Decisions, decisions
Will Robinson stick with same group that stood its ground against Sounders last Sunday?
Carl Robinson is weighing his lineup options for Thursday’s playoff decider with both Yordy Reyna and Cristian Techera still hurting
After Sunday’s 0-0 draw with the Seattle Sounders, Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson said that if Cristian Techera and Yordy Reyna had been fully fit, they’d have started the game.
He insisted that the medical staff couldn’t guarantee they’d not have to be subbed off after five minutes.
And so they started on the bench and only came on in the game’s final quarter.
Asked on Monday if they’d be fit to play on Thursday, Robinson said if he had to guess, “I would say they probably won’t play because they’re not fit.” Cue the chin-scratching. Surely, in the biggest game of the year, with a few more days for his players to recover from whatever ails them, they’ll be good to go.
That’s too easy. After Sunday’s kindly-named chess match — yes that’s what many have called it and Robinson was none too pleased to agree with the name — the coach said he was pretty happy with the result.
“In two-legged ties, I think conceding at home is a no-no,” he said.
Yes, of course he’d have liked a goal, but the fact remains that the Caps now would advance from two of the three results possible on Thursday: a win, of course, but now also a draw. Thanks, away goals rule. “It’s a big advantage for us,” defender Marcel de Jong said Sunday.
“Of course we want to win every game, especially at home for the fans,” he added. “(But) we wanted to be sure they didn’t score any goals.”
His captain echoed similar thoughts.
“We had a great shape, we didn’t let them get in the gaps,” Kendall Waston said.
But with the Sounders missing key players to injury and star scorer Clint Dempsey suspended, the opponents were a bit baffled the Caps didn’t go for a goal more.
“If we were cautious, they were even more cautious than we were. Yes, we understand that there’s an away goal rule, but you can’t bank on that,” Sounders keeper Stefan Frei said.
“I like our chances at home. We play attacking soccer and we’re bound to score goals,” midfielder Christian Roldan said.
While we assume Robinson will go back to a more attacking lineup Thursday, almost certainly with Techera and Reyna involved, what if he just stuck with the same group and took the same stifling approach, especially given the Sounders will have a strong lineup?
The pundits would hate it and the fans would be left with a somewhat bittersweet feeling, but if it worked and the Sounders — who have been a dominant attacking force at home this year — didn’t score, the Caps would be through.
Even so, on Sunday the Caps really believed they could have done more offensively, which may come with some relief.
“Offensively we were a little bit off today. I think we could have done more,” de Jong said.
They actually did have a number of counter attacks in the second half, but they kept stumbling on the ball, hitting poor passes and generally just hacking the ball away.
So, sure, they could have done more, but the real question is would they?
And that’s where we come back to Reyna and Techera. Without a doubt, they’re the two most disruptive attacking talents the Whitecaps have in their arsenal.
Fredy Montero’s engine didn’t quit Sunday. Kendall Waston might have scored had the Caps found a way to draw more fouls and land more set pieces (the Sounders, who committed the fewest fouls in the league in 2017, committed just six on Sunday). Brek Shea might have struggled less with carrying the ball up the field. Christian Bolanos might have connected on a few passes a little more sweetly. Nosa Igiebor might have found improved connections with his new teammates even better.
But at the end of the day, Reyna and Techera have both dazzled fans this year like no others.
The roar from the crowd as they stepped on to the field Sunday was notable. The fans knew what they bring to the table.