Whitecaps 0, NYCFC 0: Pigeons make themselves at home at BC Place

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It was never going to be easy, with two games against the last two Major League Soccer champions, but the Vancouver Whitecaps saw the first two games of the season as a chance to pick up some free points.

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Two games. Two Eastern Conference teams. One point.

The Whitecaps (0-1-1) played to a scoreless tie against New York City FC (0-1-1) at BC Place on Saturday afternoon, with the defending champion Pigeons dominating the ball and scoring chances from start to finish.

Thomas Hasal’s full-stretch reaction save on Thiago Andrade with three minutes left in regulation was the only thing that stood between NYC and all three points, as the young keeper picked up his first shutout of 2022 with a four-save performance.

NEXT GAME

saturday

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. houston dynamo

3:30 pm, PNC Stadium. TV: TSN1, 4. Radio: AM730

The two games against Columbus and New York wouldn’t have the same impact as games against division rivals, but that theme ends next weekend when Vancouver travels to Houston to face the Dynamo, the first of four straight against Western teams.

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Here’s what we learned…

A PERFECT NO. 10

Last week’s ineffective midfield performance prompted coach Vanni Sartini to switch up from the inverted 3-1-4-2 to the 3-4-1-2 they used to such success last season.

This formation moved Ryan Gauld further up the pitch to where his abilities were better used as a No. 10 playmaker offensive underneath the strikers.

He had a perfectly weighted line-splitting through-ball to Deiber Caicedo in the first half on a counter, then picked out Lucas Cavallini between two defenders two minutes later.

The switch meant Gauld had more defensive ground to cover in the press, having responsibility from sideline to sideline, but he was up to the task and kept the pressure up all game.

I have finished with a team-best three key passes.

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COMEBACK CAVA

The Tank is back.

The hard-charging, foul-collecting, headbanging Cavallini was on full display Saturday.

Getting the start for a recovering Brian White, Cavallini was back to being a bull in the final third china shop, his physical style pushing the Pigeons’ defense to the brink.

He had the best chance of the first half, his powerful header getting handled by NYC keeper Sean Johnson, and just missed connecting on a high-flying scissor kick.

His holdup play was strong, drawing crowds of defenders and free kicks, but he also threw down one of his trademark red-haze tackles that earned him a yellow card. A barge in the back in the first half injury time had him flirting with a red, but he toned it down in the second half.

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He had twice as many touches (33) as his strike partner, Dieber Caicedo, when he was subbed off in the 74th minute, and finished two key passes and the only shot on goal at that point.

NERVE BALL

Sartini was hoping the home crowd would help the team to a quick start, with his young team fare more susceptible to the energy and atmosphere than others.

They didn’t have that quick start, but they didn’t wilt under the overbearing pressure and possession from NYC either, with the 18,463 in attendance providing an emotional lift.

“I think it’s very important the first 15, 20 minutes of the game,” Sartini said ahead of the game.

“We went through the (tape from the Columbus) game and of course the first 15, 20 minutes were terrible. You switch from performance mode to the anxiety mode as a player, and when you’re in anxiety mode, you’re no longer concentrated on what to do. You just look to avoid embarrassment.

“It’s that we need to avoid that we need to be focused on the task, and we need to be focused on the next on the next ball. And we need to have that self-confidence.”

The Whitecaps had just 29 per cent possession, the lowest since a 3-0 loss to Toronto during the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season. New York outshot them 19-11 (4-1 on target) and had twice as many passes as Vancouver (632-265

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