With the disappointment that was the Leagues Cup over and done with, Vancouver Whitecaps resume their important business when they travel down Washington to take on Seattle Sounders in MLS play.
Pre-tournament, the Leagues Cup was billed as an opportunity for Vancouver to arrest what had become a disappointing run of form after the return to action following the World Cup. That didn’t happen, and instead the Whitecaps extended their winless streak to seven matches and finished rock-bottom of the MLS table.
While that run of form could be enough to spark alarm bells, four of those matches were, essentially, meaningless. Vancouver also went through a similar patch last summer but came out the other side unscathed and pushed on to become Western Conference champions, and history may repeat itself if Jesper Sørensen’s side can learn from these performances.
Despite being knocked out of the Concacaf Champions Cup by the Sounders earlier in the season, a trip down to Seattle may be the perfect opportunity to rectify that situation. The Sounders are in the midst of an arguably worse run, having suffered eight defeats in their last nine across all competitions including a 5-1 annihilation by Portland Timbers upon their return to MLS play. Taking advantage of their opponents’ position now could be crucial ahead of a three-match week for Vancouver.
One upside to Leagues Cup is that it gave Vancouver the opportunity to get key players back up to full fitness, with Ryan Gauld, Sam Adekugbe, Emmanuel Sabbi and Ralph Priso all seeing solid minutes. There were also plenty of opportunities for young players, with Johnny Selemani, Mihail Gherasimencov and Nikola Djordjevic all getting notable chances to impress and taking them. One important caveat, though, is that the Whitecaps will have to play this one without Brian White, who picked up a knock during the competition.
Having everybody embedded and raring to go in the squad played into Vancouver’s hands last season and may be pivotal into the run-in. With new summer signings Kwasi Poku and Aleksa Cvetkovic yet to be added, this Whitecaps side may be poised to push on towards first place in the Western Conference and the Supporters’ Shield in the second half of the season.
Trips to Seattle always have more on the line, and for the second-year running, Vancouver go to Lumen Field knowing that any positive result will see them retain the Cascadia Cup after their two victories over Portland Timbers earlier in the season. Last years clash ended in a 2-2 draw after a thrilling second half, and the travelling Whitecaps faithful will be hoping for a similar result that sees them bring back the trophy.
Indeed, despite their recent form, I feel that given the quality on this roster it is inevitable that Vancouver return to winning ways sooner rather than later. I predict it’ll happen in Seattle, with a much-needed victory reminding the rest of the league just how good this team is and setting the tone for the second half of the season.
Kwasi Poku has a hamstring injury and wont be back anytime soon- the Caps have no #9 player who can knick us timely goals inside the box to off-set the low block defence
AND, the fact of the matter is that we dont have any current Whitecap player that comes close to the energy and offensive leadership that we had with Berhalter- watching Seba play for Middlesbrough reminds us of that- he has been superb and has 2 assists in his first 2 games and a force on set pieces
until Axel gets us a veteran player (not one that has the potential to be that dynamic AMF), we will struggle scoring and we will slip and slide down the MLS ladder- for me, this game tonight vs Seattle will tell us a lot about our trajectory until that happens
Salty