RSL hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps tonight at Rio Tinto Stadium!
I'm telling you, fellow RSL fans, forget about the Galaxy, San Jose, and Seattle at least for the rest of this matchweek. In my mind, the two upcoming RSL matches against the Vancouver Whitecaps are two of the biggest matches of the season. These teams don't have a history together, and unless you subscribe to MLS Live or Direct Kick, you probably haven't seen much of the Whitecaps, but you should check them out. The 'Caps are right behind the Claret and Cobalt in the Western Conference table, and losing these two matches could drop RSL into third place.
Is that a real worry? Well I think it's a possibility. Vancouver has quietly amassed a pretty decent array of attacking talent to go with an already stout defense. A couple of weeks back they acquired Scottish National Team captain Kenny Miller, and for my money, he can have more impact than most of the other recent DP signings. He's only 32, healthy, and still making a difference in the upper levels of European football.
It's not just Kenny Miller though. In the wake of that deal the 'Caps sent Le Toux to RBNY in exchange for speedy Jamaican International Dane Richards. I think he's one of the better winger type players in the league and almost always causes defenses some issues. Add to these guys another Scottish DP, Barry Robson, who has been coming into form in recent weeks. I wasn't sold on him at first, but he's starting to convert me. Finally, Camilo has been rounding into form as well, and all of these individuals will test RSL's defense.
Luckily for RSL the back line has been playing a lot better recently, especially at home. They've posted 3 consecutive clean sheets at Rio Tinto Stadium, winning 2 of the 3 matches. That streak has spanned 276 minutes. Coach Kreis is cautiously opitmistic, but had this to say as well:
“I think that it’s a step in the right direction, but honestly we had a very good result two weeks ago didn’t we? And we came out and got our butts handed to us so I think it’s going to be very important for the guys to remember that we need to stay humble about remember what it takes to get results and if we don’t do that we won’t get results and when we do that, we will get results.”
Certainly the discipline has been better as well, as Will Johnson alluded to earlier this week discussing the team's new attitude toward refereeing decisions:
"We have a new strategy to deal with refs. It ... comes down to what we can control. We've chosen to focus all our energy on (that)."
Of course, no preview of a Vancouver match would be complete without mentioning lightning quick rookie Darren Mattocks. After missing the first part of the season with injury, he's been on fire of late. RSL's attack will be brimming with confidence too. Alvaro Saborio had scored 4 straight goals for the Claret and Cobalt before Will Johnson's second half strike vs Colorado, and Fabian Espindola has been providing assists as well threatening the goal himself.
The injury situation is not overly critical for either side. Vancouver lists Omar Salgado as out and John Thorrington as questionable. The big deal for RSL is Jamison Olave, who is listed as questionable. Kwame Watson-Siriboe may have to step up big time to help Nat Borchers deal with the Vancouver threat, and I think he will. Grabavoy, Borchers, and Espindola are listed as probable.
As for suspensions, Jonny Steele is out for RSL after picking up his 5th yellow against the Rapids last weekend. Olave and Saborio are suspended on their next yellow, and Espindola, Johnson, Morales, and Wingert are two yellows away from suspension. For Vancouver, Gershon Koffie and Martin Bonjour are suspended on their next yellow while Darren Mattocks is two yellows away.
Experienced MLS ref Kevin Stott will officiate the match. In 226 MLS matches his stats are: 25.6 Fouls per game, 3.4 yellows per game, 58 red cards and 47 pks. RSL fans will be less than excited to see Allen Chapman on the bench again as the 4th official.
I don't expect the Caps to sit back and try to counter, at least at first. They beat San Jose last weekend and will be out to claim another Western Conference scalp. This will be tougher to deal with if RSL doesn't have Olave's services. However, Vancouver may have a problem on defense as Jay DeMerit played all 90 minutes at the All Star Game and then had major issues getting a flight into SLC. I'll take RSL 2-1 in an offensive display from both sides. Both Nick Rimando and Joe Cannon are quality keepers and both will be tested.
(Kreis quote from MLSSoccer.com. Johnson quote from Under the Crossbar, @TheCrossBarRSL on twitter.)
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