Takaoka’s four saves preserve Vancouver’s 0-0 draw at St. Louis City

A scoreless result despite contrasting chances

St. Louis City and Vancouver Whitecaps drew 0-0 in Major League Soccer’s Regular Season - 29 at Citypark. Vancouver produced 16 shots to St. Louis City’s seven and had eight shots inside the box, compared with four for the hosts. Yet St. Louis City recorded five shots on goal, while Vancouver had none.

The numbers also pointed to a divided contest. St. Louis City held 54% possession and completed 384 accurate passes to Vancouver’s 322. Vancouver’s expected goals figure was 0.83 against St. Louis City’s 0.75, but neither attack found a decisive finish. Y. Takaoka was the standout performer, earning a 7.8 rating after making four saves in 90 minutes for Vancouver.

Second-half changes and late bookings

Conrad Wallem replaced Rafael Santos for St. Louis City in the 40th minute. Vancouver later introduced Bruno Caicedo, Rayan Elloumi and Aleksa Cvetkovic, while St. Louis City brought on Simon Becher and Lukas MacNaughton. Fallou Fall and Édier Ocampo were booked in the 45th minute, followed by Ralph Priso in the 81st and Alexandru Măţan in the 85th. There were no red cards.

Vancouver retain provisional Western Conference lead

Vancouver went into the match top of the Western Conference on 51 points, with St. Louis City #2 on 50. After the draw, Vancouver have 52 points and are provisionally #1, one point ahead of St. Louis City on 51, provisionally #2. St. Louis City entered after a draw in their most recent listed match, while Vancouver’s most recent listed result was a win.