Reyna coming into his own with Caps

Yordy Reyna continues to make up for lost time.
After missing most of the season with a broken foot, the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder has two goals in just eight appearances heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Seattle Sounders at B.C. Place Stadium.
“He’s like a rash,” said Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson. “He’s all over the place.”
Robinson and Caps fans will be hoping that Reyna follows up well on a strong effort in a 2-1 win over Houston on Saturday, when he figured in both of Vancouver’s goals. Fredy Montero scored on a penalty-kick in the 17th minute after Reyna was fouled by Boniek Garcia.
Then, 15 minutes later, Reyna took a pass from Montero and scored on a well-placed shot from distance that fooled Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric. The goal, which gave the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead, proved to be the winner before Romell Quioto scored in the second half.
“I think (Montero) and Yordy have a nice little bit of chemistry,” said Robinson.
The coach is starting to see what he envisioned from the duo when he acquired them in the off-season. Reyna, a 23-year-old Peruvian international, joined the Whitecaps as a free agent from Austria’s FC Red Bull Salzburg, while Montero, a 30-year-old Colombian, was brought in as a designated player on a one-year loan from a Chinese squad.
"If I can hold the ball long enough for (Reyna) to come support me, then that's good for the team," said Montero, who now has 10 goals on the season. "We have different kinds of players that can go one-on-one, who can shoot on goal."
Reyna’s return to action on July 1 has helped the Whitecaps (10-9-4) move into Major League Soccer’s sixth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
"We had (Reyna) in pre-season so we got a little glimpse of (his talent),” said Whitecaps midfielder Andrew Jacobson. "We got to see it and then it got taken away. Now, he's really starting to come into his own."
Reyna’s presence also appears to have revitalized Montero, who has four goals in as many games. Six of Montero’s 10 goals this season have come since July 5. Before then, he produced only one goal in nine games – a span of more than two months.
With both Reyna and Montero in good form, the Whitecaps now have a good chance to move up the table, considering that six of the club’s next seven games are at home.
“What we do at home is going to be very important to us,” said Jacobsosn. “We see the stretch we have in front of us, we know we’ve gotta start picking up points.”
Montero, a former Sounder, is looking to have another strong outing against Seattle after scoring two goals in a Vancouver win in April.
“It’s going to be another neat opportunity for me to try to play against my old friends, but it’s going to be (just) another game for me as well as the team,” said Montero. “All of our focus is on the victory.”

Rivero shines in disappointing Whitecaps effort

The Vancouver Whitecaps had several causes for concern Saturday – but, for a change, Octavio Rivero wasn’t one of them.

Rivero’s goal in the 52nd minute gave the Vancouver Whitecaps a 1-1 tie with the Houston Dynamo before a sellout crowd of 22,120 at B.C. Place Stadium, sparing the home side a huge embarrassment.

Rivero, who has come under criticism for his lack of offence in two seasons with Vancouver, put home a a rebound off a corner-kick. He helped the Whitecaps (6-6-3) gain at least a share of third place in the Western Conference, pending the results of games later Saturday involving the L.A. Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.

Rivero’s performance was encouraging to see, considering that the 24-year-old Uruguay native has been an enigma since joining the Whitecaps for the start of the 2015 Major League Soccer season. The goal was only his second of the season. Two weeks ago, he was the subject of trade speculation, and he has struggled to stay in the starting 11 when not injured.

“He’ll be delighted with the goal, and I’m delighted for him for the goal, but his all-around performance, I thought, was excellent,” said Whitecaps coach Robinson. “I thought he held the ball up. He was a problem for their two centre backs, who are real good players, and he was a platform for our team to build. I put him in the team today. I left Erik Hurtado out, who’d done very well. I put (Rivero) in the team because he’d trained well. He’d been finishing up a number of training lately and doing extra work because he wants to get better, and that showed in his performance today.”

On the other hand, most of the other Whitecaps were not up to par for much of the game, which saw both teams reduced 10 players following a skirmish between Houston’s Alex and Vancouver captain Pedro Morales, who were sent off shortly before half-time.

The Dynamo, the Western Conference cellar dweller, entered the game deep in the doldrums after coach Owen Coyle parted ways with the club by mutual consent Wednesday. But Houston, which had lost all five of its previous games in Vancouver, controlled play at the start, keeping the ball in the Whitecaps half for about the first 12 minutes. You would never have known that the visitors had lost 10 straight road games.

DaMarcus Beasley gave the Dynamo a 1-0 lead in the 20th when he was allowed to take the ball down the left wing and chip a shot over Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted after eluding central defender Tim Parker’s attempted sliding tackle. Based on where the teams were in the Western Conference standings – Vancouver near the top and Houston at the bottom – the Whitecaps should have had a chance at a romp.

But they only looked good after Rivero’s goal turned their fortunes around.

“Great goal,” said Ousted. “I thought he found the right decision. He struck it perfectly, and I’m happy for the guy for getting that goal. He deserves it. He works so hard in this league. In the second half, he had a number of chances, so I’m happy with that goal.”

From that point on, Vancouver forced Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric to make a number of difficult saves. But Houston also could have won, if not stymied by Ousted.

“I do feel we need to be better on a number of points, especially in the first half,” said Ousted. “We weren’t at the races. But, the second half, we can take a lot away from that performance. The work rate was up to standards, and we had the chances.”

However, even forever-positive Canadian midfielder Russell Teibert was subdued after the comeback draw. The Niagara Falls, Ont., native did not like a reporter’s suggestion that the Caps had squandered two of a possible three points, but he was not about to sugar-coat his team’s effort.

“That would be the negative way to look at it – two points lost,” said Teibert. “The positive of it is one point gained, and that could be a crucial point coming down to the end of the season. But I do agree with you in the sense that three points (are) crucial in a game like this, and we had opportunities to go out and win that game.”

But all things considered, the Caps struggled when they should have controlled the game from the outset against a vulnerable Houston side. The Dynamo’s 10-game road losing streak was part of a longer winless slide that has extended to 15 games, including ties.

“It’s been an interesting week around our camp,” said Wade Barrett, one of three Houston assistant coaches who guided the club against the Whitecaps.

Fortunately for the Caps, Rivero made Saturday’s game much more interesting for the Whitecaps than it could have been. And, he offered some hope of providing even better showings in the future.

 

Japanese star earns kudos in first MLS start

Masato Kudo made his mark Saturday night in his first Major League Soccer start.

The Whitecaps striker was at the centre of the play that led to Vancouver’s controversial 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo at B.C. Place Stadium.

Pedro Morales scored on a penalty-kick in the 23rd minute after Kudo was pushed down from behind by Dynamo defender Jalil Anibaba in the Houston box. Vancouver (2-2-0) posted its second consecutive win, while the Dynamo fell to 1-2-1.

The goal from the PK punctuated a strong opening for Kudo, who was robbed by Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis on a two-on-one with Kekuta Manneh in the 15th minute.

 “I thought (Kudo’s) movement was very good," said Vancouver coach Carl Robinson. “He’ll be disappointed he didn’t score the goal. It was a great bit of link-up play. He usually eats them up in training.”

Kudo, a former Japanese League star, joined the Whitecaps on a free transfer in the off-season. He gave the Whitecaps an offensive spark almost from the get-go. Willis was forced to stop Octavio Rivero on a back-heeled shot in the 12th minute off a pass from Kudo, who made a number of dangerous runs and caused Dynamo coach Owen Coyle fits on the decisive penalty call.

Kudo was fouled while trying to field a cross that was already beyond him.

"That's never a penalty in a million years," said Coyle. "Unfortunately for us, it's been given."

Coyle felt his team dominated after that point, but Kudo helped the Whitecaps control play in the early going as Houston goalkeeper Willis delivered a masterful effort. The Whitecaps were credited with six shots on target in the first half alone.

“It’s hard to sit here having no points in that game, given the level of the performance that we put into the match,” said Coyle. “But there you go. As you know, it can be a very cruel game.”

The timing of international call-ups can also be cruel, as the Whitecaps found out Saturday while playing with a make-shift back line. It contained contained only veteran starter in left back Jordan Harvey and just one natural central defender in Pa-Modou Kah.

Houston’s domination, as Coyle saw it, was probably debatable, although the Dynamo did put a shot off the crossbar and another off the post. The visitors rarely threatened to score until the Whitecaps withstood a free kick from the top of their box and a corner-kick in the closing minutes.

“We’ve got a squad for a reason – to give guys an opportunity to play,” said Robinson. “I think the guys who stepped in did themselves a lot of good.”

Robinson also bolstered his team’s defensive coverage by substituting Sam Adekugbe and Jordan Smith, who are usually defenders, into midfield positions in the second half.

“From Carl’s point of view, we, maybe, wanted to get a bit more of a strong presence in the box with Sam Adekugbe and Jordan Smith,” said goalkeeper David Ousted. “I think that was the idea. We were trying to make sure we didn’t get over-run on the flanks.”

Ousted did not dispute Coyle’s contention that Houston dominated after the controversial penalty-kick. But the Caps goalkeeper only cared about the final result after his team blanked a Dynamo squad that scored 11 goals in its three previous games.

“We kept a clean sheet and won 1-0,” said Ousted. “So, looking at it that way, we did tremendously well.”

Thanks in large part to Kudo’s early exploits.

Whitecaps looking forward to home-field advantage in playoffs

The Vancouver Whitecaps made no apologies for securing home-field advantage in the playoffs, almost by default, for the first time in their Major League Soccer history Sunday evening.
The Whitecaps earned a first-round bye as they blanked the Houston Dynamo 3-0 before a sellout crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium. The Caps ended a five-game winless skid as they finished second in the Western Conference with a 16-13-5 record. But Vancouver coach Carl Robinson was feeling over the moon – not dwelling on the late-season swoon.
“Obviously, we’re happy,” said Robinson. “I think we got what we deserved. I’m a big believer (that), in this game, if you put your hard work in and you do things right, you get your rewards – and I think we got our rewards today. We deserved to win the game.”
Vancouver caught a break as Sporting Kansas City edged the L.A. Galaxy 2-1, giving second place to the Canadian squad. But Robinson was not doing any scoreboard watching as the Whitecaps used delay tactics for much of the final 10 minutes to preserve the win.
“We didn’t deserve to get to be where we are at the moment if we didn’t win, so I didn’t want to lose my focus, because if I lost my focus, then my players lose their focus,” said Robinson.
Kekuta Manneh gave the Caps the only goal they needed in the 59th minute before Kendall Waston headed home a Christian Techera corner kick in the 72nd minute and Robert Earnshaw headed the final goal in moments after subbing into the game in stoppage time.
The Whitecaps finally connected on some of their chances after failing to finish in the first half, although Techera hit the crossbar 13 minutes into the game. Sporting Kansas City did little in the second half after threatening briefly in the first 45 minutes on a pair of Giles Barnes free kicks and his shot from 20 yards out, which Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted stopped.
In the first round, Seattle will host L.A. and Sporting Kansas City will travel to Portland in a pair of single-knockout quarter final games. The Whitecaps will then play the first-round winner with the best regular-season record. Dallas will play the victor with the second-best regular-season record. Both semifinals will be two-leg, aggregate-goal series. The winners will then advance to the Western Conference finals and MLS Cup series.
“It’s huge,” said Ousted of the first-round bye. “It gives us a break Wednesday (and Thursday not having to play) that one-off game, and then it certainly gets us into a two-way game (in) which I think our chances are a little bit better than in the one-off.”
Like his coach, Ousted was not apologizing after Vancouver got some help from a temporary friend, Sporting Kansas City. In contrast to the previous three seasons, the Whitecaps secured a playoff berth with weeks to go in the regular season and avoided a mid-summer swoon. But they suffered a late-season slump this year instead.
“I’d say we’ve been lucky when the results have gone our way, but we are also in second because we deserve to be here, because we’re the second-best team in this (conference),” said Ousted. “We’ve showed that over a (season). Maybe, in the last month, we haven’t showed it as much, but we’re here for a reason.”
In other words, he and Robinson believe that things eventually even out and a team’s talent proves itself over the full campaign.
“Over 34 games, the league doesn’t lie,” said Robinson.
Despite being the youngest team in MLS, the Whitecaps endured several injuries – including an ongoing hamstring problem that has forced captain Pedro Morales to miss most of the second half of the season -- and player absences due to suspensions and international duty. In the playoffs for the second year in a row and third time in their history, the Caps will now attempt to prove that they are for real in the post-season.
Vancouver lost do-or-die games to L.A. in 2012 and Dallas in 2014, with the winners both scoring decisive goals on penalty-kicks. Robinson does not want his youthful club just to try and survive in the playoffs. So he has already delivered a distinct message to his charges regarding quest for the MLS Cup.
“Let’s not cope,” he said. “Let’s try and win it.”
Vancouver’s opening series could have some added intrigue, because the Caps have a 50-50 chance of playing regional rival Portland or Seattle. In either case, hundreds of fans would travel to the away legs, adding plenty of colour and hostility to the intense atmosphere.
“It could be a fantastic matchup, either against Timbers or Sounders,” said Ousted. “The fans would enjoy that a lot – and so would I.”