After an impressive week securing two victories at home, on Wednesday versus LA Galaxy (3-0), and on Saturday against Seattle Sounders (2-1), the Canadian team is officially making what a couple weeks ago seemed as an unlikely playoff push. These two wins against their conference rivals, whom have also yet to lock in a playoff spot, couldn’t arrived at a better time. The “Caps” entered Wednesday’s game coming off three losses in a row (Nashville 3-0, San Jose, 2-0, Colorado 3-1) and Vanni Sartini’s team was on the verge of elimination, until the team suddenly came back to life, and still holds on to realistic chances to clinch a playoff spot. “The playoffs are still very far” said the Italian manager after the Sounders match, and they are very far indeed, since the Whitecaps fate is not entirely up to them. Let’s take a look into what went down last week on Vancouver, BC and what’s coming next.
Galaxy Payback
Coming into this mid-week match chances for Vancouver to scramble for a win looked very slim, since the Canadian team had lost their last 3 games (1H-2A). Galaxy on the other hand, hadn’t lost in their last six fixtures (2-0-4), including a 5-2 blowout victory at home against the Whitecaps in August. None of this seemed to matter as an inspired Vancouver team took a hard-fought lead in the second half (57’ Ryan Gauld). After the goal, Galaxy manager Greg Vanney tried to respond by bringing in two offensive players (Joveljic and Grandsir), the aggressive move didn’t work out, as the Whitecaps stood their ground and found a second goal minutes later (68’ Pedro Vite). With a comfortable lead, Sartini made his own moves and held well the midfield. Galaxy didn’t find a response even though they dominated possession of the ball. With a well-organized squad, Vancouver topped off a perfect evening with a third goal (86’ Ricketts).
First Win In Five Years Against The Sounders
Vancouver rolled into the weekend inspired, and their fans responded by breaking the attendance record for the season at BC Place on Saturday (19,722). The “Caps” hadn’t beat their neighbors in 5 years, and on Saturday that needed to change if they wanted to keep their playoffs hopes alive. Seattle made the short-trip to Vancouver eager to edge closer to a playoff spot after winning their last two matches (Houston 2-1, Austin 3-0). All streaks come to an end. The Canadian team took a first half two-goal lead (29’ Vite, 37’ Gressel), and kept the momentum on the second half, having a goal disallowed by VAR, and Owusu hitting the woodwork. After that, the “Caps” started to feel midweek’s effort with players looking worn-out. Even though Seattle managed to pull one back at the end (89’ Bruin), it was already too late. Vancouver showed passion and commitment when they needed it the most.
Will the ‘Caps’ make it?
After an incredible week, the Vancouver Whitecaps get some well-deserved rest as the International Break takes place. The Canadian team has time to prepare for their crucial, and final home game against the conference 2nd place Austin FC on October 1st, this is gong to be an all or nothing fixture as a loss or draw could mean the end for their playoffs dream. The biggest problem for this team is how incredibly inconsistent they have been all season, but when they bring their A-game as they showed last week, they can certainly play football at a very competitive level. So which Whitecaps are we going to see next week? Victory against Austin FC will not secure them a playoff spot, but it will certainly be a huge morale boost as they head into the final game of the regular season (Minnesota, 6th place) a week later. Vanni Sartini certainly knows how to motivate his team, so he is going to take this one step at a time, and hope for the best in other results around the conference as well.
