Looking to snap a three match losing streak, Sporting KC travels to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday night. The match will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT live on KMCI-TV 38 the Spot in Kansas City and on SKCTV affiliates across the Midwest, with local radio coverage available on 99.3 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
Ahead of #VANvSKC, we spoke with Province sports reporter Marc Weber to get his thoughts from across the Canadian border
What was the key to Vancouver’s 3-0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday?
I think everyone can see it started with David Ousted, who was outstanding (as usual). If he doesn’t make the saves he does, especially the reaction one of Michael Barrios at 1-0, then it’s a different game. And they got a bit of luck on the opening goal — although Kekuta Manneh whipped in a great ball that was tough to deal with — and I think you could see they played with more freedom after that. I agree with Carl Robinson, who said they played better in the first half in Salt Lake than they did in the first half against Dallas, but that’s just how it goes. They needed a bounce. They also needed much better play from their wingers, Manneh and Cristian Techera, which I thought they got, and they needed their fullbacks, Jordan Harvey and Fraser Aird, to limit Fabian Castillo and Barrios, which they did for the most part. Those guys are always going to create a couple of chances. Matias Laba had an excellent night too.
Do you expect many changes to the Whitecaps lineup with the quick turnaround?
I don’t expect many changes. You have to win your Western Conference games, and your home games, and put those two together and you really have to win those. This game has to take priority over Saturday and then if you get something out of New York City, then great. You’re also catching K.C. on one less day rest, so it’s the Caps’ game to lose. The trick here is to make sure you’re not giving up too much on the freshness front — that K.C.’s not able to rotate and run you ragged because you played too many tired guys. Given Robinson’s rotation tendencies in the past, I’d say he makes 1-3 changes just to freshen things that little bit. He’ll lean on the sports science guys a bit to tell him who was really taxed against Dallas, and he’ll have to weigh Pedro Morales into the equation. Does he want him to start now that he’s been cleared from his hip injury, and if so, who comes out of midfield? I could see Andrew Jacobson missing out with an eye to New York City, his former team.
Last year the Whitecaps had a 9-6-2 record at home (most losses for a playoff team). Is their an emphasis this season to improve the team’s home record in 2016?
I wouldn’t say there’s an emphasis on it because how do you do that? You play better. You finish your chances better. That’s the focus — on performance. I would say they’re very aware that it wasn’t good enough last season and they really forced themselves to come up with big results on the road because they didn’t take care of business at B.C. Place. But if you look back through the games there weren’t many nights they were out-played. They didn’t finish. They had a couple of red cards that tripped them up. Some teams had success at B.C. Place because they know the Caps can torch them on the counter-attack, but if you sit back a bit and force them to break you down, they’ve struggled to do that. They’ve also struggled mightily to come back from going behind in games so that first goal is so huge. You could say the Caps focus in the off-season — the personnel moves they made —was about being better at home. Robinson and the club wanted to get players who were different to what they had, and who could change games. They think Christian Bolanos can unlock a defence. They think Blas Perez can come off the bench and change a game. They think Masato Kudo can be the clinical finisher they’ve been lacking, a guy who only needs half a chance.
These two sides met in March at Children’s Mercy Park (SKC won 2-1). What did you take away from that match and what impact it might have for Wednesday night?
Not too much to be honest. Deybi Flores coughs up the ball on the opening goal and Dom Dwyer scores an unbelievable goal. Flores won’t play, and Dwyer probably couldn’t do that again in 50 tries (no disrespect because I like him as a player). And then Jordan Smith had a nightmare game at right back. He’s toyed with on the 2-0 goal and then he’s sent off for a stupid decision. Again, he won’t be involved in this one. Robinson was still seeing what he had in certain guys in Week 2 and I think most of the team will have a short memory in terms of that performance, but certainly will feel they have something to prove against K.C., a team that’s always had the better of them (except that one time at B.C. Place). So, I think the take-away from March is mostly, Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. That’s not to say the Caps don’t respect this K.C. team. I know they have great respect for them, and they know how dangerous Benny [Feilhaber], [Graham] Zusi and Dwyer can be.
What are the expectations for Vancouver this season?
From the fans, I’d say a Western final — win or lose — would leave people feeling like it’s a step forward. Anything else is a bonus. Anything less is probably a disappointment (unless you play incredibly well in the semis but somehow lose, or lose to an amazing Galaxy team that’s on fire or something). As for the team, I think like anyone in the league their goal is to win MLS Cup. Winning the Canadian Championship will also be a priority, and then I think most fans see CCL as a bonus. There’s certainly a vocal minority who want to see the best team out there for CCL games but you just can’t play your best lineups in three competitions. CCL will come down to how good the depth guys perform.
What are you looking forward to seeing from Wednesday’s match? (specific players, match-ups, et etc)
Any time these teams play you have to have one eye on Dwyer and Kendall Waston at all times. I love that matchup. Two guys people hate to play against but most would love to have on their team. It was must see TV last time they did battle at B.C. Place. If Morales plays, then his matchup with whoever replaces [Soni] Mustivar — I’ll assume [Lawrence] Olum for now — is obviously crucial. The Caps will see that as a possible area to exploit. Mustivar has been so good against them. I’ve enjoyed watching Fraser Aird’s growth at right back and that will be a fun match-up too. He could have another tough defensive assignment in Zusi, but Aird also has the ability to really get at teams down that flank and use his pace and his crossing ability to create chances. He can run all day. I always enjoy watching Benny play, and if he does that’s obviously a key matchup for the Caps — to limit his effectiveness. You can expect Matias Laba to take on those duties but Benny is of course smart enough to find space away from Laba so it has to be a team effort. The other intriguing sub-plot for me is Who replaces Besler if he can’t play, and can the Caps take advantage?
