RICHMOND, BC – If their last two regular season meetings are a gauge, Wednesday night's Western Conference play-in match between FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6 p.m. PT; TSN1) is going to be a battle.
The dislike between the two teams has spilled onto the sidelines in their last two games. Coaches from both sides were disciplined when tensions boiled over in Frisco in September and the meeting in Vancouver at the start of this month ended with the incredible scenes of Dallas coach Oscar Pareja rushing onto the pitch and getting into a shoving match with Whitecaps FC assistant coach Martyn Pert.
So, just what is the underlying edge and tension between the two sides? It's a puzzle to all of the 'Caps you ask, at least publically, and all coach Carl Robinson knows is that he likes to have that bit of niggle between the two teams.
"I don't really know [what's behind it all]," Robinson admitted when talking to reporters at Vancouver airport on Monday before Whitecaps FC flew down to Dallas. "I think there's a good rivalry between the two teams. It's players wanting to win, managers wanting to win, and with that comes a competitive edge."
"I'd prefer that than just be matey, matey and friends all the time and on the field the players pick each other up when they have physical contact because the game's not about that. I watch the hockey and it's brilliant and maybe I can turn my team into that a little bit, without the fighting."
Robinson feels his team needs that managed aggression for what will likely be another physical game between the two sides, but being disciplined at the same time is also key. Their previous meeting in Texas was a tesy affair, and Vancouver was on the losing end of that 2-1 affair.
"There was a bit of edge in the game," Robinson said. "I think there'll be a bit of edge in the game on Wednesday and it'll be the calmer heads that prevail. We've got to make sure that we do that: we match the battle and physicality that I know Oscar likes to bring to his team, but we remain calm."
The prospect of the two teams meeting in the playoffs was a game which goalkeeper David Ousted was already looking forward to after Vancouver's 2-0 win over Dallas on Oct. 4, suggesting "if these two teams meet, I think it's going to be a brawl, to say it lightly".
It was a word he used to describe the game again on Monday, but Ousted is aware that the 'Caps can't allow themselves to let any red mist come over them or they might be seeing a different kind of red.
"The intensity is going to be so high," Ousted told reporters. "Keeping the discipline and finding out where the line is drawn with the ref is so important because you can't afford to go down a man in games like that. But I know the guys. They're going to be intense, they're going to be ready, but we also have smart guys in there so I don't think we'll see a red card."
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