These are the matches a playoff team probably puts to bed long before the 93rd minute but this was still a pretty comfortable effort, right up until the whole penalty debacle. I don’t think he should be permanently affixed to the bench or fired into the sun but I also am not sure my heart can take him playing at wingback again this season. that’s not a mistake you can make in the 90th minute. He was generally fine up until the penalty but oof. Patrick Metcalfe probably shouldn’t check social media after that one.There were a couple, more global slip ups defensively, but the three centerbacks always seemed to recover to snuff out danger. That being said, while Ricardo Pepi looked dangerous throughout the night, it was some nice defensive work by all three members of the backline to mostly confine his chances to low percentage shots from outside the box.but why would you not have your in-form, national team capped young forward take a vital penalty versus a forward who has fallen out of favor and who hasn’t lived up to his DP tag. His confidence is showing and will hopefully continue to flourish. He performed like what we usually expect from Cava and I thought his presence gave his counterpart at striker the space and ability to move about and do more of what he does best. Yeah, I was wrong on the Brian White deal and am happy to eat my words.He’s getting closer to getting back on the scoresheet, though. Cava looked better but man there were a lot of crosses where you have to think a sharper Tanque does better or drifts into the right space to create a chance for himself.Not getting thrown haphazardly in the middle of a match gave him a more defined role and he was intent on more progressive passes (not something we always associate with Leo). The move to start Leo Owusu was a bit of a surprise but he put in a Caio Alexandre-esque type of performance, something the team has been missing since the Brazilian sustained a long term injury.Not good for my blood pressure but the three points still count all the same. The away side seemingly had grabbed a point when VAR correctly deemed Metcalfe conceded the penalty but the substitute Franco Jara scuffed his shot and it was a fairly comfortable save for Crepeau. The second half was much of the same - a cagey affair, with the Caps holding the upper hand despite some dangerous FC Dallas counters. Still, the Caps entered the break good value for their lead. Cava nearly converted a chance very similar to the one White scored from but Maurer was equal to this one. The Caps let FC Dallas back into things, though while they gave up a fair amount of possession but the shots almost entirely came from outside the box and/or didn’t threaten Max Crepeau. gives us the lead! #VWFC #VANvDAL /9NyPmG9dRp- Vancouver Whitecaps FC September 26, 2021 Brian White happily took advantage of the keeper’s error to head home.
That changed in the 19th minute, when Teibert (!) whipped in an excellent cross that caught Jimmy Maurer in no man’s land. The Caps had an energetic and productive start but lacked the clear cut chances to go along with it. With a busy week of matches for the Caps, it was perhaps a (strange) way of getting some roster rotation in place. And this was the first time Brian White and Lucas Cavallini started alongside each other up top. Leo Owusu made his first start in some time, sitting next to Russell Teibert in the midfield. Vanni Sartini went with a galaxy brain take on the 5-3-2, with Jake Nerwinski slotting in as a centerback and Bruno Gaspar and Cristian Dajome at wingback. The Caps were unlucky that Brian White’s first half header was their lone goal of the match. The late penalty, given after Patrick Metcalfe pulled at Jader Obrian on an aerial challenge, was FC Dallas’ main threat of the match. It was more of an adventure than the Caps (or their fans) wanted, but Vancouver earned a 1-0 win over FC Dallas at BC Place Saturday on the back of a vital Max Crepeau penalty save in stoppage time.