Whitecaps get rare taste of life at the top

The Vancouver Whitecaps have traditionally been climbers, but now they hope to avoid a fall.
The Whitecaps (13-9-5) sit first in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference heading into Saturday’s home game against the Columbus Crew (13-12-4) at B.C. Stadium. The Caps usually find themselves battling for a playoff spot at this time of year, with the end of the regular season approaching, but they have avoided their seemingly annual summer swoon – and displayed more consistency than expected.
However, Vancouver coach Carl Robinson and his players are not making a big deal of their success.
 “We’ve just got to keep ticking along,” said Robinson.
The Whitecaps are coming off a 3-0 thrashing of expansion side Minnesota United on Wednesday at home, where they made amends for squandering a 2-0 lead earlier this season in the Twin Cities and settling for a tie.
They have climbed up the standings by going 7-2-2 in their past 11 games
“It feels good, but we want to be there at the end of the season,” said Caps rookie defender Jake Nerwinski. “It’s good to be in first now, but we’ve got seven games left.”  
Saturday’s tilt is likely to be much more difficult for the Whitecaps. The Crew is 3-0-2 in its last five games and arrived early to watch Wednesday’s game at B.C. Place. After the game, many Whitecaps renewed acquaintances with former popular teammate Kekuta Manneh. The popular Gambia native, who has played both striker and midfielder, was traded to Columbus early in the season for Tony Tchani, who has performed well albeit with less flair.
“I hope he does well against us, but I hope we get the win,” said Whitecaps striker Erik Hurtado.
On Wednesday, Hurtado scored in a starting role against Minnesota after rarely seeing the pitch for most of the season as Robinson elected to go with other players. Hurtado could finding himself watching again Saturday. The Caps will likely draw heavily again on Yordy Reyna, a player who has provided the consistency that was often lacking with Manneh, who struggled with injuries in Vancouver and never quite lived up to expectations after his play hinted that he could earn a large transfer fee from a European club.
Reyna, a Peurvian international who missed much of the season with a broken foot suffered in the preseason, has three goals and an assist in his past five games. He scored a brilliant goal against Minnesota on a long lead ball from Canadian midfielder Marcel de Jong and also provided a helper.
“He’s such an exciting player,” said Nerwinski. “He’s explosive, he’s quick, he’s skillful and he makes things happen.”
And, if he continue to make more things happen on a regular basis, the Whitecaps may just avoid a fall from first place.

 

Whitecaps looking for more magic in "Mission Impossible"

The Vancouver Whitecaps found magic in one game.

The question now is: Can they do it again Wednesday night?

As they take on Mexico’s Tigres UANL in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal at B.C. Place stadium, the Whitecaps hope to deliver the same masterful display that they showed in a 4-2 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.

The Caps scored three second-half goals to overcome a 2-1 defiicit. For most of the night, Vancouver defenders, midfielders and forwards moved in unison – something they rarely did when the team missed the 2016 MLS playoffs.

Win provides nice setup

“That (win) sets us up nicely for Wednesday – for Mission Impossible,” said Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson.

His two-word description sums up Vancouver’s task effectively. The Caps trail 2-0 in the aggregate-goals competition and need to score at least three times to have the slightest hope for a win. If Tigres scores one goal, the Caps will need to net at least. A tie on aggregate will be determined by which team has more away goals, but the Caps do not have any.

Saturday’s win – Vancouver’s first of the Major League Soccer season – hinted what the Whitecaps are capable of – and suggested that they might be able to pull off a miracle against Tigres. Holding midfielder Matias Laba led the Caps with two goals – one on a superb shot at the top of the L.A. box and the other on a header of teammate Fredy Montero’s rebound.

Rare offensive showing from Laba

How rare was Laba’s showing?

A defensive specialist, he had only managed to score two goals in 112 previous MLS games – a span of three-plus seasons. Montero also scored after coming off the bench after half-time in place of injured striker Erik Hurtado (foot), while Cristian (the Bug) Techera also scored while showing some of the speed that he had displayed last season.

The Whitecaps also received outstanding efforts from central defenders Kendall Waston and Tim Parker, who clogged the middle as the Galaxy tried a series of through balls as well as long lobs.

“You’ve got two centre backs that, I think, were outstanding; you’ve got a holding midfield player that scores two goals; and, obviously, Fredy (Montero) makes a difference when he comes on,” said Robinson. “The Bug was electric as well.”

Some players and Robinson, as well as certain media types, have contended that Saturday’s win was a positive after-effect of star winger Kekuta Manneh’s trade to the Columbus Crew on Thursday. (Tony Tchani, the player acquired from Columbus, provided glimpses of offensive flair in a substitute role.)

“We’re all professional sportsmen,” said Robinson. “So I said to the group: Listen, you’re fighting for your places. We all are.”

Manneh's trade likely a business decision

That was a nice bit of spin or, perhaps, insight into how players are affected psychologically by a standout player’s trade. But the reality is that the offensively gifted Manneh’s trade was quite likely based on business factors, even if – as some have claimed – management grew tired of his inability to finish his scoring chances.

Manneh’s contract is due to expire at the end of this season and he has previously indicated a desire to play in Europe. Hence, it was evident that he did not want to re-sign with Vancouver. Otherwise, the Whitecaps would have signed him even if they still wanted to move him. The Caps decided to get something while they could, in the form of Tchani, a decent player with MLS experience who was in the New York Red Bulls and Toronto organizations when Robinson toiled as a player and assistant coach with those clubs.

The Whitecaps also secured a guaranteed $300,000 in allocation money, a 2018 first-round Super Draft pick if Manneh signs a contract extension with Columbus, or a share of the transfer fee if he is sold internationally. In other words, the Whitecaps made sure they got something for him now instead of losing him for nothing later.

Consistency the real challenge

Any motivation to the rest of the team will likely be temporary at best.  The Whitecaps’ real challenge will be to duplicate Saturday’s performance on a regular basis – and Robinson is extremely aware of that point.

As the coach sat behind the microphone after Saturday’s game, he sounded like a scientist who wished he could preserve the ingredients of that in a test tube for future use – because he knows that the club’s previous success has been fleeting.

“Belief, energy, passion – that group in there has got it,” said Robinson. “We just need to do it more consistently.”

Starting Wednesday.

Good start critical 

Laba suggested it will be “super-important” for the Whitecaps to bring a good effort against Tigres if they are going to overcome the 2-0 deficit.

“We’re not worried about: What are they going to do?” he said. “We know that they are a top-level team in Central America and North America. We need to score the first goal as soon as possible and then have that belief that we can keep going and score the second one.”

The winner of the series will advance to the CONCACAF Champions League final, which will determine the North American, Central American and Caribbean zone’s representative in the next FIFA Club World Cup. Mexico’s top league is widely considered to be of a higher caliber than MLS, but Laba, naturally, contended that  his team is capable of pulling off Mission Impossible.

“We can do it,” said Laba.

 

For Whitecaps, one good test leads to another

Which version of the Vancouver Whitecaps will show up against Sporting Kansas City?
That’s the question that fans and media types will be asking tonight as the Caps host Sporting K.C. in the second of three MLS games this week. One good test leads to another after the Whitecaps blanked Western Conference-leading FC Dallas 3-0 at home on Saturday.
If the decisive win was any indication, the Whitecaps could be an even better squad against K.C. than they were while going scoreless in three games prior to Saturday.
“We’ve had a few bad results in the run in and we got together and met as players, and we decided that we need to change things around if we want to have a good season,” said Vancouver winger Kekuta Manneh.
He is also showing signs of a personal turnaround after leading the charge against Dallas. His cross into the box led to a Dallas own-goal that gave Vancouver the only goal it needed and then closed out the scoring in the second half with a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Chris Seitz following an overhead pass from Blas Perez moments after he came on a substitute.
“We just keep believing,” said Manneh. “We're creating chances. "If we weren't creating chances we would have been worried.
"We knew it was just going to be a matter of time."
The performance was promising after Manneh, now in his fourth season with Vancouver despite being only 21, had failed to score and struggled earlier in the season.
Defender Jordan Harvey showed that he might have an offensive knack again as he scored his second goal of the campaign off a Cristian Techera corner-kick in the 63rd minute. Harvey went without a goal in 2015 after scoring four in 2014.
Despite the offensive heroics, which resulted in Vancouver’s first goal of the season from the run of play, David Ousted was spectacular at times. Ousted, who wore the captain’s armband Saturday while Pedro Morales remained out with a hip injury, has displayed strong leadership while the Whitecaps go through roster adjustments that have led to the departure of veterans and changed their core over the past two seasons.
But Ousted is confident that the Caps have enough leadership to weather a difficult season.
“I’ve said in the past few weeks that we were just going through a rough patch and that’s the time when the leaders of this team step up,” he said. “It’s when especially the veterans of this team take responsibility and I think they have. You see a lot of guys stepping on the pitch (Saturday) wanting to take responsibility and take the ball. The young guys wanted the ball as well, and that’s what it takes.
“MLS is such a long season that you’ll go through patches where it’s going to be pretty tough once in a while, but that’s when the leadership steps up. We got a great locker-room and we’ve got everything we need in there to be a successful team. But once in a while, it takes the leaders on this team to step up a little bit more.”
This week will be one of those times as the Caps (3-4-1) host Sporting K.C. (4-4-0), a former MLS champion, and then visit New York FC on Saturday.
Consequently, tonight’s game will feature a revised Vancouver lineup, as coach Carl Robinson manages his players’ fatigue levels.
Which brings us back to our original question: Which version of the Whitecaps will show up against Kansas City?
The Whitecaps’ answer: Hopefully, one that keeps scoring.

Whitecaps face up to adversity

The Vancouver Whitecaps showed that they can handle considerable adversity against one of the best teams in Major League Soccer on Saturday night.

The Whitecaps played most of the game with 10 men due to a controversial red card and lost two key players to injury in the first half – but still fought the vaunted Los Angeles Galaxy to a 0-0 draw at B.C. Place Stadium.

Vancouver (2-2-1) remained unbeaten in three games, while the Galaxy (2-1-1) have gone two games without a loss.

 “I thought the guys did very well,” said Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted, who stole the show with his fine play. “Tremendous work ethic. I think we showed a lot of character, especially being down (to) 10 men. It’s about being compact and being focused – and we showed that today.”

Bunkering down

The Whitecaps were forced to play a man down after midfielder Matias Laba was sent off in the 28th minute, receiving a direct red card for a tackle on L.A. midfielder Mike Magee. To make matters worse, Vancouver also lost midfielders Pedro Morales and Kekuta Manneh to injuries in the first 43 minutes.

Consequently, the Whitecaps spent most of the game building a defensive bunker, booting the ball into the Galaxy half of the pitch and letting them come back.

“We tried to get it up the field once in a while to see if we could make a goal, but it wasn’t to be today and the point is a good result,” said Ousted.

He made the save of the game in the 70th minute with an acrobatic stop on a shot from inside the Vancouver box by second-half substitute Gyasi Zardes. With what did Ousted get a piece of the ball?

“It was the face,” said Ousted. “So, whatever works.”

He and the Whitecaps faced up to a depleted, but still highly talented Galaxy squad. L.A. played without star striker Robbie Keane to a knee injury as well as goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Steven Gerrard, who were sidelined with leg injuries. But the Galaxy still had stars Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole and Nigel de Jong on the pitch, along with the always dangerous Magee and Zardes, who saw limited action after returning from international duty. They managed little against a Vancouver back line that featured stellar play by central defender Kendall Waston.

Red cards ruining games, says Galaxy coach

L.A. coach Bruce Arena called the result “fair” under the circumstances. Arena said he would have to review a replay of the infraction that led to Laba’s ejection. But in a rare move, Arena tacitly blasted referee Jair Marruto for the call.

“There’s just been too many red cards in this league,” said Arena, a former U.S. national men’s team coach. “It’s ruined the games. Those are difficult games. (The red-card increase) doesn’t make the games entertaining. I don’t think the fans like it.”

Vancouver coach Carl Robinson agreed with Arena’s comments and said he will appeal Laba’s ejection.  

“Yeah, there are too many red cards,” said Robinson. “Fans pay a lot of money to watch games of football and watch the best players on the field. Us as a group of coaches and the players in (the dressing room) are just unsure. We’ve got one of the top midfield players in the league. He’s made a tackle today and he’s been sent off, and I’m not sure why.”

MLS has introduced new foul interpretations this year designed to protect players. Whitecaps defender Tim Parker, who excelled upon his return to the Caps after toiling for the U.S. Under-23 squad that failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics, said players were advised that fouls would be called tighter. But they are having trouble recognizing the new rules.

Ousted believes the league’s desire to protect players from injury is “a good thing, but it’s misplaced once in a while.”

“And, I think it ruins games more than it actually benefits the players, and I think it’s something that needs to be looked at,” said Ousted.

He called on players to speak out more on the issue. However, L.A. coach Arena was not about to call out his players for a poor effort.

Morales and Manneh out for a while?

Arena thought his players were “deficient” in their “ability to create scoring chances,” but still felt his team played well. Vancouver’s best scoring chances came when Andrew Jacobson’s shot from distance forced goalkeeper Brian Rowe to make a rare save in first-half added time and midfielder de Jong booted the ball away from second-half substitute Blas Perez in the 85th minute. That chance resulted from a sensational heel pass by Cristian Techera.

“Technically, we could have been better in the last third of the field,” said Arena. “Obviously, we’re playing on (artificial) turf and, maybe, we’re not that comfortable on it, but that isn’t an excuse. On the other side, you could give Vancouver a lot of credit. They’re very disciplined and dropped their team back and got in good positions and did the job defensively.”

The draw bodes well for the Whitecaps as they try confirm their status as a legitimate MLS Cup contender. But they might be forced to play for an extended period without Morales, who only played 17 minutes before going down and pointing to soreness in his thigh area. Manneh, who has been troubled by an ankle injury suffered in the second leg of last year’s playoff loss to Portland, logged 43 minutes and was still limping after the game.

Robinson was not optimistic about the either player’s chances of returning soon.

“They don’t look good at the moment,” said Robinson.

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.