VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC head into their two-and-a-half-week World Cup break on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run.
The ‘Caps are one of the in-form teams in MLS right now and with that momentum in mind, you would think the general feeling around the team is one of the break coming at the wrong time. For head coach Carl Robinson, that's far from the case.
“I think it comes at the right time for us. I've asked them [the players] to review and analyze the [Philadelphia] game themselves because we will do that,” Robinson told Team 1410 radio on the weekend. “Even though we're on a break, it's still working time for us.”
Three wins and four draws currently make up Vancouver's club record-setting unbeaten streak, and eight points have been taken from four road games. It's been a great start to the season for Whitecaps FC but they won't see competitive action again until Canadian rival Montreal Impact head to BC Place on June 25.
For now though, Robinson feels the upcoming time off is not just about resting his squad's bodies, but also their minds, before the hard work and second stage of Vancouver's season begins in earnest.
“I will give them the week off, they deserve that,” Robinson said. “We've had a very difficult stretch of games and I think [against the Union], after 60 minutes, a lot of the players seemed a little bit dead on their feet. So it's important that they rest mentally as well as physically.
“I will be testing them as soon as they get back after the week because we need to kick it up a notch now. We can't go away from home in July and August and be dead on our feet after an hour or so because we're not going to pick up results or we're going to be hanging on, and I don't want to be a team that's hanging on in the last few minutes and stuff like that.”
The ‘Caps currently sit in the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 21 points. That may leave them 11 points behind table topping Seattle, but they have at least two games in hand on all those teams above them and have the fifth best points-per-game record in all of MLS, at 1.62.
That’s a promising, and to some a surprising, start to the season and a good base for Vancouver to now build on in their remaining 21 games.
“So far we've done well. We've set our standards,” Nigel Reo-Coker told reporters after Saturday's match. “We know what we've been doing these past couple of weeks and we've got to stick to what we've been doing. We've got time now to mentally relax, get our minds away from football, and then come back ready to go for a busy schedule ahead.”
It’s not too late to participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver. Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including prorated season tickets ($220), 5-packs ($149), student season tickets, and a youth soccer half-season ticket. Single-match tickets start at $22, subject to applicable fees. For more information on all Whitecaps FC ticket options, call 604.669.9283 ext. 2 or visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
