Report and Reaction: Vite Vanquishes Austin as Vancouver Whitecaps’ playoff push reignites

It’s been six long weeks since Vancouver Whitecaps’ last league match. A ridiculous amount of time midseason, but thankfully, no doubt helped by their midweek Canadian Championship triumph, there was no rust or hangover very evident in Austin on Saturday evening.

A Pedro Vite strike in the 70th minute proved to be the difference between the teams on the scored in the ‘Caps 1-0 win, but in truth this was a fairly dominant, comfortable, and assured performance with every player knowing their role and keeping the necessary structure and shape to leave Texas with a well-deserved three points.

With Brian White out under concussion protocol and Sam Adekugbe missing with a mild groin strain, Vanni Sartini was still able to run out a a fairly strong line-up in Vancouver’s first MLS match in 42 days.

The first meeting between these two sides back in May wasn’t a classic, a goalless affair in which the Whitecaps outshot Austin 24-4, dominating the match but unable to find the breakthrough. The visitors mustered just one shot on target that day and were happy to just defend. The second meeting of the season between the two was a far more entertaining affair, but still with Vancouver dominance.

The ‘Caps were the far better team in the first half, with a Ranko Veselinovic header off a corner four minutes in setting the tone. Long range shots from Vite, Andres Cubas, Sebastian Berhalter, and Fafa Picault all tested Austin, with the Texans causing a couple of scrambles off corners, but nothing more.

Vancouver thought they’d got the breakthrough a minute before half time, when Ryan Gauld superbly fired home a neat Ryan Raposo layoff, but the goal was ruled out after a video review for offside in the build up on Veselinovic. It was a questionable call that certainly didn’t look to be clearly answered in the replays to overturn the call on the pitch, but referee Mark Allatin thought otherwise.

Was a beauty goal nonetheless 🤌 @RyanGauld

📺 https://t.co/h6XpMa8JHK #VWFC | #ATXvVAN pic.twitter.com/8t1cefIFQy

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) September 1, 2024

Austin started the second half brighter, with Yohei Takaoka forced to punch an Alex Ring corner away from under his bar.

Vancouver got back off the front foot and the action flowed end to end, without any real clear cut chances to break the deadlock.

That was to change in the 70th minute.

Ali Ahmed’s shot in the box was blocked, but Austin failed to clear their lines and the ball came to Vite. The Ecuadorian played a neat give and go with Gauld before lashing the ball home from the edge of the ‘D’.

It was Vite’s first goal of the season in MLS and his first league goal since July last year. We all know what he’s capable of, it’s getting the consistency now that will see him move his game to another level. It also proved to be the night’s match winner.

Was a beauty goal nonetheless 🤌 @RyanGauld

📺 https://t.co/h6XpMa8JHK #VWFC | #ATXvVAN pic.twitter.com/8t1cefIFQy

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) September 1, 2024

Both sides had some half chances in the last 20 minutes, with Austin’s two best ones coming in stoppage time, but they came to nothing and Vancouver easily held on for three big points in an ever tightening Western Conference playoff race.

In the end, everything was alright, alright, alright for the ‘Caps. It was another three huge points, giving them a seven point cushion now over Austin, who dropped below the playoff line with the loss.

The ‘Caps tied their all-time MLS record for wins and points on the road in a single season, both set under Carl Robinson in 2015. They now have to take that form into their home matches, with six of their remaining nine games coming at BC Place. Next up is Dallas, and with six players away on international duty, it’s a match where those behind in the pecking order really need to step up.

FINAL SCORE: Austin FC 1 – 0 Vancouver Whitecaps

ATT: 20,738

SCORING SUMMARY:
70’ – VAN – Pedro Vite (Ryan Gauld)

STATS:
Possession: ATX 53% – VAN 47%
Shots: ATX 7 – VAN 20
Shots on Goal: ATX 0 – VAN 5
Saves: ATX 4 – VAN 0
Fouls: ATX 12 – VAN 10
Offsides: ATX 2 – VAN 1
Corners: ATX 9 – VAN 7

BOOKINGS:
8’ – ATX – Matt Hedges
87’ – ATX – Osman Bukari
90’+8 – VAN – Yohei Takaoka
90’+9 – ATX – Guilherme Biro
90’+10 – VAN – Fafa Picault

AUSTIN: Brad Stuver; Mikkel Desler (Jáder Obrian 79’), Matt Hedges (Jáder Obrian 79’), Brendan Hines-Ike (Julio Cascante 67’), Guilherme Biro; Owen Wolff (Gyasi Zardes 67’), Alexander Ring, Daniel Pereira; Osman Bukari (Ethan Finlay 90’+1), Sebastian Driussi, Jon Gallagher [Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Jhojan Valencia, Hector Jimenez, Oleksandr Svatok]

VANCOUVER: Yohei Takaoka; Mathías Laborda, Ranko Veselinović, Bjørn Inge Utvik (Tristan Blackmon 82’); Ryan Raposo (Alessandro Schöpf 63’), Sebastian Berhalter (Belal Halbouni 85’), Andrés Cubas, Pedro Vite, Ali Ahmed (Giuseppe Bovalina 90’+2); 11.Fafa Picault, Ryan Gauld (Damir Kreilach 90’+2) [Substitutes not used: Isaac Boehmer, Joe Bendik, Ralph Priso, Cyprian Kachwele]

REACTION:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

VANNI SARTINI

On the performance and victory against Austin FC:

“It was a very good performance. We played very well, we were in charge of the game for 90 minutes. We could have scored in the first half, we had a lot of chances, we defended very well. We didn’t concede, basically, any risk until that cross in the 93rd or 94th minute when [Julio] Cascante headed the ball, I think that was the only chance for them and it’s normal to concede a chance when they put like 15 guys in the box, so we did very well. We were always in the right positions with the things we were supposed to do, exploiting the areas that we actually thought we could exploit. Huge congratulations to the guys tonight. I think the performance was, I would say, a top team performance.”

On what this win means going into the final stretch of the regular season:

“It’s huge because it means that we picked up from when we stopped, playing very well and making a result. It’s also huge because I think we need to start to look forward. For sure, we are respectful and we need to stay in the top seven but also, if you want to look forward and get into the top four or even more, we need to win games. That’s going to fuel us to do better and try to win the next game against Dallas, and then again in the next game against San Jose.”

MIDFIELDER ALI AHMED

On the team’s belief on the road:

“We came and got the job done. I think this year, coming on the road, all 20 guys on these trips really believe that we’re coming in and we’re grabbing three points. It’s a different belief, this group now. We feel we can beat anybody, anywhere, and I think you’ve seen our form on the road so far this year.”

DEFENDER RANKO VESELINOVIC

On the good road form:

“We showed those [good performances] so much on the road this season. I would like us to even be a little better at home, but I hope that it’s going to be like this now that we have a lot of games before the playoffs at home. Let’s try to make a good performance and have a bit more confidence and on the road so far we’ve been pretty wonderful and I hope we can continue like that because that helps us a lot when we can be somewhere away from home and making results.”