CRUNCH TIME FOR CAPS IN CLOSE WEST CONFERENCE
Vancouver in four-way battle for first, but still haven’t clinched playoffs
It’s out of the frying pan, into the blast furnace for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
After getting blanked 3-0 by the bitter Major League Soccer rival Seattle Sounders Wednesday night in the always-inhospitable confines of the Clink, the Caps now turn their sights to the next challenge: Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park, where Sporting Kansas City has shown little mercy to visitors.
SKC has won three straight at home and is 10-0-5 this season, part of a 24-game home unbeaten streak that dates back to last September.
“We go into a very difficult environment on Saturday … an environment (where) we’ve never won,” Caps coach Carl Robinson said. “We’re not favourites; they ’re clear favourites. We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and show we’re men, because it’s going to be a battle.”
The Caps whiffed on their chance to secure a post-season berth Wednesday, making the stakes Saturday that much higher. Vancouver (14W-10L-6T) remains first in the West with 48 points, one ahead of Portland, Sporting and Seattle, though they have games in hand on the Timbers and Sounders.
The Wizards, however, have a game in hand on the Caps. Until the Whitecaps beat them 2-0 at B.C. Place Stadium in May, SKC had been dominant in the headto-head, not losing in five matches (4-0-1) since 2015, outscoring them 10-5.
Kansas City has done it with defence this season. Their 23 goals against is far and away the best in MLS, 20 fewer than Vancouver and 10 below league-leading TFC. Their 0.79 goals conceded per game would be third-best alltime in MLS, with the 2010 Real Salt Lake squad leading the way at 0.67 goals per game.
“We need to take advantage of playing at home and go with everything from the start,” Sporting KC striker Diego Rubio said. “We need to make (Vancouver) feel like they are playing in our home.”
It will be a true test of the Whitecaps’ style of play. The Wizards rank second in possession in MLS at 52.6 per cent, and third in shots per game. Vancouver, which ranks last in possession (44.5 per cent), will endure waves of attack from SKC before they’ll have a chance to find room for their usual counterattacks.
The counter-culture philosophy that has served them well this season didn’t work so well in Seattle Wednesday, as the Sounders dominated the ball with nearly 60 per cent possession and outshot the visitors 20-8.
“(It’s) one game,” Robinson said after the Washington state whipping. “When you lose a game of football, you’re always open for criticism. With four games to go, we’re at the top of the table. But we’ve got to keep fighting, we’ve got to keep grinding, working hard and doing the details. Because when you play top teams, the details are the most important things.
“You can’t win every game. We’ve lost an unbeaten run, now we’ve got to start a new one. It’s all in how you bounce back.”
The Wizards are wary of the threat posed by Vancouver, especially with a post-season berth on the line and so little separating the
teams at the top of the conference. No one has clinched a playoff spot yet, and both Sporting and Vancouver could conceivably miss the party with a late-season swoon.
“(First place) is obviously a place they deserve because they’ve been playing so well,” said SKC coach Peter Vermes.
“They’re just a very explosive team with the players that they have. They’re very good defensively, very good on set pieces and they can counter you with some incredible speed.
“I really think their team has come together in regards to some of the new acquisitions that they
made this year. … They’re all starting to converge together right now. It’s the time you want to start to peak. So they’re on it, and they keep getting results, whether it be home or away.”
THE WILD WILD WEST
It would seem Sporting has the inside track down the stretch run, with games in hand on everyone, but three of the Wizards’ four remaining games are on the road, where they are just 2-6-6.
It’s no easier for the Whitecaps, with each of their final opponents sitting in the playoffs or battling for a spot.
The Sounders might have the easiest road of all, with two games against conference bottom-dwellers.