CONCACAF Champions League: Tigres UANL vs. Whitecaps – Recap

Vancouver Whitecaps FC are left with an uphill climb in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Whitecaps suffered a 2-0 defeat against Mexican champions Tigres UANL in the CCL semifinal first leg.

For 64 minutes on Tuesday night, Vancouver Whitecaps FC put up a valiant defensive effort. The Caps managed to keep Mexican heavyweights Tigres UANL off the scoresheet for more than an hour, in front of 31,000 noisy fans at the Estadio Universitario. In the end, however, the Mexican side’s incessant pressure won out. Two goals, from Kendall Waston into his own net and Eduardo Vargas, leave the Whitecaps with a mountain to climb on April 5th at BC Place.

To get the obvious out of the way, Tigres are ridiculously good. Despite currently sitting 12th in the Liga MX, the Mexicans dominated the match. The Whitecaps, meanwhile, were playing only their fifth competitive match since October. It was Chilean international striker Vargas and French international striker André-Pierre Gignac at one end, and former left-back Brek Shea at the other.

Here are the positives and the negatives that Whitecaps fans can take away from their first ever CCL semifinal appearance:

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First, let’s start with the positives.

It’s not over yet

There are still 90 minutes to play, and 2-0 is not an insurmountable lead. It could have been a lot worse. The Whitecaps have three weeks to prepare for the return leg at BC Place. Those are three weeks for Christian Bolaños to get back to full fitness and for Fredy Montero to get some playing time with his new teammates.

Tactically and defensively sound (for 64 minutes…)

Carl Robinson gets a lot of criticism for his tactics (what coach doesn’t?), but he got a lot right this time. Against possession-oriented Tigres, the Whitecaps were never going to see much of the ball. Robinson lined up in a narrow 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, with Montero just behind Shea. They clogged the midfield and forced Tigres to constantly go wide. Marcel de Jong was favoured over Kekuta Manneh on the left wing as a more defensive option.

To park the bus effectively, Robinson needed his players to defend as a team, and they did, starting from the front with Shea. Alphonso Davies, who looked unusually nervous going forward, put in some excellent defensive work in the first half.

Kendall Waston’s performance will be overshadowed by his own goal, but he looked composed and confident until then. Partnering Waston, Tim Parker was a candidate for the Whitecaps’ man of the match, although David Ousted will likely take that particular award.

It started to crumble after the first goal was scored, but until then, it was a defensively disciplined performance from the Whitecaps.

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And now for the not-so-positives…

The midfield hole

At the moment, the Whitecaps midfield is a black hole where possession goes to die. Matías Laba and Andrew Jacobson did a fantastic job of shielding the backline, and winning the ball back. But neither is a good distributor. This is where Pedro Morales is missed the most. Particularly when he played alongside Laba in central midfield, Morales was comfortable on the ball and could pick out passes. The Caps’ tendency to just dump the ball after winning it back means they struggle to retain possession. This wasn’t just an issue on Tuesday.

If the rumoured summer move for Atiba Hutchinson ever materializes, they may be able to do a better job of holding onto the ball and upping the pass accuracy. But that will be too late to salvage this series.

Defensive blunders strike again

The Caps put in an impressive defensive performance for 64 minutes. But in the end, they were let down as usual by a lapse in concentration. Waston botched an attempted clearance, and then scrambling back to cover, ended up guiding Gignac’s cross past Ousted into his own net. On the second goal, Cristian Techera was guilty of failing to track back. Against a side like Tigres, those mistakes proved costly.

Missed opportunities

The mountain would look much smaller if only the Caps had managed to score an away goal. And they had two golden chances to do so. First, Shea slipped when one-on-one with Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán. He managed to get back to his feet, took the ball around Guzmán, and then fell over, earning a yellow card for simulation.

Then Nicolás Mezquida almost took advantage of a defensive turnover, but saw his shot go just wide of the post.

If either chance had been scored, the situation would look a lot less bleak. But lack of offensive production has been a problem for the Whitecaps for a long time.

Tigres are really good

This bears repeating. For long stretches on Tuesday, Tigres controlled the match without even seeming to get out of first gear. And during the final 15 minutes, as the Whitecaps visibly began to tire, Tigres were able to step it up a gear and threatened to completely overwhelm the Vancouver defense. They’re fitter and have a much more effective forward line. Keeping them off the scoresheet at BC Place seems close to impossible. And thanks to the away goals rule, one goal for Tigres means Vancouver will need four.

Next: Whitecaps Sign Nicolás Mezquida to New Contract

Can the Whitecaps turn it around at BC Place? Leave us your comments below.