Categories
Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Vancouver Whitecaps cling to final straw in race for playoffs

[bc_video video_id=”5835517375001″ account_id=”3690581442001″ player_id=”B1k1OQNeX” embed=”in-page” padding_top=”56%” autoplay=”” min_width=”0px” max_width=”640px” mute=”” width=”100%” height=”100%”]

VANCOUVER — Seattle Sounders fans celebrated at BC Place. Saturday was a key victory for them. Three points over their Cascadia rivals. Three points that put Seattle in a prime position to reach the playoffs. Three points that handed Seattle the 2018 Cascadia Cup.

For the Whitecaps, a victory would have pushed them past their major rivals in the standings. Instead, Seattle is now four points clear with just six games to go.

As a result, Whitecaps fans, players and head coach Carl Robinson were downtrodden following the result.  

“Going into this match, we have collected 14 out of 18 points,” Robinson explained at the postmatch press conference. “We should have won that game today, and we’ve lost it, and we’ve got to accept it. And we will. It’s not great, it’s not ideal against a rival. But I can’t ask [my players] to do anything more.”

The Whitecaps’ chances of making the playoffs have dropped to just 24 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight. The reality, however, may be even harsher. 

With just six games left, the Whitecaps are now five points behind fourth-place Real Salt Lake and four points behind fifth-place Seattle and the sixth-place Portland Timbers. 

Perhaps the best news that evening were the Western Conference results in other stadiums. The Houston Dynamo beat Portland 4-1 and Real Salt Lake dropped two points against Minnesota United in a 1-1 draw.

Midfielder Russell Teibert tried to assert a sense of belief that the Caps still have what it takes to get into the playoffs.

“We can’t look at this game and say, ‘We give up,'” he said. “We’ve got six games left, and we’re right in contention.”

There is plenty on the line for the Whitecaps to make the playoffs.

News that the Whitecaps’ assistant coaches’ contracts was confirmed on TSN Radio Vancouver last month by club president Bobby Lenarduzzi, who also commented on Robinson’s future.

“Carl has two-years left on his contract. We will be assessing things as we do every season, at the end of the season,” Lenarduzzi told TSN. 

After Saturday’s match, Robinson appeared to be highly charged but also somewhat defeatist, a recent change to his demeanor.  Robinson is no longer his charming self at press conferences or media scrums during training sessions. Instead, he cuts the figure of a man, who is fighting to hang on.

“If we get our job done and we get enough points to get in the playoffs, then we deserve to be there,” he said. “And if we don’t, we don’t.”

Those playoff hopes took a major hit last night. 

There was almost a sense of desperation Saturday. Down 2-1 against Seattle with the minutes ticking away, the Whitecaps started to lose their tactical shape. 

With 20 minutes to go, and the Whitecaps having squandered some of their biggest chances, the tactical formation completely dissolved. Instead, individual players tried to take matters into their own hands.

The Whitecaps now face FC Dallas next Sunday before heading on the road to play Toronto FC and the LA Galaxy.

Dallas is second in the Western Conference, and Toronto FC and LA Galaxy have some of the most talented sides in the league and are desperate for points to make the playoffs themselves. The Whitecaps then conclude the season with home matches against Sporting Kansas City, which leads the Western Conference, and rival Portland.

Sandwiched in between will be an away game against high-flying LAFC. 

Members of the organization hope the Whitecaps will have collected enough points for a final against Portland at BC Place on matchday 34, but a complicated run of matches while the club is in some turmoil makes reaching the playoffs even more difficult.