Caps bank on Manneh to change everything
Youngster to start Friday in Seattle, where he enjoyed memorable breakout game
It’s the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on a Friday night.
Three games left in the Major League Soccer regular season. Desperation time in the playoff race. Kekuta Manneh back in the starting lineup.
In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it’s like déjà vu all over again. So, can the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Gambian teenager catch lightning in a bottle once more?
It was one year ago today when the Caps went to Seattle, their playoff hopes hanging by a thread with three games left. And they started the then- 18- year- old Manneh up front with Kenny Miller ailing with a strained abductor muscle.
Manneh, who had only scored two goals to that point in his rookie MLS season, was electric, stunning the Sounders with three brilliant goals in a 4- 1 Caps win. He was calm in the box and clinical with his finish as he became the youngest player in league history to score three goals in a game.
“What can you say about the kid?” said a beaming Jay DeMerit, the Caps’ then- captain. “He’s a young talent … and now he’s set the bar very high.” Maybe too high, as it turns out. Those three goals and another a week later against Colorado meant Manneh, the fourth- overall draft pick in 2013, came into this season as one of the most hyped young players in MLS.
And despite missing nearly a month of training camp and the pre- season with a back injury, Manneh started the regular season decently enough with three goals and a few moments of speedenhanced wizardry in the first two months.
But he appeared to hit a wall early in the summer. He seemed to tire quickly. His effectiveness suffered and, consequently, his starts and his minutes were cut. The Caps felt his lack of a full training camp was to blame and put him on a six- week post- practice conditioning program.
It helped. He’s looked more lively off the bench of late, but still has gone 17 games without a goal. Perhaps going back to the scene of his greatest moment as a pro — CenturyLink Field and a raucous crowd of 40,000- plus — will be the spark he needs to find the back of the net.
“I remember pretty much every single thing about that game,” said Manneh, who will get the start at forward with Sebastian Fernandez suspended because of yellow- card accumulation.
“It’s a great feeling. Getting three points and then being able to score three goals in that game, it was fantastic. Hopefully, we can do the same thing ( Friday) and the team can get three points. That’s what we need.”
Vancouver ( 10- 8- 13) is in a battle with the Portland Timbers ( 11- 9- 12) to secure the fifth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Timbers are two points up on the Whitecaps after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 3- 0 on Wednesday night.
The Sounders also have something to play for. At 19- 9- 3, they are tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the race to earn the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the regular season’s top team.
Manneh has come off the bench in five of the last six games — he was unused in the other — but head coach Carl Robinson thinks he’s got the ability to go deep into the game as a starter on Friday.
“He’s told me he’s got 90 ( minutes in him),” Robinson said. “We’ll wait and see. Obviously the adrenalin, the occasion playing in front of ( a huge crowd) is what everyone wants to do.
“He’s been working hard — credit to the kid. He’s shown determination and he’s got the bit between his teeth. Hopefully we can see the best out of him Friday.”
For his part, the 19- year- old said he feels terrific physically.
“It’s really tough missing the whole pre- season,” he said. “It was a difficult time to catch up with the guys and get back. The coaches noticed that and we worked on it. I feel awesome.”
Manneh had a huge impact in 17 minutes off the bench two weeks ago against Real Salt Lake. He helped set up Pedro Morales’s winner in a 2- 1 triumph with a strong run to the byline and a perfect cutback pass to the top of the box.
And his darting, weaving run to the top of the box a few minutes later evoked memories of his best moments. His shot was stopped, but it was a promising burst.
“He excited 20,000 ( fans) by beating three men and nearly scoring the goal of the season,” Robinson said.
“Then last week ( in the Caps’ 2- 0 win over FC Dallas), he showed his understanding of the defensive side of the game. He was winning headers in our box and his work rate was something … we expect if we’re going to be successful as a team.
“We’ve been preaching that to him and he showed that he takes that information on board.”
Robinson has often said that an on- form Manneh can be a nightmare for opposing defenders. Striker Erik Hurtado had a different description when asked about Manneh after practice Wednesday.
“Whenever he gets the ball, it’s exciting,” said Hurtado, who was taken one spot behind Manneh in the 2013 draft. “Defenders crap their pants. They don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Just looking forward to seeing him go out … and tear it up.”