Report and Reaction: Berhalter blasts Whitecaps back into first place in MLS

A Sebastian Berhalter brace helped Vancouver Whitecaps move back to the top of the MLS Western Conference and Supporters Shield standings with a 3-2 win at FC Dallas on Wednesday evening.

Dallas took the lead through a Petar Musa penalty 10 minutes in, but Vancouver stormed back and had the lead by the 27th minute thanks to a Berhalter banger and an Osaze Urhoghide own goal. Logan Farrington tied things up for the home side at the start of the second half, before Berhalter struck again in the 64th minute to put the ‘Caps back ahead and it was a lead they weren’t to give up.

It was a strange game where the Whitecaps didn’t feel at their best and lacked a little bit of creativity, managing just six shots on target, but they got the job done in testing conditions, extending their unbeaten run to seven matches and they’ve yet to drop a point on the road this season.

Jesper Sorensen made one change to his starting line-up from the team that drew in San Jose at the weekend, with Emmanuel Sabbi coming back in for Bruno Caicedo, while Thomas Müller was back in the gameday squad after his recent illness.

Dallas had looked great at the weekend playing a quick counter game, but they came out on the front foot in this one and took the play to Vancouver. They almost got the breakthrough just 24 seconds in when Christian Cappis raced in on goal, but he crashed his shot off the right post.

The ‘Caps responded with a spinning shot from Brian White that was saved by Michael Collodi.

Dallas kept their pressure on and won a penalty in the 7th minute when Tristan Blackmon had a hold of Farrington’s jersey as he broke through. The initial contact was definitely outside the box, but after a three minute video review it was deemed to have carried on into the penalty area and the decision on the field stood. Musa stepped up and sent Yohei Takaoka the wrong way from the spot for his 11th goal of the season.

It was the third straight road game that the Whitecaps had fallen behind, and once again they gave a great response.

Sabbi should have done better when he rose unchallenged to get onto a Tate Johnson cross into the box in the 18th minute, but the ‘Caps didn’t have to wait too much longer to get back on level terms.

It came in the 23rd minute when Cheikh Sabaly laid the ball back to a wide open Berhalter 25 yards from goal and the American international crashed a fierce strike past Collodi and into the roof of the net. The Dallas keeper got a hand on the ball, but could prevent it from flying in.

Unlike the previous two matches when the ‘Caps needed a second half equaliser to take a point from the game, this time they had hit back quickly and they almost went ahead three minutes later when Andres Cubas’ fierce low long-ranger just whizzed past the right post.

They weren’t be denied, however, and went ahead in the 27th minute when Urhoghide stretched to get to a low Edier Ocampo cross in from the right before White could get on the end of it. Unfortunately for the Dallas defender he was only able to direct it past Collodi and the turnaround was fully complete.

Cappis almost drew Dallas level in the 37th minute, but his dipping diagonal free kick crashed off the bar and behind, and with no further goalmouth action, the ‘Caps headed in at the break with the narrow lead.

The home side started the second half as they finished the first, taking the game to Vancouver and they got themselves back on level terms just four minutes after the restart when Farrington got himself in front of Mathias Laborda to head home Ran Binyamin’s cross in from the left.

As the hour mark ticked by, Sorensen brought on Kenji Cabrera and the Peruvian had an instant impact three minutes later, laying the ball off to Berhalter to fire another one past Collodi to finish off a lovely passing move from the ‘Caps.

The Dallas keeper seemed to get both hands on the ball this time, but the power was too much and it went through him and into the net to restore Vancouver’s lead.

Tristan Blackmon met a Berhalter corner in the 71st minute, but his header was saved by Collodi, and Dallas immediately went up the pitch and forced a huge save from Takaoka on a Santiago Moreno header from close range.

It was deja vu in the 75th minute when Blackmon met another Berhalter corner, but this time it was Sam Sarver that saved the home side with a goalline clearance.

There was a worrying sign in the 84th minute when Andres Cubas was forced off with a possible knee injury after going down away from the ball. He’ll be evaluated, but with the World Cup looming you have to hope for him that’s it nothing too serious.

Bruno Caicedo had a couple of chances in stoppage time, but the ‘Caps couldn’t add to their tally and came away with a hard-fought victory in the first of a two-game Texas road trip.

Next up are Houston on Saturday, followed by a trip to San Diego a week later to wrap up the first half of their season ahead of the World Cup break.

The team are now sitting back in first place, and with a game in hand on many of those around them. With everything that’s been going on off the pitch, getting to that break top of MLS would at least be some tonic for the fans.

FINAL SCORE: FC Dallas 2 – 3 Vancouver Whitecaps

ATT: 11,004

DALLAS: 1.Michael Collodi; 18.Shaq Moore, 3.Osaze Urhoghide, 25.Sebastien Ibeagha (14.Herman Johansson 79’); 12.Christian Cappis, 55.Kaick (8.Patrickson Delgado 79’), 17.Ramiro (10.Santiago Moreno 68’), 32.Nolan Norris; 23.Logan Farrington (28.Samuel Sarver 68’), 9.Petar Musa, 6.Ran Binyamin (21.Joaquín Valiente 68’) [Substitutes not used: 40.Jonathan Sirois, 5.Lalas Abubakar, 16.Nicholas Simmonds, 27.Caleb Swann]

VANCOUVER: 1.Yohei Takaoka; 18.Édier Ocampo (4.Ranko Veselinović 84’), 33.Tristan Blackmon, 2.Mathías Laborda, 28.Tate Johnson; 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 20.Andrés Cubas (13.Thomas Müller 84’); 11.Emmanuel Sabbi (14.Bruno Caicedo HT), 59.Jeevan Badwal, 7.Cheikh Sabaly (17.Kenji Cabrera 61’); 24.Brian White (19.Rayan Elloumi 76’) [Substitutes not used: 32.Isaac Boehmer, 8.Oliver Larraz, 22.AZ, 29.Mihail Gherasimencov]

SCORING SUMMARY:
10’ – DAL – Petar Musa (penalty kick)
23’ – VAN – Sebastian Berhalter (Cheikh Sabaly, Emmanuel Sabbi)
27’ – VAN – Osaze Urhoghide (own goal)
49’ – DAL – Logan Farrington (Ran Binyamin, Nolan Norris)
64’ – VAN – Sebastian Berhalter (Kenji Cabrera, Édier Ocampo)

STATS:
Possession: DAL 48% – VAN 52%
Shots: DAL 8 – VAN 14
Shots on Goal: DAL 3 – VAN 6
Saves: DAL 3 – VAN 1
Fouls: DAL 17 – VAN 12
Offsides: DAL 2 – VAN 0
Corners: DAL 6 – VAN 6

CAUTIONS:
7’ – VAN – Tristan Blackmon
12’ – DAL – Ran Binyamin
14’ – DAL – Shaq Moore
45’+9’ – VAN – Cheikh Sabaly
60’ – DAL – Logan Farrington
79’ – VAN – Édier Ocampo
90’+4 – VAN – Kenji Cabrera

REACTION:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

JESPER SORENSEN

On conceding early and coming back:

“If we look at the beginning of the game, where we fell behind pretty early on, I think, you go into a game with a plan, and there’s no need to try to do a lot of changes because it’s just been about five minutes before they got the penalty. Then they had a chance even earlier on. I think in general, we should have the confidence that if you get behind, it’s better when it’s early on in the game, you have some time to fix and repair and I think in general, we didn’t have to change much. We come in with the mindset that we come in with, and I think we played generally well from the first 15 minutes or so in the first half and then I think we had a good period in for most parts of the first half. Then in the second half, when they also jumped out the gate and scored an early equalizer, it was a little bit more of a struggle, a little bit more of a fight and I don’t think that we really hit the level of play that we can. I think we have to see into how we can play with better quality come Saturday. But then sometimes when it doesn’t really work that way, then you have to figure out how you can fight through and prevail anyways and I think the players really did that.”

On Berhalter’s performance:

“[Berhalter] made the difference. It was not big chances where he stroked the ball from. It was great quality and, of course, sometimes that’s what you need. You need the extra quality and I think he provided it in moments where you cannot expect the goal. So it was a good game overall from him, I think, but the two goals made it special.”

MIDFIELDER SEBASTIAN BERHALTER

On the match:

“I think [we were] a little slow coming out of both halves, and it’s tough sometimes when you’re on the road and you don’t have your home fans behind you to give that little extra push, so that’s something we can look on and definitely work on. It’s something that shouldn’t really be happening, we should have had a little bit more control in the game. But you know, again, the fight and the determination to just go out there and get the win is the most important thing.”

On his goalscoring:

“It’s something that throughout the years I’ve tried to improve upon, and it’s something that the coaches have trust in me. I think it took time to earn their trust with that, in the beginning they kind of wanted me to chill out a little bit and take a little bit of less shots and kind of understand the shots I’m taking. And now I feel like I’ve gotten to a point where I’m confident in it and they’re confident in me, and it’s just about hitting the target.”

FC DALLAS

HEAD COACH ERIC QUILL

On the match tonight:

“I felt like we had a bright start and played the way we wanted to, on the front foot and finding the first goal. Vancouver is a very stingy team defensively, so getting that opening goal was important. As a coach, though, you want the team to keep pushing because in this league you can’t take your foot off the gas, especially against a team like that where goals are hard to come by. On their first goal, we chased the play too aggressively and ended up with two guys stepping to one player, which opened space for Berhalter. He had too much time and space to hit a shot from distance, and we know what he’s capable of in those situations. Then we gave him another similar opportunity on the third goal. We found a goal in the second half to get ourselves back into the game, but the third goal really deflated us.

“I’m also disappointed in myself for getting sent off and losing control of my emotions. I ask my players to stay emotionally composed, and I need to hold myself to that same standard. I regret that moment. But I love this team. I love how hard they play and what they’re capable of. Credit to Vancouver, they’re one of the top teams in the league and they have quality all over the field. Still, I believe we can go toe to toe with anybody and beat anybody. It leaves a bad taste because I had high expectations for this match, but there’s a long way to go. We’ve shown we can get results on the road, so now it’s about turning the page quickly and getting ready for San Jose.”

On the upcoming road games:

“Yeah, we’re going to get to know each other well on this road trip. The road can really bring a locker room together, and I love our group. These guys care about each other, and being on the road gives us a chance to isolate ourselves, spend time together and focus on the task at hand. We’ve already shown that we can be a strong road team, so it’s not a daunting challenge for us. At the same time, I’m disappointed for our fans that we didn’t get the win tonight because we want to be great at home. This was a missed opportunity, and we all need to take accountability, myself included, and find ways to improve because we’re capable of being at the top of the standings.”

DEFENDER HERMAN JOHANSSON

On the match tonight:

“I think it was an even game that went back and forth at times. Unfortunately, they came out on top this time, but that’s football. It can go either way. The message was to keep going forward and attacking. We were trying to push forward as much as possible, but we didn’t get into enough dangerous situations in the final third. After a tough result like this, you have to move forward quickly and focus on the next game. We have a lot of matches in a short period of time, so now the focus shifts to San Jose and preparing for what they bring. It’s always difficult to lose at home in front of your fans, but we keep working and trying to improve. We’ve been training hard, and I still think we’re moving in the right direction. Tonight was an even game, and unfortunately they came out on top.”

MIDFIELDER CHRISTIAN CAPPIS

On playing a new role and tonight’s result:

“I think it’s difficult to say right now. I don’t really have a full answer. We need to watch it back. We started really well, and that’s been the case in a lot of games, so we need to find a way to maintain that energy and focus. On the two goals, we let them back into the game, and against a team like that, if you give them a chance to come back, it becomes very difficult. It was a new role for me. I haven’t played there much before, but the message was clear. We’ve been playing with four midfielders, and it’s quite fluid between us. We have the freedom to move as long as we occupy the right spaces. I think that gives us different options with me, Kaiki and even Romero at times, and we’re building that rhythm more with each game. We spoke a couple of weeks ago about treating these five games before the break like a season. We’ve got two left, and now the focus is Saturday away against a strong opponent. We have to take it one game at a time, stay focused on that, and everything else can wait until after. That’s all that matters right now.”