Changes loom for Whitecaps after strong finish

Giles Barnes did what he was supposed to do – several weeks too late.

Barnes scored two goals, including the winner, as the Vancouver Whitecaps concluded their disappointing 2016 Major League Soccer season on Sunday with a resounding 4-1 victory over the surprisingly inept Portland Timbers.

The goals, which came before more than 24,000 fans at B.C. Place Stadium, were Barnes’ first for the Whitecaps.

“It’s important to stay away from the goals but (focus on) how well the team performed in general,” said Barnes. “It’s great to end the season with the Caps fans (having) something to shout about. It’s been a very up-and-down season. But it gives them a bit of excitement for next year and something to really look forward to.”

As Barnes suggested, the Whitecaps offered fans some hope for 2017 after missing the playoffs this season. The striker’s goals offered a taste of what could have been if Vancouver had a dangerous scorer throughout the season – and clearly showed what they need.

A dependable striker.

It remains to be seen whether Barnes can provide the offensive consistency that the Caps need. The 28-year-old London native arrived in a trade from Houston with impressive credentials, but he failed to make up for the departure of former designated player Octavio Rivero, who was transferred to Chile’s Colo-Colo.

Barnes’ showing was not what Caps management or fans expected of someone who had scored 31 goals and added 14 assists in 113 MLS regular-season appearances and had also produced in the English Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and CONCACAF Champions League. In addition, Barnes helped two English Championship clubs earn promotion to the EPL and saw extensive action with the Jamaican national team after debuting in March 2015.

Barnes said it took him a while to adjust to playing in Vancouver.

“Obviously, I knew that I was being (crossed) out of Houston,” he said. “I hadn’t played for a while. I was in a (Vancouver) hotel for weeks. It was pretty unsettling, and then flying away to Jamaica and trying to find my rhythm. And then when you don’t score a goal after a few games, the confidence is a little bit low, but I know what I’m capable of, and the coach (Carl Robinson) and everyone can see what I’m capable of. I’ve produced the last five years I’ve been here (in MLS).

“It’s one of those things: Once I knew I’d got one (goal), I could add to it from there.”

Barnes scored Vancouver’s first two goals, in the 13th and 32nd minutes, following Portland giveaways. First, he fired home a Fraser Aird cross from the right flank that deflected off a Timbers defender. Then Barnes took the ball from a Portland player on the left wing, coasted into the Timbers’ box and beat goalkeeper Tim Gleeson with a low shot to the far post.

Barnes helped the Whitecaps claim the Cascadia Cup, a fan-created trophy based on in-season games between Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. He also helped the Caps deny Portland a playoff berth after the Timbers ousted the Caps from the 2015 post-season en route to winning the MLS Cup.

But Barnes and the rest of Vancouver’s effort must be viewed realistically. As Portland coach Caleb Porter indicated, the Timbers were terrible. A defender passed the ball right to Pedro Morales for Vancouver's third goal in the 54th minute and Nicolas Mezquida easily steered the ball around a Portland player before scoring Vancouver’s final goal a minute later.
While Portland’s showing was stunningly bad, the Timbers struggled on the road all season. In fact, they never won a game away from Providence Park, finishing 0-11-6 outside of their confines.

And, for a rare occasion, the Whitecaps made the most of their chances, leaving one reporter to ask: Where was that performance all year?

“Good question,” replied Robinson. “If you could give me an answer, then please do.”
Robinson later added: "This performance absolutely drives me mad, because I know we've got the players to do it, but we haven't done it on a consistent basis." 

The reality is that the Whitecaps will make some key changes in the off-season. Morales, the club’s captain, is not expected to stay after a sub-par season in which he still led the team with nine goals. Some other older veteran members of the team’s core also appear likely to depart.

Robinson did not want to contemplate changes just yet. Instead, he and players pointed to successes. The Caps finished first in their CONCACAF Champions League pool, advancing beyond the group stage for the first time. They also came within seconds of winning the Canadian championship before losing on the away-goals rule to Toronto.

But defender Jordan Harvey put Sunday’s win in the proper perspective.

“This was our best performance of the year,” he said. “Unfortunately, it happened at the end of the season and not at the beginning.”

The Whitecaps can use the showing to build on next year. But it remains to be seen who will still be around to do the building.

Timbers tumble out of MLS playoffs

What a difference a year made for the Portland Timbers.

In the fall of 2015, the Timbers made a habit of winning games late in the season. They then snuck into the playoffs and won the Major League Soccer championship in rousing fashion.

But on Sunday’s final game of the game 2016 regular-season, they crashed out of the playoffs. Desperately in need of a win to capture a post-season berth like they did last, the Timbers delivered a terrible effort and fell 4-1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps, who had nothing to play for but pride.

Timbers coach Caleb Porter only needed one word to describe his team’s showing.

“Disappointing,” he said. “Obviously, the performance was not good enough. Defensively, we leaked goals. Obviously, without [Liam] Ridgewell and [Diego] Chara, you can see we were missing some quality. But that’s where your depth needs to step up. They didn’t. We had some guys who really had poor performances. You can’t win when you get that – and we got that across the board.”

Porter went on at length about how a lack of depth, especially on the wings, hurt his team at key times during the season and again on Sunday. Giveaways on the wings led to Vancouver’s first two goals, both by Giles Barnes. Now, Porter and the rest of the team’s management will spend part of the off-season evaluating fringe players who were on the verge of becoming starters and bench personnel to determine whether they should stay with the club.

If Sunday’s performance was an accurate indication, they should not.

 “Obviously, there were some turning points that maybe could’ve changed the game. … So those are factors of the game. But when I look at the overall performance, I didn’t think we were good. When I look at the overall performance, I didn’t think we were good. I didn’t think we defended well. I thought we got some surprisingly poor performances out of some of our key guys and some of the depth pieces that we have to plug in with some of the absences that we had. When you look at the last two games – our Champions League game on Wednesday and this game, we had two key guys out in both of those games. I think that sums up our season. On Wednesday, [Fanendo] Adi and [Diego] Valeri were out. When we needed our depth to step up and get the job done, they didn’t. And this game, (Diego) Chara and (Liam) Ridgewell were out. We needed our depth to step up and get the job done. They didn’t.”

Porter thought the situation was exacerbated on the road. The Timbers racked up 12 home wins – the second-highest total in the league – this season. But as a result of Sunday’s loss, they went winless (0-11-6) in 17 games away from Providence Park.

“What do you blame it on?” he asked of the inconsistent season. “You blame it on injuries (or) you blame it on depth. I blame it on depth because, ultimately, you have to have a good enough bench to get the job done regardless of injuries. And, I think Wednesday and (Sunday are) a bit of the story of the season.”

Whitecaps respond to coach's challenge

Vancouver Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson has found it hard to praise his team this season, but he had little difficulty Tuesday night.

The Whitecaps blanked Sporting Kansas City 3-0 in CONCACAF Champions League play at B.C. Place Stadium in a performance that could be fairly described as dominant. The effort was a strong contrast from Saturday's 2-0 in Kansas City in Major League Soccer play.

"We haven’t been doing well enough, but I challenged them, especially after Saturday’s game," said Robinson. "I challenged them – because they’re all good players, they’re good people – to have a go. And we certainly had a go tonight."

Cristian Techera led the Whitecaps with two goals, while Erik Hurtado supplied a goal and an assist. In addition to singling out Techera and Hurtado, Robinson praised the showing of rookie Fraser Aird, who played strong defensively in midfield.

The Whitecaps improved to 2-0 in CCL competition this season and lead Group C with two games left in the pool level.

"We got outfought on Saturday, and we didn’t get outfought today," said Robinson. "In any walk of life, you put the hard work in and you get your rewards, and today we got our rewards. So I’m pleased today. It’s one game. Hopefully it will build confidence. We had some players that played very well. ... It’s a start for us.”

In other words, it's a start at a possible MLS playoff run as the Whitecaps, who have been inconsistent most of the season, attempt to secure a berth in the top six in the Western Conference. The Whitecaps played like a different team than Saturday because they were literally a different squad.

Robinson and K.C. coach Peter Vermes rested several regulars to manage fatigue during a week in which both teams play three games. The MLS playoffs are the first priority for Robinson, and he expects several players who saw action Tuesday night to press for more playing time -- particularly Hurtado, who was loaned to a Norwegian team last season.

“I sent him on loan because I understand there’s a lot of people, a lot of young players, who think the grass is green, and I’m one of a number of coaches in this league that (have) been there and done it," said Robinson. "I know what works and what doesn’t. I keep saying: Hard work. That’s all it is, and you've got to deal with disappointment. Erik had to deal with disappointment last year by going on loan and realized it’s very hard. So he’s come back this year with a bit between his teeth, and he gets his goal tonight. I think everyone in the stadium was delighted for him, because the amount of work he puts in, not just in games but on a daily basis, is phenomenal.”

Midfielder Russell Teibert, who has seen his playing time reduced this season, also made a case for more time in the starting 11 as he took on more of a playmaking role in a 4-4-2 formation while captain Pedro Morales was rested. Teibert set up Hurtado for Vancouver's second goal, in only the 12th minute, with a long, high lead ball that the striker ran on to and then lobbed over charging K.C. goalkeeper Jon Kempin.

"It means a lot to get the three points, not only for ourselves, but for the fans," said Teibert. "It’s nice to get a win for them in our own place, where we’ve been fairly good in the past – to get back to winning ways. Hopefully, we can carry this over to the MLS season.”

Teibert said the win should help the Whitecaps deal with a lack of confidence, which "has become an issue on the field recently."

“We weren’t playing with the same swagger as we did tonight," he said. "You could tell by the way the players were strutting that we played like that tonight. We stood up. We were a team tonight that wasn’t going to get scored on. We were a team that scores goals. We were dangerous on the counter, we were strong in defence and we had communication all over the field. We stuck to our game plan and we did the simple things very well.” 

Techera closed out the scoring in the 64th minute as he took a lead pass from Matias Laba and slid a shot by Kempin. Sporting coach Vermes said the Whitecaps were the better, and more aggressive team, and he would not have received much of an argument. K.C. rarely showed much offensively, although Connor Hallisey was foiled by Vancouver goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi on a shot from close range in the 48th minute, and Diego Rubio bounced a header just wide of the Whitecaps net 10 minutes later. 

Tornaghi was happy to earn the shutout after being deployed in CCL last season, when the Whitecaps did not advance beyond the group stage.

“For me, I was a little bit disappointed from last year (with) how I did," said Tornaghi, who was credited with five mostly routine saves. "So I was really looking forward to (getting) revenge and doing very good in this competition.”

The Whitecaps hope to advance beyond the group stage in CCL for the first tme. The CCL competition will ultimately determine the North American, Central American and Caribbean zone's representative in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup.

Tornaghi saw his first action after Spencer Richey was called up from Vancouver's United Soccer League farm team for the first CCL game, a 1-0 win over Central F.C. of Trinidad and Tobago. But, after watching his team struggle for much of the season, Robinson was not ready to get too excited aboutVancouver's unblemished CCL record.

“It’s far from over,”  he said of the group stage. “We’ve got two more difficult games to go. But if we apply ourselves with the same mindset and the same mentality as we did today, then hopefully we can achieve another first for the club.”

David Edgar makes first good impression with Whitecaps

David Edgar wasted no time making a good first impression with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Edgar scored a goal and, more importantly, considering his central defender role, kept the ball out of Vancouver's net as the Whitecaps tied English Premier League side Crystal Palace 2-2 in an international soccer friendly Wednesday night at B.C. Place Stadium.

“It felt good to be out there and get good match sharpness,” said Edgar, a long-time Canadian international who signed with the Whitecaps recently as a free agent. “I actually felt quite up to pace. And, obviously, getting a goal in my debut in front of the home fans is a very good feeling.

Edgar, a 29-year-old Kitchener, Ont., native who has played more than 200 games in the EPL, was signed to shore up a back line that has struggled most of the Major League Soccer season. But he showed offensive flair as he headed in a Cristian Techera cross following a short corner-kick in the 50th minute. Playing 61 minutes, he also helped the Whitecaps keep the first half scoreless.

“I thought the first half, the first 20 or 25 minutes, was fantastic," he said. "They actually couldn’t live with us at some points. But they’re a good squad, they’re in their preseason, they’re getting up to speed and they’ve got three weeks to peak before they start the Premier League. But I thought, from my point of view, being involved in that, some of the movement and the creativity that was shown was exciting.” 

After Edgar left the game, Palace's Fraizer Campbell scored two goals in four minutes. That was not necessarily a true indication of Edgar's influence on the game, because both teams substituted liberally. As a result, Crystal Palace, which is in its pre-season, did not display true EPL form, and the Whitecaps used several USL players who were called up for the occasion. However, Edgar's performance was a good sign, considering that he will likely be asked to play a prominent role, as a starter or substitute, heading into the stretch drive of the MLS regular season and upcoming CONCACAF Champions League competition.

Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson said Edgar displayed good soccer fundamentals with his defending, footwork, and reading of the play.

"He never puts himself in (vulnerable) positions," said Robinson. "Obviously he scored the goal. … It was a good positive 60 minutes for him, so I’m pleased with that.”

The friendly served as part of a shortened preseason for Edgar, who split last season on loans with, most recently, Sheffield United of England's League One and Huddersfield Town of the English Championship. He was out of contract, more commonly known as being a free agent, following his release from Birmingham City of the English Championship at the end of the 2015-16 season. 

He went through intense training with Whitecaps for about a week after signing with the club on July 11, but had also worked out with the club at times previously while auditioning for a contract. He has also worked out on his own for much of the summer.

Now, as the Whitecaps prepare to visit Houston Dynamo in league play, Edgar feels fit for regular MLS duty.

“I’m ready to go now when called upon," he said.