Whitecaps FC are on the road once again this Wednesday when they fly south to San Jose and take on the Earthquakes in an important Western Conference showdown.
The ‘Caps look to snap the Quakes two-match winning streak and pass them in the tight playoff race in the process.
- WATCH LIVE: Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. PT on TSN1/4/5 and TSN Radio 1040
UNORTHODOX STYLE
On opposing benches are a pair of second-year MLS head coaches and tacticians in Marc Dos Santos and Matías Almeyda.
It is not lost among the ‘Caps coaching staff that Almeyda employs a man-marking defence that is unique to MLS. Dos Santos shared his ideas for how the ‘Caps can capitalize.
“We need to be very good in one-v-one situations. We have to make sure that when the space is in front of us, we attack the space very well. We get out of one-v-one situations very well to create. We close them down in an aggressive way, because it's a team that could be dangerous if they have too much time on the ball,” said Dos Santos.
Forward Tosaint Ricketts stressed the importance of staying true to their identity when going up against an unorthodox system like the Quakes’.
“We’ll get opportunities to expose them at times so we just got to stick to our plans, be confident in each other, and just really go after them,” said Ricketts. “Making more runs, movement off the ball, there's a lot of things that we're going to focus on but most importantly, just sticking to our tactics and staying tight as a team.”
“If we execute in the right moments, we can score more than one goal especially because they defend one-v-one. We need to create those spaces to create those chances,” added defender Erik Godoy, speaking to the media through an interpreter.
‘Caps fans may also remember the seven-goal barnburner at the MLS is Back Tournament the last time the two clubs met in July – and Wednesday could be no different.
“We have to turn the game hectic because that's the type of game they play, and we have to make sure that we respond to that. It becomes very physical against them, it becomes a lot of one-v-one situations against them. We want to make sure that in those situations, we're ready to answer these key points,” said Dos Santos.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
It’s no secret that the ‘Caps have been dealt an unfavourable hand this season – from a plethora of unavailable players due to injury and personal reasons, and now relocating their home base to Portland.
“I think the schedule, and what we've been living all of this year makes it very, very hard on us. The mountain is big to climb, it's not easy, but at the end of the day we're just three points away from the eighth place,” said Dos Santos.
“With one win, we're right back into the mix. We have to go into the match with the right mindset and get a good result,” added the always even-keeled Godoy.
Ricketts, who was ruled out of the MLS is Back Tourney due to a health concern, shared that the team had a fruitful conversation this week about keeping their eyes on the goal in spite of the cards they’ve been dealt.
“We're up against a lot of adversity, we're away from home in a lot of games and it's a battle, but the boys are confident, and we're motivated. Marc spoke with us last night spoke and just everyone just regained focus because we still have opportunity here and there's still a lot to play for,” said Ricketts.
INJURY UPDATE
Dos Santos acknowledged the importance of midfield play earlier this week, and with Janio Bikel out after picking up a red card over the weekend, it will be interesting who draws the start.
“We're still evaluating if there's a possibility of Russell Teibert and Leo Owusu to be available,” explained Dos Santos about his two centre midfields who sat out Saturday’s game in Seattle.
Lucas Cavallini is also out due to yellow card accumulation, but Dos Santos is confident of his attacking options.
“We have Theo Bair, that could be an option, we have Tos Ricketts, that could be an option. Fredy (Montero), David (Milinkovic), (Cristian) Dajome are still all in,” said Dos Santos.
“We're gonna do the best we can with everybody that's available and not find excuses, try to go and get the win in San Jose, and that's what we have to do and not think about who's not in.”
