PLAYOFFS: Manager Robinson says Whitecaps will beat Sounders 1-0
Whitecaps’ Robinson says his underdogs will upset ‘clear favourite’ Sounders
As he readies his players for the game of their lives, Carl Robinson understands everything in play for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Thursday night.
For starters, he understands there will be 40,000 or so fans at CenturyLink Field and 39,500 of them will be in full-throated support of the hometown Seattle Sounders in the second leg of their Western Conference semifinal series.
He also understands the Sounders are the defending MLS champions and star forward Clint Dempsey is returning to their lineup after sitting out Game 1.
And, before you ask, the Whitecaps head coach is aware two of his best offensive players — Yordy Reyna and Cristian Techera — are less than match fit, and that the Whitecaps’ attack fizzled in their absence in Game 1’s scoreless draw at B.C. Place Stadium Sunday.
So Robinson understands the circumstances aren’t exactly optimal for his team as it prepares for the Sounders, just as he understands the vast majority of soccer fans are expecting one thing Thursday night — and he’s expecting something slightly different.
“One-nil,” Robinson said Wednesday, shortly before his team headed down the I-5 to the Emerald City. “It will be a tight game. but we’ll take it 1-nil.”
And just in case you missed the point, Robinson offered this as his session with the media concluded. “Remember, 1-nil.” It will be hard to forget. While his isn’t exactly the consensus view, the Whitecaps’ irrepressible head coach sees a way to victory Thursday. This is following a dreary first game in which the Whitecaps failed to generate so much as one freaking shot on Sounders goalie Stefan Frei and were content to defend cravenly for the 90-plus minutes.
But Robinson has a plan, and even if that plan seems to be scoring one goal and hanging on for dear life, it’s still a plan.
“Do we want to sit and defend?” he asked rhetorically. “No. That’s not our intention. We believe in certain periods of the game and certain areas, we can exploit their weaknesses. We’ve identified a number of weaknesses in the four games we’ve played (their season record is 1-12, with the Sounders thumping the Whitecaps 3-0 in their last meeting at CenturyLink in September).
“We know they’re good going forward. We know that. We’re going to have to be organized and disciplined, but they have got weaknesses in their armour.”
It’s also instructive to note this quote isn’t take out of context. Robinson drummed the point home repeatedly without much prompting.
Example 1: “(Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer) wants to play attacking football and score. No problem. Kansas City wanted to do that when we beat them and so did Orlando. We’re not bad away from home. It suits the players we have, if we can get them fit, and the way we want to play.”
Example 2: “They’re the clear favourites. I’m not lying. I’m not trying to spin anything. They’re at home now and they’re expected to finish the job. Good. It plays into our hands.”
Example 3: “This is why you play the game. It’s for Cinderella stories. It’s for stories that upset the odds. We believe we can go to Seattle against a really good team and upset the odds. We’re going there to win the game.”
OK, so Robinson isn’t worried about providing bulletin-board material. As for the motivation behind his madness, that’s also clear. The Welshman isn’t providing sound bites for the benefit of the media. He’s speaking directly to his team, telling them he’s got this all figured out and they just have to trust his vision.
And say this for the Whitecaps: They’ve received the message. They see a game where they absorb the Sounders’ attack and all that talent gets frustrated along with their supporters. They see a physical match, similar to Sunday’s, without much flow. Mostly, they see a goal, just one goal, that can deliver them to the conference finals. One-nil. They can see it all. “I think they’re the ones who have the pressure,” said team captain Kendall Waston, sporting a black eye from Sunday’s affair.
“I expect it to be very physical,” said Tim Parker, Waston’s partner in the centre of the Whitecaps’ defence. “The longer this game goes scoreless, the more physical it will get. I think that’s the way it’s going to be written.”
Fredy Montero was asked if he like the Caps’ chances in a shootout.
“I feel we can take care of business in 90 minutes,” he said.
In the next breath, the Caps striker admitted there were any number of variables that can turn this match. There’s the weather — rain is expected in Seattle. There’s the officiating — the Whitecaps have generated offence from set pieces all season and in Game 1 there weren’t a lot of fouls given for either team. There’s the condition of Reyna’s wonky hamstring — both he and Techera trained with the team Wednesday and will likely come off the bench in Game 2.
On top of all that, we’ll give you something else to consider. Seattle has more talent, especially with Dempsey back. That often decides these things.
But like their head coach, these Whitecaps see something different. They see a plan and a game that unfolds according to that plan. They see a moment few others can see, and they see it clearly.
One-nil. Go ahead. You tell them they’re wrong.