It feels hard to talk about tactics and to rate performances given the seemingly serious nature of the injury that befell Ali Ahmed in the fist half of the Whitecaps 3-0 win over Pacific FC but that it is, for better or worse, the nature of the game.
In the end the game turned into a play of three acts.
In the first act the Whitecaps stamped their authority by dint of their superior finishing and overall passing and movement.
In the second act (post the Ahmed injury) Pacific pressed an understandably disjointed Vancouver team without ever genuinely threatening to hit the back of the net.
The third act was the second half where the Whitecaps regrouped, survived a few expected scares and wrapped up the game thanks to the obligatory Becher goal from the bench.
Sartini got his selection right by letting Gressel and Cubas keep a grip of the midfield and Cordova and Schopf both had better outings than they have of late playing in the space behind Brian White.
It’s another final then for the Whitecaps but, for now, most of the attention will turn to news of Ahmed and his recovery.
Time for the Soccer Shorts player ratings!
Takaoaka-5.5, Raposo-3.5, Ahmed-6, Blackmon-5.5, Laborda-4.5, Teibert-4, Cubas-6, Gressel-6.5*, Cordova-5.5, Schopf-5.5, White-4.5 (Brown-5)
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 