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The Whitecaps (4-5-1) have lost four of their
past five games heading into their Friday home clash against the
Houston Dynamo (3-3-2). The truth is, Vancouver has not been
able to score consistently. The Whitecaps have been outscored
11-3 while going 1-4-0 in their past four games.
They have been shut out in three of those games and four times
in all this Major League Soccer season.
"I don't think we've created as many chances as we'd like,"
Vancouver coach Carl Robinson told reporters. "We have to
continue to keep working on it, trying to create those chances,
then try to finish those chances off."
The Dynamo appear to be an ideal opponent to help the Caps solve
their troubles. The Whitecaps beat the Dynamo 2-1 in Houston
earlier this season, and the Texas squad is winless (0-6-1) in
seven all-time MLS games in Vancouver.
But the Caps could be facing the most pressure after Houston
beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 last Saturday. Vancouver
midfielder Russell Teibert wants his club to stop rushing final
passes and forcing plays.
"When you just let (the play) flow, that's when good things
start happening," Teibert told reporters. "You need guys that
are comfortable in the final third and confident in the final
third."
Dynamo midfielder Tomas Martinez has looked comfortable and
confident there lately. The 23-year-old Argentine has a goal and
three assists and is drawing praise for setting up speedy
forwards Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas and Romello Quioto.
"They're just dropping, all the teams, because they don't want
us to run behind them," Houston coach Wilmer Cabrera told
MLSSoccer.com. "(Martinez) is always trying to find those three
guys and providing balls for them so they can go and attack."
It will be interesting to see how Houston's aggressive offensive
play matches up with Vancouver's counter-attacking style.
Martinez told the league's website his club needs to learn when
to rush up the field and when to stay patient.
"It's something that we are working on," he said through a
translator.
--Field Level Media
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