VANCOUVER—Carl Robinson likes to say the game of soccer is a remarkably simple one: score goals, and keep the ball out of the back of the net.
It might sound obvious, but the Vancouver Whitecaps’ coach has a point. He doesn’t like to get too caught up in formations; he instead wants to focus on the basics, and he acknowledges that it’s that second part—keeping a clean sheet—that his team has struggled with this season.
The Whitecaps, currently fifth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference with an 8-8-5 record, will look for better defensive results when they face the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. It will be the clubs’ third meeting of the season, and the first on Houston’s home turf. Vancouver beat the Dynamo 1–0 the first time around, and the second meeting resulted in a 1–1 draw.
The Dynamo, who’ve had a tumultuous season that saw the departure of coach Owen Coyle in May, are at the bottom of the West. Since interim coach Wade Barrett took over, the club has found some stability, though they’re still searching for results.
“Listen, Wade’s done a good job since he took over from Coyley,” Robinson said this week after the team’s final training session in Vancouver before heading off to Texas. “They’ve got good players. So any game in this league is very difficult, and on any day, anyone can beat anyone, as has been proven numerous times.”
While acknowledging Houston’s strength despite their spot in the standings, Robinson expressed confidence in his team. “We haven’t lost too many games over the last six or seven,” he said, before adding that the team hasn’t won enough either—though they’ll go to Houston “full of confidence.”
They’ll need that confidence. Since joining MLS, the Whitecaps have never earned a point, let alone three, in a match in Texas.
Vancouver has allowed 35 goals in 21 games this year—one goal shy of their total goals allowed in the entire 2015 regular season. In their last MLS match, they came away with one point, drawing Orlando City SC 2–2 at home. Robinson said afterward that the group would be happy with the point given that they hadn’t played their best, but failing to take three at BC Place could come back to bite the team if they don’t see results in this road stretch (the ’Caps don’t play at home until August 12).
Still, Vancouver has reason for optimism. Despite losing Kekuta Manneh to a foot injury for the next two months, the team has seen huge promise in Masato Kudo since his return from a gruesome injury. The Japanese striker excelled in his first game back, and scored in his second. He came close to winning the friendly for the home side when he entered as a substitute versus Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
The team has also seen huge promise in 15-year-old homegrown winger/forward Alphonso Davies, whom the team signed to an MLS contract last week.
The Whitecaps have also been busy since the start of the summer transfer window. The club acquired Canadian internationals David Edgar, a central defender, and Marcel de Jong, a left fullback who can also play in midfield, last week.
De Jong made his debut as a substitute in the Whitecaps’ win over Real Salt Lake; he also played 60 minutes in the friendly on Wednesday. Edgar earned his first appearance in that game, likewise playing 60 minutes. The 29-year-old even managed to score his first goal as a Whitecap.
Vancouver also acquired 31-year-old striker Fabian Espindola from D.C. United in exchange for allocation money earlier this week, though Robinson said the team was still in talks with Espindola’s team to figure out when exactly he would join them.
The coach said he’d been eyeing Espindola for some time, calling him “another piece of the puzzle that we have.”
While Espindola has yet to join his new team, it’s also unclear whether Edgar or de Jong will feature in Houston. After the draw with Crystal Palace, Edgar insisted to reporters that he felt fit and ready to make his first appearance in an MLS match. “I’m available for selection,” he said. Robinson, though, seemed to indicate on Thursday that Edgar was unlikely to make the trip down south.
“I think he got a little bit of a cramp after playing 60 minutes,” Robinson said, “so going to play in the heat at Houston, after getting cramped for 60 minutes, might not be the best thing to risk a player at doing.”
The heat in Houston will be tricky to manage for the Whitecaps, though the good news is that many of the team’s regular starters have gotten some much-needed rest in the past week. Captain Pedro Morales and veteran left fullback Jordan Harvey both sat out of Wednesday’s friendly, while other regular starters made shorter appearances.
Right back Fraser Aird, too, has returned following injuries, so Robinson has options in the position. The 21-year-old Toronto native will provide an alternative to Jordan Smith, who has been filling in at the position.
The Dynamo, who’ve been playing with a 4-1-4-1 formation since Barrett took over—an effort to improve on the defensive side (Coyle had preferred a 4-2-3-1)— have picked up just one win in their last eight contests, but they’re looking much more compact, which could cause problems for Vancouver.
Still, Houston is without designated player DaMarcus Beasley, and they continue to miss goalkeeper Tyler Deric, both due to injury. The team will likely be fatigued, too, coming off a disappointing 1–0 loss to F.C. Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday.
Robinson, who says he’s still looking at bringing in one or two more players before the transfer window closes, seems satisfied with the team he’s built so far.
“Man for man, on paper, we’ve probably got as strong a group as we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Robinson said. He knows, though, that on paper isn’t good enough.
In a tight Western Conference, the team will need all the points they can get—and in the oppressive heat of Houston, against a team desperate to claw their way out of the division’s basement, it’ll be no easy feat.
