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Posted by
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October 4, 2017 |
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VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps FC are gearing up for the playoffs after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. As the lone MLS western conference team to thus far secure a playoff spot, Vancouver are now turning their focus on the next task at hand. Locking up a first round playoff bye.
At 15-10-6, Whitecaps FC are one point away from obtaining a home playoff match, and three points away from securing first or second in the west. A win on Saturday afternoon against New York Red Bulls would result in another huge step, and the possibility of hosting the second leg of the western conference semifinal, and conference final, should they advance that far.
David Ousted will start in net for Vancouver on Saturday, as Stefan Marinovic is away on international duty with New Zealand. The Danish keeper, knows how important it will be to continue momentum at Red Bull Arena with a playoff bye week still to lock up.
"We want to put ourselves in a good position to win that first spot, and win the bye in the first week of playoffs. Going there and winning will clinch that, so that's the mission," Ousted said.
Coach Jesse Marsch, and his Red Bulls won't be making life easy for the high-flying Whitecaps. New York is in a fight of their own to qualify for the eastern conference playoffs. A 12-12-7 record has the Red Bulls in the 6th and final position, four points ahead of Montreal, New England, Philadelphia, and Orlando.
"They'll obviously want to go and get a win," Ousted said. "They want to clinch a playoff spot, and we know that when they're at home, they're very aggressive, offensive, and they try and to go and get early goals. We'll have to weather the storm at certain times, but also put them on the counter. I think we've got good ability up front to get those goals."
Carl Robinson will have to juggle his lineup as Christian Bolanos, Kendall Waston, and Yordy Reyna will also be away on international duty. Bolanos, and Waston with Costa Rice, and Reyna with Peru. Reyna, the creative lightning bolt of offence has been a huge addition to the Vancouver attack this season with 5 goals, and 3 assists to his name.
Fredy Montero, and Reyna have been clicking together. They both have a knack for finding each other in open space, and opponents have shown no ability to stop them. Montero, and Reyna have given Whitecaps FC a new dimension going forward.
"We found a talented young player," Robinson said, of Reyna. "He's got something to prove, he's been to Europe, it's worked out, and it hasn't worked out. He wants to enjoy his football. I've been chasing him a year or so, I manged to get him. He's fully fit, and you see what he can do. He's so enjoyable to watch, he creates, he scores, he works hard. He's a little rascal, that's what he is, but he's some player. There's talk about him being arguably the best player the club has ever had. If he keeps going the way he is, I won't disagree."
Part of what makes Reyna exciting, and fun to watch is his size, and his unique never quit attitude. He frustrates his teams with his work ethic, and he loves to have control of the ball in small spaces. He can dribble, and weave around defenders who are too big, slow, or out of position. Proven goalkeepers like Tim Howard don't stand a chance.
If Carl Robinson was back in his prime, Reyna would likely run circles around him.
"I would have kicked the s**t out of him," revealed Robinson. "I probably wouldn't have got near him, that's the funniest thing about it. I know Aly (Ghazal), Tony (Tchani), and Rusty (Teibert), they tried to do the same thing. It's wonderful when he's on."
He's been switched on more often than not, and he's helped bring excitement back to B.C. Place.
Montero has tied his MLS career high with 13 goals, he's thrived on his return to MLS. The Colombian striker, wants to continue scoring, and helping Vancouver.
"It's going to be good for me," Montero said about his next goal. "I just came to the team to try to help the way that I could, scoring goals. At this point, I have the opportunity to score one more goal, and set another record personally in MLS. I'm looking forward to that. I know I can do it, I have three more games."
Where exactly would Vancouver Whitecaps FC be without the talents of Fredy Montero, and Yordy Reyna? It's impossible to know for certain, but you'd have to admit that it's unlikely they would be contending for top spot in the western conference.
"Probably minus twenty goals (18). Where would we be"... Carl Robinson joked.
Playoffs?
"Of course we would," said a confident gaffer.
Whitecaps FC don't have to imagine life without Montero, and Reyna because they are both in form, and showing exactly what they can do for Vancouver. The Caps have a dangerous duo that could easily lead them to an MLS Cup win on December 9.
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