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.”
