Champagne on Ice To Force Game 3: Whitecaps vs LAFC Game 2 Analysis

Champagne on Ice To Force Game 3: Whitecaps vs LAFC Game 2 Analysis

Posted on November 5, 2024 by in MLS, VANCOUVER WHITECAPS with 0 Comments

Everyone knew going into Sunday’s match that it was a do-or-die game against LAFC at BC Place. Many had flashes of last year, where the Whitecaps faced this very team, in this very stadium, in this very same round of the playoffs. Safe to say, it did not go well for the ‘Caps then, so the demands were high for the home side to deliver. And boy did they ever, smashing LAFC 3-0 in front of a raucous crowd to force a Game 3 in this Best-of-3 playoff series and to banish the demons against the Californian rivals.

Attacking Gamble Paid Off In Style

Similar to when the Whitecaps had to face Portland in the Wildcard game a couple of weeks prior, Head Coach Vanni Sartini decided to “Go Big” when they went home. Five attacking players spearheaded the side, with Ryan Gauld, Brian White, Stuart Armstrong, Fafa Picault, and Ali Ahmed all in the lineup. Even the defence had players that usually liked to push up, with Sebastian Berhalter and Sam Adekugbe either side of the two centre-backs of Ranko Veselinovic and Tristan Blackmon.

What resulted was an opening half where the Whitecaps both figuratively and literally danced their way around LAFC, who had a seven-game unbeaten streak going into it. The one-touch passing plays between the attacking players was slick, quick, and definitely did the trick as they scored two goals inside 15 minutes to shock both LAFC and even their own fans. Fortune definitely favoured the ‘Caps on this occasion, as two own goals allowed them to essentially put the game to bed before the 70th minute, but the win was far from undeserved thanks to this new style of play that they’ve been working on since that Portland game.

“We’ve definitely put a focus on being closer together in the final third, and not being so stretched – making sure we’ve got bodies forward,” said captain Ryan Gauld, who got the first goal and whose crosses led two to both of the LAFC own goals. “It was nice to see that [happen], especially in the first half. Managing to get into halftime two-nil up was a nice feeling, and something we feel we deserved from the game.”

LAFC came out flying at the start of the second half, and almost got a goal back, but thanks to some steady defence and Hollywood saves from one Yohei Takaoka between the sticks, the ‘Caps weathered the storm and got the third goal to seal the deal – and their trip to California on Friday. With it being another all-or-nothing game, it will be interesting to see if Sartini goes for this game plan again, or if he goes with a more balanced approach given that LAFC are at home.

New Formation Brings New Fortune for Whitecaps

That game against Portland wasn’t only a turning point in terms of the personnel who could perform, but also in a tweaked formation that allowed those players to play to that potential. A switch to a 4-3-2-1, aptly dubbed the ‘Christmas Tree’ formation, was something we had seen at the start of the season last year. However, Sartini opted to go back to a ‘pure’ back three in both attack and defence.

But after a poor end to the regular season that saw them winless in seven, Sartini went back to the 4-3-2-1, which allowed the team to still attack in a 3-4-2-1 as he prefers, but adds a little bit more support out wide when they defend in the back four. The result of this tactical tweak has been evident. Two massive wins in three playoff games, and one narrow loss that could have been different had some players been sharper in front of goal. But it’s not really the attack that has benefited the most from this tweak – it’s been the defence.

Having a back four allows the Whitecaps to lock down those wide areas even more, an area that has been a significant weakness in past years under Sartini. With this added security, the ‘Caps have earned two clean sheets in their last three games – a defensive run they haven’t been able to replicate since mid-September. And no one is happier about that than Takaoka.

“Defensively we switched to a back four, from Portland,” explained the Japanese ‘keeper. “We’ve adjusted very well. Obviously LAFC has a very good attack, very good wingers. So we need to block them, and it’s much better [against LAFC]. So it works, and everyone played very well.”

They will need to replicate that solid defensive performance (and maybe even some of those spectacular saves from Takaoka) to get anything out of Friday’s game, but at least they know now that they’ve got a winning formula in this new-look system.

Good Won’t Be Good Enough To Beat LAFC on Friday

While the media room was high off of that stellar performance from the ‘Caps, Sartini maintained a sobering view on how the tie is going into Friday’s decisive match. ““I think LAFC are the favourite on Friday,” admitted Sartini to the media. “Pure and simple. They play at home, they are a top three most talented team in the league, but upsets happen. Today you saw the MLS Cup Champions [Columbus Crew], they lost, so why can’t it happen again?”

Fans have already seen what this Whitecaps team can do when they are at the very best. They are capable of beating even the most talented of teams in MLS. The biggest issue is that they haven’t been able to be at that very best on a more consistent basis. Had they been able to do it even a little bit more, they’d have been able to potentially put off this tie against LAFC until the Western Conference semi-finals or even Final. Nevertheless, the past is in the past and the Whitecaps now have their whole season hinging on this last game. And they’ll know from past experience, that just playing well will not guarantee anything against LAFC.

“I believe we need to pull a performance even better than what we did today, better than the one we did last Sunday, because it needs to be perfect,” stressed Sartini.

The emphasis is valid, especially since Whitecaps rode their luck a bit in terms of the own goals going their way and LAFC being wasteful in front of goal. The ‘Caps dominated the game, for sure, but dominating possession and chances means nothing against top-quality sides if they can’t bury them. For the best teams only need a handful of chances to put a team to the sword, regardless of the stats. One only needs to look at Game One to see that in action.

Given this, it should go without saying that a lot is at stake on Friday. Not only do the Whitecaps have to be perfect to beat LAFC, but they have to be perfect so that they can finally break that streak of not winning an opening round of the playoffs and move on to the Conference semis where they’ll have a date with Cascadian rivals Seattle Sounders.

“The reward [for winning this tie] is working two more weeks together, and having a derby game against Seattle [in the next round],” explained Sartini. “That would be a fantastic game for our fans if we qualify, to come and go there [to Seattle]. So the reward is enormous, but we need to now climb Everest. We did the first part of climbing today and we need to do the second part, the hardest part, on Friday.”

Whatever happens on Friday, the Whitecaps have at least proven that they’ve closed the gap between themselves and LAFC after last-year’s drubbings. Now they’ve proven they can mess with the best, and if the stars can align on Friday evening in California, you might see a Cascadian banner planted at the top of Mount Lee, above the Hollywood sign.

      
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Authored by: Felipe Vallejo

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