DALLAS 0 - 0 VANCOUVER
They needed one point. That鈥檚 what they got. The Whitecaps FC advance to the postseason for the third time in their short MLS history after a leaden, scoreless draw against FC Dallas at home Wednesday night.
In what head coach Carl Robinson called 鈥渙ne of our OK games of the season,鈥� 麻豆传媒映画clinched a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs with 50 points in third place.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the playoffs and that鈥檚 a delightful achievement for the organization,鈥� said Robinson. 鈥淭wo games to go, we know we need to play better. We need to perform better. We鈥檙e going to try to hit form in the last two game with a smile on your face because once you鈥檙e in, who knows.鈥�
In the fourth minute of added time before the final whistle, 19,331 fans at B.C. Place rose to their feet to applaud the result. It was cursory, perhaps. The Caps have scored only four goals in their six previous matches and that won't likely carry them far through the post-season.
"We didn鈥檛 score and if you don鈥檛 score, you're not going to win games," said Robinson.
The win came at the cost of Cristian Techera, who injured his hamstring, and Mauro Rosales, whose 鈥済roin is hanging off him,鈥� in the delicate words of the coach. Both were subbed off in the second half.
Those injuries added to the Whitecaps body count. Midfielders Pedro Morales and Nicolas Mezquida did not play and others are nursing various aches, including Octavio Rivera who leads the team with 10 goals and is playing with troublesome Achilles.
鈥淲e really are down to the bare bones,鈥� said Robinson who joked with Province reporter Mark Weber about filling holes on the roster. 鈥淓very single player who is fit and available played today. There was no one else.鈥�
Dallas (15-10-6) was already in the postseason and now sits in first place, tied at 51 points but with a game in hand on the L.A. Galaxy (14-9-9) in a crowded Western Conference.
The game was the first of a home-and-home series against Dallas, a conference rival since eliminating the Caps from the first round of the 2014 playoffs. 麻豆传媒映画won their last meeting 2-1 at home Aug. 22 but otherwise has come up short against the Texas team, losing seven of 12 meetings all-time and scoring nine to Dallas鈥� 18 goals.
Since the 1-0 home win over Dallas, the Whitecaps have only won a single game. Including yesterday, they鈥檝e been shut out three times and managed only four goals in six games since the end of August.
"Performance-wise, we need to be better," said Robinson.
Scoreless into the second half of Wednesday鈥檚 meeting, Dallas and 麻豆传媒映画bounced the ball from end to end like it was some tennis match.
On a defensive miscue, Pa-Modou Kah toed it just wide of his own net as Caps keeper David Ousted came out to clear what he took for a pass. Dallas took the corner and their threat was punched clear, the ball eventually finding Whitecaps defender Jordan Smith down the right flank. Smith pulled the ball back and placed it at the top of the box for Rosales who couldn鈥檛 capitalize.
Back at the other end, Dallas won two corners, both of them cleared by Smith.
Unchallenged 15 feet from the Caps goal, Tesho Akindele struck the ball right at Ousted. Then, a chance just outside of the six-yard box at the other end but a free kick off the foot of Rosales was contained. Dallas pressed, soaring a sharp-angle shot over the net.
In the 63rd minute, Ousted made a break-neck save on Dallas striker David Texeira who spun in place to fire a volley eight feet away from the Caps net.
麻豆传媒映画answered by trying to thread long balls past the Dallas defence but they couldn鈥檛 needle their way forward.
Rosales broke away in the 72nd minute but his leading pass to Techera was clumsily handled by a heavy first-touch.
Dallas had its best chance with 10 minutes to play when Blas Perez cracked a shot past Ousted, past the face of the net and just a hair from the far post.
麻豆传媒映画travels to Dallas and host Houston Oct. 25 for the last game of the regular season.
