Harvey hangs on, pushes ahead as key iron man
A proud professional who was coming off his best couple of Major League Soccer seasons, Jordan Harvey was initially in denial when he lost his starting left-back job after the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2015 regular-season opener.
It hurt. He chafed at suggestions the 3-1 loss to Toronto FC was one of his poorer games.
And it took a little while for the 30-year-old veteran to look within and admit that while he felt fine physically, he simply wasn’t “sharp.”
Sam Adekugbe, the 20-yearold residency program graduate, got his opportunity in Week 2 and ran with it. Blessed with great athleticism and speed, he was dangerous pushing up the flank and sound defensively.
But as coach Carl Robinson repeats constantly, it’s about consistency with young players. Adekugbe started to struggle and Harvey returned to the starting lineup against Portland on May 2. He was outstanding in back-toback games. And when Adekugbe severely injured an ankle in an Amway Canadian Championship game against Edmonton on May 13 — he still hasn’t returned — Harvey became a necessary iron man. Before the Caps’ recent break, he was one of two players — centre back Kendall Waston was the other — to play all 90 minutes of Vancouver’s threegames-in-eight-days stretch, a 2-1 home win over Real Salt Lake, a 2-1 loss in Montreal and a 1-0 win in L.A.
“Since he’s come back in, I think his levels have increased fantastically and he’s probably playing as well as he has done since I’ve been at this club,” Robinson said this week before the Caps headed to New Jersey for Saturday’s game against the New York Red Bulls. “That’s full credit to him and his character.
“You need players like that ... who can respond when things don’t go their way.”
Acquired from Philadelphia in July 2011, Harvey split starts for a couple of seasons with Alain Rochat. He became the regular starter in June 2013, after Rochat was traded to D.C. United.
Harvey played 23 of the last 24 games that season, scoring a surprising four goals, and 33 of 34 in 2014, all the while knowing that Adekugbe, who probably has a higher ceiling, was itching to unseat him.
Harvey admits now he didn’t come to training camp “as sharp as I would have liked” and, with Adekugbe in fine form, it was easy for Robinson to make the switch.
Harvey says he’s not sure why he struggled early.
“I just felt it, footwork and stuff like that. It’s hard to pinpoint because I’ve been through preseasons 10 times now and I did the same things I’ve done before in the off-season. But maybe, getting a little older I need to play more through the off-season so you don’t lose that gamelike fitness.”
Relegated to the bench through much of March and early April, the California product — who will be a first-time father soon — relied on the support of his wife and Robinson.
“Robbo was huge in that time. We had multiple discussions and it wasn’t just me going to him. It was him calling me in and telling me I’m doing the right things and keep plugging away. That’s a good relationship we have.”
Robinson said Harvey was a true professional through that stretch. “He didn’t complain, didn’t moan, didn’t come into my room and sulk. He asked me what he needed to do, got his head down and worked.”
Adekugbe is expected to return in late July and be available when the Caps play at least eight games in August — five MLS matches, the two-leg Canadian championship final with Montreal and a CONCACAF Champions League match.
But Harvey will be reluctant to surrender starts.
“We’ve had three-games-ina-week stretches and I’ve done both of them and played significant minutes. The thing is they’ve been timed really well in that we’ve had breaks at the end of them and I’ve had time to recoup and regenerate. “But I feel great right now.” The Caps are thankful.