Here are some storylines and other interesting tidbits to keep in mind ahead of Saturday night’s contest between the Vancouver Whitecaps and LA Galaxy.
Saturday programming alert: Watch the Vancouver Whitecaps v LA Galaxy on Sportsnet Pacific. Live coverage begins at 3:30 pm EPT/6:30 pm ET with the pre-game show. You can also watch this match on Sportsnet World Online
The winless streak
The Whitecaps welcome the two-time defending league champions to town in desperate need of three points.
After winning their first two games of the campaign, the Whitecaps have gone winless in their last seven matches (four losses and three draws) and have been outscored 12-6 in the process. They’ve also been shut out in two of their last three contests, including a 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake last weekend.
Vancouver’s tail spin has seen it drop to second-last place in the Western Conference with nine points from nine games and is five points out of a playoff spot.
It’s far too early to write off the team’s chances for a post-season berth if they were to lose on Saturday. But there is a growing sense that if Vancouver doesn’t start winning – and soon – it may find itself out of the playoff picture sooner than it would expect in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
Rennie calls out players
Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie is usually a pretty reserved man, but he wasn’t shy about openly questioning his players’ commitment after last week’s loss in Utah.
“Today’s a point where I really question them, and I think that they need to stand up and be counted,” he told the Province newspaper. “I didn’t think they showed enough desire. … Some of the players — all of them, in fact, as a team — need to look at themselves.”
Veteran English midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker also offered a very candid and pointed assessment.
“The reality is, it’s not coaches or management,” he said. “It’s down for us as players and, for me: soft. The best way to describe us is soft. We’re a soft team. We didn’t compete enough today. We were just soft.”
Injury report
Vancouver striker Kenny Miller is questionable for the LA game with a hamstring injury. The Whitecaps will be missing captain Jay DeMerit, out indefinitely due to a left Achilles tendon rupture, and midfielder Omar Salgado who underwent successful surgery on his right foot this week.
LA defender Todd Dunivant (leg strain) and striker Robbie Keane (sprained ankle) have missed the last two games and are listed as questionable for Saturday.
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Say what?
“I think we’ve just got to start fresh again. We’ve got to really compete. We’ve got to look at ourselves and start making it difficult for teams. Motivating each other in a positive way but at the same time it has to come from us as individuals.” – Whitecaps midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker.
“I do think that we need to tighten up a little bit defensively. At times, we’ve lost concentration when we’ve, maybe, been attacking and left ourselves a bit too open. So we need to do a better job of (avoiding) that, and I think we need to cut out any individual errors.” – Whitecaps coach Martine Rennie to the Canadian Press.
Facts and stats
— LA forward Mike Magee is tied for the scoring lead in MLS with six goals in five games.
— The Galaxy lead the all-time series with five wins and one draw (including last year’s playoff win), outscoring the Whitecaps 16-3 in the process.
— These teams will meet two more times this season: July 20 in Los Angeles and August 24 in Vancouver.
— Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon played for the Galaxy in 2007 and was teammates with Landon Donovan at LA and San Jose Earthquakes. Galaxy forward Robbie Keane and Whitecaps defender Young-Pyo Lee played together at Tottenham.
What’s next
The Whitecaps travel to Montreal where they will take on the Impact in the first leg of the Canadian club championship final on Wednesday. Then they return home next Saturday to host the Portland Timbers in MLS action.
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