Waston OK after scary head plant
Robinson tries to take blame for goalie miscue, but Ousted owns it
Kendall Waston stepped out of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ training facility on Thursday sporting a big smile.
And, remarkably, no neck brace.
The 6-5 centre back looked like he might have been seriously hurt late in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Columbus when he went up high for a header and flipped over Crew forward Kei Kamara, landing awkwardly on his head.
It was a scary moment. Concerned teammates huddled around the prone Costa Rican on the turf. Up in the stands, his wife was crying. She knew, he said, that it wasn’t like him not to bounce up after a physical play.
“The way how I drop on the floor and how I twist my neck, it was very, very hard,” said Waston, who did eventually get up after a couple of minutes and finished out the game. “Thank God, nothing worse happened.
“Today, I feel much better. After the game, the (training) staff, they massage my neck. They take care of it. I am fit (for Saturday’s game in San Jose).”
BUZZ OVER THE BUG: The Caps finally confirmed Thursday the loan acquisition of 22-year-old Uruguayan midfielder Cristian Techera, who at 5-2 is the absolute definition of pint-sized. His nickname, understandably, is El Bicho, or The Bug.
Techera, who made his pro debut with Club Atletico River Plate Montivedo at 17, scored 10 goals in 24 games with the Uruguayan Primera Division club this season. He is expected to arrive in Vancouver next week once visa issues are resolved.
“We’re excited to have him, he’s coming into the right environment here,” said head coach Carl Robinson of a player who joins three other Uruguayans on the Caps’ roster in striker Octavio Rivero, midfielder Nicolas Mezquida and centre back Diego Rodriguez.
“I saw him in the off-season when I went down to see Diego and Octavio and he caught my eye. He’s quick and he’s got great technical ability. He’s got a lovely left foot and he brings something different to the table than we’ve got here.”
To get Techera, the Caps had to send allocation money to Toronto FC, who had put him on their MLS discovery list late last year. Techera only had eyes, however, for Vancouver.
MORALES MISSES! He does so much so well that it seems sacrilegious to point out — again — his one glaring fault. But it’s getting almost comical watching Vancouver captain
Pedro Morales try to score. The attacking midfielder was all over the field on Wednesday, his 98 touches a season-high for a Caps player. He also created a game-high six chances, but couldn’t convert on either of his two tantalizing opportunities against Columbus.
In the 40th minute, he drilled a clear shot from 22 yards out over top the bar. And in the 57th minute, set up perfectly at the top of the box by Kekuta Manneh, his hard low shot went right at Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark. It’s been the same all season, if Morales is not missing the net, he’s smacking balls directly at ’keepers.
His 18 shot attempts are fourth best in MLS, but of the top 15, his percentage of shots on target (five) is the worst at 27.8. He and Portland’s Rodney Wallace, who has 13 shots, are the only players in the top 15 without a goal. By contrast, Caps striker Rivero leads the league in shots (23), shots on goal (13) and goals (five). SAY WHAT? Robinson’s protection of his players is laudable.
It’s part of the reason why they respect him so much. And he’s a sports writer’s dream, quotable, colourful and honest — well, 98 per cent of the time, anyway.
But perhaps he went a bit too far in his post-game comments Wednesday.
While admitting the second Columbus goal by Kamara, after a terrible giveaway by goalkeeper David Ousted, was “a bad goal for us to concede,” he twice tried to say he was at fault for that gaffe.
“You can blame me for the second goal.” What? A coach can be blamed for his lineup decisions, his tactics and his inability to motivate, but Ousted’s overly hasty goal kick is picked off by the Crew’s Justin Meram, and Robinson, who’s on the sideline 100 feet away, wants to accept blame?
C’mon Carl. No one’s going to buy that. Not even Ousted.
“Carl will do anything to protect his players and I’m grateful,” Ousted said Thursday. “Every guy in (the locker-room) knows Carl has his back. That said, it’s going to be hard for him to take that one. It was poor execution on my part. It was not my best pass.”