VANCOUVER, BC – Every team wants to hit the playoffs in fine form. And with four wins and four straight clean sheets in a five-match unbeaten run to make it to the postseason, Vancouver Whitecaps FC are one of the in-form teams in Major League Soccer right now.
After clinching a second straight Cascadia Cup and securing their first ever CONCACAF Champions League spot over the past two weeks, the 'Caps made it a unique treble of successes on Saturday night, by confirming their playoff place with a 1-0 victory over Colorado Rapids.
<strong><b>POST-MATCH<br>
INTERVIEWS:</b></strong> |
<a href="//www.whitecapsfc.com/video/2014/10/25/carl-robinson-october-25-post-match" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://vancouver-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/interview_robinson_w.png" style="width: 140px; height: 60px; "></a><a href="//www.whitecapsfc.com/video/2014/10/25/david-ousted-october-25-post-match" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://vancouver-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/interview_ousted.png" style="width: 140px; height: 60px;"></a><a href="//www.whitecapsfc.com/video/2014/10/25/kendall-waston-october-25-post-match" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://vancouver-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/interview_waston_w.png" style="width: 140px; height: 60px;"></a> |
Kendall Waston's 70th-minute header cemented what Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson feels have been a very fruitful couple of weeks.
"We've not been bad over the last few games," a jubilant Robinson told reporters after the game. "I think today was probably the story of our season in 90 minutes because we played very well at times, we had a few half chances we didn't take, then we started to get edgy a little bit, and then the big man scoring the goal."
"I think it was fitting that David Ousted kept us in it with two fantastic saves in the last three or four minutes because God knows what I would have done if one of them had gone in."
Portland's 2-0 win in Dallas just hours earlier on Saturday meant that anything but a win would have seen Vancouver's playoff dreams die, and although they found it tough to find a way through a resolute Colorado defence, Waston's goal clinched Vancouver's postseason berth.
Robinson didn't tell his players the Timbers result until halftime and was delighted with they way the responded when the pressure was on.
"I let them know at halftime," Robinson admitted. "I said to the guys on Thursday that I wanted them to turn their phones off when they came in. I didn't want their focus to move from our game, because it was a massive game for us where we needed to be 100 per cent focussed and concentrated."
"They done that. I had the decision to let them know at halftime or not. I'd protected them throughout the season but I wanted them to know what we needed to do. So I said to them, without telling them what happened, 'Boys we need to score a goal' and they said 'Right.' I think they understood, well I hope they understood, because that's certainly what happened and we got the goal."
The win now sets up a first round playoff match for Vancouver in Dallas the Knockout Round on Wednesday night. Robinson knows it will be tough to go to a place where the 'Caps have never won and get a result, but he's confident his young side can go and do just that.
"Dallas have finished above us, so they're probably favourites," Robinson said. "They're at home. We've got nothing to lose. No one expected us to get into the playoffs except me, that group of players and the club. We had a quiet belief about us, without an arrogance, and we did. Now we're in it, who knows? Spin that wheel."
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