sacrificed to sub on another centerback. Immediately after the sending off, the Caps seemed a bit shell-shocked and dropped deep to defend. But before too long, they were back seizing the initiative. The red card seemed to hurt LAFC, as they have not yet figured out how to dig out of the bunker and counter-mindset imposed by former manager Marc dos Santos.

The first big chance of the match came to White, who found himself 1v1 with Hugo Lloris after a great build-up from Larraz and Gauld. The striker hit his shot into the ground and Lloris had no trouble making the save, but it was a real warning shot from Vancouver that they would not go away quietly.

The backline did very well coping with the sending off. LAFC were largely limited to speculative shots from range. Their best chance came from Armindo Sieb, who squared a perfect ball for Son, only to see their star man denied by Takaoka with a beautiful save. Much of what the home side put into the box was gobbled up by the centerbacks and Tate Johnson. Edier Ocampo, meanwhile, was industrious, bombing forward to continue giving Vancouver width while tracking back well to frustrate LAFC.

The hard work paid off with a goal. A great build-up from the Caps led to Ocampo pinging in a fantastic cross to an unmarked Larraz. His header was saved by Lloris, but Larraz made no mistake on the follow-up, banging the rebound into the roof of the net. The goal was deserved, as Vancouver dominated pretty much every phase of play in the first half.

Any notion that this would be a walk in the park to see out was quickly shattered, however. Inside the first 60 seconds of the second half, Sergio Palencia played a great cross, which was met by a vicious header from Bouanga to equalize. It was eerily similar to the initial chance that Larraz had before the goal, but Takaoka could do nothing to save this one.

LAFC enjoyed a spurt of momentum following the goal, with Bouanga thinking he put the home side ahead minutes later, only to have the goal chalked off by a clear offside.

The Caps still tried to stick to their game plan and boss possession, with Ocampo nearly restoring the Caps’ lead with a shot that deflected just wide following a well-worked transition move. Diaby was also unlucky not to get a PK, as he was dragged down on the ensuing corner. There was a five-minute-or-so window when the game became considerably more open, but Vancouver soon moved to batten down the hatches and sit a bit deeper.

There were a few mad scrambles in the box down the stretch, and Jesper Sorensen introduced Ranko Veselinovic to really try and see things out. There were surprisingly few clear cut chances in the dying moments of the match, however, and the Caps did enough to get a well-deserved point over the line.

Stray Thoughts

• The word gritty is one that probably gets tossed around too much in sports, but this was the epitome of a gritty win. I mean, you had Brian White tracking back and making vital clearances in the 84th minute — what percentage of strikers in the league do that, red card or not? The mentality of the players remaining on the pitch was excellent, and aside from the tail end of the match, the Caps looked to have better structure, a better game plan, and better execution. In the 87th minute, when Apple TV flashed the players with the most shots on the screen, most of them were Whitecaps (and the LAFC player with the most was Armindo Sieb, who was subbed off midway through the second half). That was telling. And when the Caps needed to make things ugly late, they did so with aplomb.
• It isn’t a secret that Andres Cubas is good at what he does, but every time the Caps miss him for a few games (whether due to injury or international duty), it is always a revelation how much of an impact he makes on his return. Oliver Larraz looked much more comfortable, largely because Cubas was out there as well. And this is probably not a game where the Caps get a point (or at least make it look so easy) without Cubas.
• Credit to Mathias Laborda as well. It is never easy being thrust into the fire but Laborda was excellent, reading the game well and understanding when to press further up the pitch and when to stay home. The tactical foul he took in second half stoppage time was masterful Dark Arts TM.
• Anyone with the notion that LAFC could simply fire Marc dos Santos and begin playing expansive soccer was quickly disabused of that here. I truly do think the red card simplified things for the Caps, as LAFC just didn’t know what to do with the ball. There were some complaints about time-wasting from the LAFC fans, but this was one where it felt like they couldn’t score in another 90 minutes.
• The red card was indisputably the correct call, but I’m not sure how Yadaly Diaby wasn’t awarded a penalty kick in the second half. Shirt pulls on corners are not often given, but this was a pretty blatant one, and it denied Diaby a clear chance at a good cross in. Unfortunate luck for the Caps.
• The draw secures the Caps a playoff spot and ensures they will remain atop the Western Conference, at least until they meet St. Louis City in the midweek. You wonder whether the tired legs from this game will affect that Wednesday match, but getting a result here will surely give Vancouver a mental lift. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the Caps got their groove back, but this was the most encouraging performance in some time. Now it is time to make it count.

Match Ratings

Yohei Takaoka – 7, Edier Ocampo – 7, Tristan Blackmon – 3.5, Ralph Priso – 7, Tate Johnson – 7, Andres Cubas – 7, Oliver Larraz – 7.5, Ryan Gauld – 6.5, Emmanuel Sabbi – 6, Brian White – 6.5, Yadaly Diaby – 6.5

Mathias Laborda – 7, Bruno Caicedo – 6, Ranko Veselinovic – N/A