Tosaint Ricketts’ goal gives the Vancouver Whitecaps the win at BC Place

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Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Tosaint Ricketts on August 21, 2020

VANCOUVER, BC – Tosaint Ricketts was the player that gave Vancouver the win late in the game. It made up for the many missed opportunities Vancouver had earlier in the game.

Full Game Summary

Tosaint Ricketts’ goal gives Vancouver all three points in British Columbia

First half – Thomas Hasal saved a Alejandro Pozuelo penalty

Alex Bono stopped the shot from Vancouver Whitecaps FC player Déiber Caicedo. Kosi Thompson flicked the ball away, which was a great defensive play in the 12-minute. Kosi Thompson’s shot was stopped by Javain Brown. That was a brilliant and vital block that ended the threat.

Cristian Dájome passed it to Ryan Gauld, but TFC blocked the shot in the 27-minute. Ryan Gauld got a chance in the 27-minute, but it was saved by Alex Bono and Shane O’Neill. Michael Bradley’s shot in the 30-minute was off-target. Jayden Nelson made a terrific pass, which deflected off from Alejandro Pozuelo. Ranko Veselinović then committed a handball, giving TFC a chance to take the lead via a penalty.

TFC had a golden opportunity to score the first goal in the 35-minute. However, Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper Thomas Hasal read Alejandro Pozuelo’s shot perfectly. This played a big role in Hasal making the comfortable save on that particular penalty shot. Vancouver would then get a big chance to score in the 41-minute. Déiber Caicedo’s shot was probably more dangerous as it forced Alex Bono to make a big save. The Brian White shot, though, went straight to the TFC goalkeeper.

The other big opportunity Toronto had in the first half was Nelson’s shot. Pozuelo did some great work to get Nelson the ball inside the box. Unfortunately, for Nelson, that shot went off-target from close range. It was a shot that could have easily gone into the back of the net, so it was disappointing that not even a shot on target was registered.

Second half – Tosaint Ricketts wins it for Vancouver

Dájome’s shot in the 47-minute completely missed the net from a dangerous scoring position. Alex Bono almost gave up a goal but was able to recover in the 49-minute of play. Deandre Kerr’s shot was stopped by Hasal in the 52-minute of play.

Déiber Caicedo passed the ball to Brian White for a header, but the ball was just off-target. Javain Brown’s pass hit a TFC player and ended up being a corner. Jimenez then headed the ball away. Dájome missed the target in the 59-minute and TFC almost scored in the 63-minute.

There was some controversy with this play. Before talking about the goal that was called off, there was great teamwork between three Canadian TFC players. Kosi Thompson set up the play while Deandre Kerr delivered the terrific cross. Then Spanish midfielder, Alejandro Pozuelo had his shot stopped by Hasal.

Then Jayden Nelson made a positive run into the box and got the ball before Hasal for the goal. Unfortunately, the goal was called offside, which will be talked about later in the article. However, the goal should have counted as no foul should have been given to Nelson.

First of all, it was a great link-up play between Lucas Cavallini and Ryan Gauld to start the play. Then, Cavallini made a great individual run to pass the ball to Tosaint Ricketts, who scored against his former team at very close range. The question with this goal was, was it offside? Looking at it from different angles, Ricketts did look offside. However, the goal may not have been clear or obvious, which is why the goal probably stood.

Game Summary

Toronto FC deserved a better result. However, they also had two golden opportunities to score, including a penalty scoring opportunity. Both teams are not perfect. As seen in previous games, Toronto surrendered the first big goal-scoring opportunity in the game (like in their last three losses prior to this game against New York City FC and their home game at BMO Field and away game at TQL Stadium against FC Cincinnati.) This is while Vancouver does not have a striker and/or a player that can consistently score for their team right now.

Vancouver also ends their three-game losing streak while extending Toronto’s losing streak to four games. The next game for the Whitecaps will be in the Canadian Championship. In that game, they will face Valour FC (based in Winnipeg, Manitoba) on Wednesday, May. 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET. The game will be shown live on OneSoccer and Telus. They will then play against the San Jose Earthquakes next Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET. Both games will take place at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The game against San Jose will be shown on NBC Sports California and televised nationally on TSN1.

This is while Toronto FC got a bye to the quarterfinals round of the Canadian Championship. As a result, their next game will be on May 14 at 3:00 p.m. ET against Orlando City SC. The game will take place at BMO Field. The game will be shown on Fox 35 Plus and televised nationally on TSN.

Three keys to the game:

The Jayden Nelson goal should have counted. In the 67-minute, after Whitecaps’ goalkeeper, Thomas Hasal, made a spectacular save against Alejandro Pozuelo, it looked like Nelson got the rebound and scored. It also looked like Nelson got to the ball before Hasal was able to touch it.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC goalkeepers played very well. The Whitecaps would not have gotten the result if it was not for their goalkeepers. Thomas Hasal made some spectacular saves including the penalty save against Alejeandro Pozuelo. Then, when Hasal was substituted out of the game because of an injury, Cody Cropper came up and made a big stop for Vancouver.

Toronto FC had six Canadians in the Starting XI. In terms of Canadians, this is a remarkable turnaround. Thanks to the development of Toronto FC II, players have stepped up including Nelson, who almost scored a goal.

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