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.

Young Canadians put on show as Caps tie Orlando

Two Canadians made their marks in different ways when the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Orlando S.C. Lions played to a draw Saturday night.

Cyle Larin, a 21-year-old Brampton, Ont., native who has become a fixture with Canada’s senior men’s team, stole the show as he headed home the 50th-minute goal that gave struggling Orlando a tie.

"It's so important for Cyle to come back here, he's so proud of being Canadian," said Orlando interim coach Bobby Murphy, whose struggling team improved to 4-5-10. "He stepped off the plane last night and said, 'the air is so much better here.' I'm happy for him."

Meanwhile, Whitecaps midfielder Alphonso Davies, 15, drew the biggest cheers when he subbed into the game in the 77th minute. The Edmonton product, who was born in Liberia, became the youngest player to suit up in Major League Soccer this season and third-youngest player in league history.

 “I wasn’t that nervous,” he said. “Yeah, they’re a good MLS team but there’s just a ball and you go out and play, have fun. I wasn’t really nervous coming on the field.”

Davies almost scored on a shot from distance three minutes after subbing on. The ball went just wide of the left post after Orlando goalkeeper Joe Bendik dived in vain. He also had some sound defensive moments as the Whitecaps (8-8-5) avoided a loss after a poor start.

Davies showed that he is still adjusting to the physical play in MLS, but should be able to handle himself against men with considerable professional experience, especially after he puts on some more muscle.

“Definitely, I felt like I (was) being overpowered, because they’re much stronger and bigger than me,” said Davies, who made his professional debut by playing for the Whitecaps in the Canadian championships. “Coming in the game at that time, the coach expects me to make a difference. I tried that but, unfortunately, (the ball) didn’t go in the net.”

The coach, Carl Robinson, continued to downplay Davies’ play, because he is still of high school age.

“Obviously he was brought on to try and affect the attacking end of the pitch and he did that,” said Robinson. “But let’s not get carried away.”

However, it is clear that the Caps are grooming Davies for bigger things after signing him Friday to a contract that is guaranteed through 2018 and contains options for 2019 and 2020. Simply put, Davies was too good to stay with Vancouver’s USL team.

Now, the question is: Can the youngster handle the rapid changes going on in his life?

“It has changed big time, because now I want to go out and have fun with my friends, and then take in, also, that I’m playing at the MLS level and represent the club,” he said. “I can’t really go out and fool around and cause trouble anymore.”

But he and Larin gave Canadian soccer fans reason to hope that, in the future, they might cause trouble while playing together for the national senior men’s squad.

Johnson steals show, helps Canadian soccer grow

A Canadian played the role of villain as Toronto FC stole the Voyageurs Cup from the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night.
As 19,376 Vancouver fans were on their feet, chanting and getting ready to celebrate what they thought would be a successful title defence,  Will Johnson's last-second goal gave TFC the 2016 Amway Canadian championship. The away goal was the tiebreaker after Johnson knotted the two-leg, total-goals series 2-2 on aggregate.
"Every time you dodge a bullet down here, you think: Maybe we will get a chance, and we did," said Johnson, a Toronto native who suffered a fractured leg on the play and is expected to miss six weeks. "Fortunately, it went in and it worked out. I'm not sure you can put it into words and describe it."Actually, the goal defied belief, but it was not that difficult to describe. Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted and central defender Kendall Waston collided as they both went up for Tsubasa Endoh's lob into the box. Ousted dropped the ball and Johnson fired it high over Vancouver players into the net.
"You just take a chance," said Johnson. "When the ball was in the air, I had a good feeling it might bounce. ... I just wanted a look. I just put my foot through it, tried to connect well."
He literally gave Vancouver's title hope the boot in the fourth and final minute of added time as all goals came in the second half.
Johnson nullified nice goals by Vancouver's Nicolas Mezquida, who put home a header in the 47th minute, and defender Tim Parker. Mezquida scored only two minutes after coming on for injured Canadian midfielder Russ Teibert (quad strain) at the start of the second half. Parker was in front of the opposition for a rare time after a Vancouver corner-kick was cleared and Caps midfielder Matias Laba sent the ball back into the Toronto penalty area.
Vancouver goalkeeper Ousted blamed himself for the loss after Waston did not hear him call for the ball.
"Not what we wanted to happen," said Ousted. "I cost us that one. I cost us the championship. It's heart wrenching ... Do I have to come (out of the net) on that one. Definitely, I do. If you want a 'keeper that is going to stay on his line and not take responsibility, I'm not your guy. That's my ball. Should I punch it? Maybe. I would make that decision again. It's my ball. If I hold it, its over. That's the job. Some days that happens, and one mistakes can be the difference."
Ousted called the loss devastating, underscoring a unique irony of this Canadian championship competition. Clearly, Canada's MLS teams place less emphasis on winning a Canadian title, because the competition falls in the middle of their league season, adding to a busy week. So coaches routinely start players who would other wise be backups.
But Ousted's comments, and devastation, underscored the fact that players still hold a Canadian title close to their hearts, even if they are not from Canada. As Teibert's emotional reaction after Vancouver claimed its first title in 2015 indicated, Canadian players treasure a national championship even more.
Even coaches, who use the contests for the dual purpose of developing young talent and building a championship culture, can get pretty emotional, as Toronto's Greg Vanney and Vancouver's Carl Robinson confirmed Wednesday.
"It's just a huge swing emotionally," said Vanney, referring to TFC being behind and then pulling out the win. "For me, I let loose for a second (after Johnson's goal) and probably did something stupid. But then I pulled myself together and realized that Will, one of our key guys, was on the ground. I didn't realize he took a bit of a knock when he hit that ball."
Countered Robinson:  "I'm absolutely gutted for the guys, because they gave me and the club and the organization absolutely everything. We deserved to win, but we didn't win."
The Reds claimed their fifth Voyageurs Cup since 2008, the most by any team, while the Whitecaps placed second for the sixth time, also a record. But the real winner was Canadian soccer. The game offered another example that Canadians can stand out at times against international-calibre talent.
The entire competition showed that Canada is starting to develop quality young talent on a wider, if not reasonably consistent, basis. And, young Canadians are playing at the highest level in North America earlier. Vancouver's 15-year-old midfielder Alphonso Davies, an Edmonton native, was a revelation as he shined at times against Toronto and Ottawa in the semi-final series.  
Granted, many more of these examples are needed and, arguably, Canadians might not have stood out as much as they did last year, when Teibert was chosen the most valuable player of the competition. But more than 19,000 fans still bothered to show up for a mid-week game, and the entire Canadian championship competition exceeded 100,000 in attendance for the first time, according to a Soccer Canada spokeswoman. That accomplishment may not seem like much in comparison to European Cup and World Cup single-game crowds.
But for a country whose men's team has not qualified for the World Cup since 1976 and is still marred at times by the effects of original North American Soccer League's troubles, 100,000 fans represent progress. And, it also shows that soccer enthusiasts are starting to care about a Toronto-Vancouver rivalry, which helps to grow the game.
"(Wednesday's result) probably adds another level to (the Toronto-Vancouver rivalry), for sure," said Johnson, who helped the Portland Timbers win their first MLS Cup last season before he was traded to Toronto. "Vancouver is a great team. For us to come in here and get thee result we need is no small feat. We are proud of that. It will add fuel to the fire. It's good for the sport. This was a good Canadian soccer match between two good teams. There (were) a lot of good Candian players on the field, too.
I was proud to be part of it."
Perhaps more importantly, Johnson's never-say-die effort gave a lot of people, including players and fans, a reason to be proud of Canadian soccer. In the grand scheme of things, that is a good thing for a country whose men's program has been lurching along for 30 years since its last World Cup appearance. Truth be told, Canada's men's side might not get back to the World Cup anytime soon, but Wednesday's game and others in the Canadian championship competition showed that the chances of qualifying might, just might, be stronger in coming years than it has lately.
And save for the feelings of 19,000-plus Whitecaps supporters, it did not hurt that a Canadian stole the show in a national final that featured players from all over the world.