Whitecaps hosting rematch with San Jose tonight
VANCOUVER (CP) — The Vancouver Whitecaps know they will have to work to successfully defend home turf when a revenge-minded San Jose Earthquakes club visits B.C. Place tonight.
The Whitecaps (10-9-7) snatched a 3-2 win from the Earthquakes (4-14-8) last Saturday in California despite San Jose scoring twice in the first 20 minutes.
“The first 25 minutes of that game were awful. But we went from awful to awesome pretty quick,” said midfielder Russell Teibert after training this week.
A frank talking-to at the half and a pair of subs changed the Whitecaps’ fortunes. They scored three second-half goals in nine minutes for the comeback.
It was an exciting win, but Teibert said the team needs to figure out how to get motivated before they’re down on the scoreboard.
“I don’t understand why it takes two goals for us to wake up. Again, that’s something that’s unacceptable,” he said.
Tonight, Vancouver will host San Jose for a rematch. It will be the Quakes’ third game in seven days after the team beat Dallas FC — No. 1 in the Western Conference — 4-3 on Wednesday.
San Jose will be ready for a fight, said Whitecaps striker Kei Kamara.
“What we did in their place, I’m sure they’re going to come over here and want to replicate that against us,” he said. “They’re not in a good place in the (standings), but they’re in the position to spoil parties and we really have to be ready for them.”
The ’Caps are riding a five-game unbeaten streak and sit in eighth place in the MLS Western Confer-ence, where the playoff race is tight.
The Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, LA Galaxy and Whitecaps are all currently within three points of each other.
“It’s really close with the rest of the teams. And we know for sure we can put ourselves in the playoffs at the end of it,” Kamara said.
With just eight regular-season games left, tonight’s match will be “huge” for the playoff push, he added.
The Whitecaps play their next three games at home, and strong defence will be key to making the most of those matches.
Vancouver has conceded 51 goals this season — an average of nearly two a game.
“We need to make B.C. Place a fortress. Teams need to know that when they come to B.C. Place, they’re not going to score goals,” Teibert said.
Head coach Carl Robinson wants his team to be better defensively and cut down on individual errors for tonight’s game.
“We have to make sure we tidy up defensively and when we make mistakes, it doesn’t cost us goals, which it has done too many times this season,” Robinson said. “Because when it comes to crunch time, we’re probably not going to be able to get out of jail like we did (in San Jose).”
Still, there are a number of things the ’Caps are doing right, the coach said, including rallying in the face of adversity.
“What’s important in sports, when you have a disappointment, you collectively get together and get your mind right and you don’t go under,” Robinson said. “What we’ve done really well is be able to regroup when we weren’t playing well in the first half and settle the game down and get into halftime where we can make some adjustments.”
Vancouver’s players, for their part, were sounding confident ahead of tonight’s game.
“We’re a team that believes. I think that goes a long way,” said Aaron Maund.
SAN JOSE (4-14-8) AT VANCOUVER (10-9-7) Tonight, 7 p.m. PT, B.C. Place
BIRTHDAY GOAL?: If Kamara finds the back of the net tonight, the goal would be a birthday gift to himself. The striker — who turns 34 on Sept. 1 — has 11 goals this season, tied for seventh place on the league’s leading scorers list.
LUCKY STADIUM: San Jose has earned points the last three times they visited B.C. Place during the regular season. Their last visit on May 16 resulted in a 2-2 draw.