Report and Reaction: Finishing woes continue to haunt Whitecaps as Houston win to top West

Vancouver Whitecaps post World Cup break are clearly not the same team as the one that went in to it. There’s many reasons for that, some of which we’ll address at the end, but the team look a shadow of the formidable force they were to begin the year.

Sunday’s win against an equally struggling Seattle side doesn’t appear to have been the turning point we had hoped for. Instead, the ‘Caps dropped three points at home to a defensively astute and counter-attacking threatening Houston Dynamo side in a top of the Western Conference clash at BC Place on Wednesday evening.

Franco Negri’s stunning 34th minute strike for the Dynamo was the difference between the two teams in the end on the scoreboard. Outside of the scoreline, Vancouver laid siege to the Houston final third in the second half, but the Dynamo box became a place where Whitecaps crosses came to die, as the visitors excellent defence posted their 5th straight clean sheet.

One shot on target for the whole game, and a weak one at that, was the sum of Vancouver’s offensive output. Things are clearly not clicking and the summer help needed has not yet materialised as warm bodies on the pitch. Even those signed don’t feel like the difference makers the team needs right now and there is genuine reasons to be concerned.

This hasn’t become a bad team overnight. One player departing shouldn’t see everything crashing down, but there may need to be a rethink in tactics and formations to get the best out of those that are left behind.

Jesper Sorensen made three changes to the side that started Sunday’s win in Seattle, with Jeevan Badwal out under concussion protocols and Thomas Muller and Ralph Priso dropping to the bench for Tristan Blackmon and Ryan Gauld respectively. With Brian White still out with a hamstring injury, Rayan Elloumi came in to lead the line, with Emmanuel Sabbi moving to the wing.

Houston’s gameplan on previous visits to BC Place has been to sit back, allow Vancouver the ball, soak up the pressure, and try to hit on the counter. Tonight was no different and the Whitecaps made the early running with Andres Cubas driving just over when a free kick came to him at the edge of the box three minutes in.

A Gauld shot was blocked in the box after a nice give and go in the 10th minute, before the Dynamo finally had their first chance seven minutes later, with Mati Laborda coming up with a huge goalline block to deny Hector Herrera’s goalbound shot.

Elloumi was denied by a Dynamo defensive block in the 20th minute, after being played in by a nice Gauld dink inside.

Houston broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 34th minute after a quick counter. Laborda came up with a big challenge just inside the ‘Caps box, but the ball broke to Negri, who lashed it home from around 20 yards out past Yohei Takaoka and into the postage stamp corner.

On the one hand it was tough on Vancouver, who had controlled the play, but they hadn’t registered a single shot on target for all that possession and they finished the half still unable to do so.

The closest they came was a minute into first half stoppage time when Cheikh Sabaly got onto an Oliver Larraz cross, but his shot hit the outside of the left post and went behind.

That was to be Sabaly’s last real action of the match as he was replaced at the break by Muller, and the ‘Caps came out all guns blazing to start the second half.

Elloumi did well to get onto a through ball in the 53rd minute and hold off the challenge of the last Dynamo defender, but with his angle narrowing, he fired wide.

Sabbi had a weak shot easily saved by Jonathan Bond three minutes later, with Houston going up the pitch and forcing a full-stretch Takaoka to turn away a Mateusz Bogusz effort.

Elloumi thought he’d tied things up for Vancouver in the 64th minute when he slid in to finish a low Sabbi cross in in front of goal, but as BC Place celebrated, Houston immediately protested a foul in the build-up, which the referee agreed with after a video review.

Bruno Caicedo came on for the ‘Caps and brought an immediate spark. Larraz and Muller had late chances, before Houston almost doubled their lead with a 97th minute Duncan Maguire breakaway, but Takaoka stood tall to deny him.

Another disappointing offensive display for the ‘Caps, who are moving the ball around well, creating chances, but the finish and on many occasions, the final delivery into the box is severely lacking.

You have to really question the summer acquisitions. While they may prove to be shrewd in the long term, the current depth has been shown up majorly since the return to action after the World Cup. I’m also not sure that those players signed are exactly what are needed right now.

Players needed to come in that could play now and make a difference. Not later once injuries and visa issues are all sorted. At least one acquisition from within the league needed to happen. Someone that could come in and hit the ground running. Yes, Daniel Gazdag was on the cards before the Crew pulled out, but there needed to be an immediate Plan B to pull the trigger on.

The ‘Caps have been fortunate that those around them have also been faltering, but their points on the board and games in hand won’t hold them well for too much longer. Sebastian Berhalter’s departure was always going to leave a gap, but to suddenly have corners that can’t get past the first man and way too often not even get any height on them, is shocking. The aerial threat of Laborda at these set pieces has been totally removed.

Larraz can’t hit the long range efforts that Berhalter could, Sabaly doesn’t seem to be know he’s allowed to cut to the outside of players, and crossing balls into big defenders serves no purpose whatsoever.

The team’s wiggle room has gone. They need to start getting results and that has to start on Saturday against Dallas.

FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 0 – 1 Houston Dynamo

ATT: 22,849

VANCOUVER: 1.Yohei Takaoka; 18.Édier Ocampo (41.Nikola Djordjevic 88’), 2.Mathías Laborda, 33.Tristan Blackmon, 28.Tate Johnson (3.Sam Adekugbe 88’); 8.Oliver Larraz, 20.Andrés Cubas (6.Ralph Priso 73’); 11.Emmanuel Sabbi (14.Bruno Caicedo 73’), 25.Ryan Gauld, 7.Cheikh Sabaly (13.Thomas Müller HT); 19.Rayan Elloumi [Substitutes not used: 32.Isaac Boehmer, 26.J.C. Ngando, 29.Mihail Gherasimencov, 97.Liam Mackenzie]

HOUSTON: 31.Jonathan Bond; 11.Lawrence Ennali (14.Duane Holmes 79’), 34.Agustin Resch, 6.Artur, 5.Lucas Halter, 21.Franco Negri (4.Marcelo Saracchi 75’); 8.Jack McGlynn, 16.Héctor Herrera (18.Diadie Samassekou 75’), 30.Agustín Bouzat; 20.Guilherme Augusto (23.Duncan McGuire 70’), 19.Mateusz Bogusz [Substitutes not used: 26.Blake Gillingham, 3.Antonio Carlos, 9.Ondrej Lingr, 24.Ibrahim Aliyu, 28.Erik Sviatchenko]

SCORING SUMMARY:
34’ – HOU – Franco Negri

STATS:
Possession: VAN 61.9% – HOU 38.1%
Shots: VAN 16 – HOU 8
Shots on Goal: VAN 1 – HOU 5
Saves: VAN 4 – HOU 1
Fouls: VAN 13 – HOU 12
Offsides: VAN 0 – HOU 2
Corners: VAN 8 – HOU 2

CAUTIONS:
26’ – VAN – Andrés Cubas
38’ – HOU – Agustin Resch
41’ – HOU – Agustín Bouzat

REACTION:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

HEAD COACH JESPER SØRENSEN

On the overall performance:

“It was a match that I expected, honestly. We would have a lot of the ball, we would play high up the pitch, and they would try to counter us. And they did. I think, in general, we didn’t allow that much. We allowed some. It’s a good team that we’re up against and we have to recognize that. And of course, they have their qualities. They have some very good players, that fits well to the style they play, and they had an opportunity in the first half that they took – and very, very well, amazing goal. And you have to accept sometimes that the quality of the opponents can harm you. I think in the second half, we played with a lot more urgency. We sped the pace of the game up and I think in general we had some opportunities we didn’t profit from – our finishing was horrible. We hit the target once out of 17. Of course, it’s difficult to really complain about anything when you have your opportunities and you don’t even hit the target. Then of course it’s difficult to complain about anything.”

On the finishing:

“A lot of the shots we had also were blocked, so they got some bodies in-between. The pitch is slow. They’ve done a good job on it since we were here last time, but it’s still very slow and it makes the defenders get a chance of getting back and getting into position. Then, of course, we have opportunities, but it just [did] not have the right quality on the finishing.”

MIDFIELDER RYAN GAULD

On scoring against a low block:

“That’s obviously something we need to improve on if we’re going to score more goals. That’s not a good ratio. But I think again we came up against a really low block, and we created a few little half chances here and there, but nothing quite clear and obvious. So again, it’s something that us on the pitch we need to we need to figure out how to break it down a little bit better, and create more obvious chances.”

On building chemistry with Thomas Müller:

“I think the more that we get to play together, obviously the chemistry will grow, and it’s just it’s going to take training sessions together and game time, and just building that better connection on the pitch. I’m sure that’ll come with each game that passes. So hopefully, sooner rather than later, we can you put it to good effect.”

HOUSTON DYNAMO

HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN

On the team’s performance:

“We had pretty good first half. You could see the team play their way into the game. The goal changed the match a little bit. Their subs helped, and we were under pressure for most of that second half. It was hard to get a reprieve and hard to build. There were still transition opportunities. The second half was about resiliency and defending the box. I give these guys a lot of credit. To defend in that way for that duration, and to allow them one shot on target is pretty impressive. It says a lot about our group and our defensive efforts.”

On the team’s defensive effort:

“Our box defending was great. (Agustin) Resch and (Lucas) Halter were animals in the middle. All the guys that put in a shift at the outside back position tonight did a great job. And that is a hard position to be in against Vancouver here. They are as good as they come in this league over the last couple of years. It has been a joy to watch them. We had a lot of respect for them coming in. We
understood that there was a little bit more on the line with the first-place situation, and the guys gave each other everything. That always makes a coach proud.”

On surprising teams with their performance:

“We are always a little bit of an afterthought in this in this league. That is how it has been since I have been here, and at times in the past. We are still digging out of that, and we have to put ourselves on the map and make teams in in the league respect us, and this group has the right personality to do that.”

DEFENDER FRANCO NEGRI

On his goal:

“I saw the play developing, I saw (Mateusz Bogusz) running, and I tried to follow the play up. The rebound landed right there, so I tried to hit it and finish the play. Thank God it ended in a goal. But I really value the team’s commitment on defense. We knew they were a team that played good football and made the most of that, so we had to stay compact and take advantage of those kinds of plays to try to win the game, and that’s how it went. We defended it until the end with a lot of commitment, and I am very happy for the group.”

On being the team at the top of the West and staying there:

“We know that game by game it is going to get more complicated. We believe we have a strong group, but we should not settle. We believe we have what it takes to give more and improve more, and if we add that up, we are going to be a very tough team to beat, because we are very hungry to make history with the Club, and we believe we have the group to do it.”