Pa-Modou Kah scored twice to help the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Seattle Sounders 3-0, spoiling the return of Clint Dempsey after more than a month away from the club.
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“They’re a top, top team”, he said. There was a point when the question wasn’t if they would win, it was by how much? Seven weeks ago, at least.
Whitecaps is third in the Western Conference with 33 points having won 10 games, drawn 3 and lost 8. The team is looking to break out of that funk after winning against the Whitecaps back in May and that was at BC Place and saw Seattle win the match 2-0.
Dempsey should be back in the lineup this weekend, and though he’ll be fresh off a grueling period of Gold Cup and All-Star commitments, the American attacker will make an immediate difference.
Carl Robinson says there’s never a good time to play the Seattle Sounders.
With Martins’ status still unclear, all eyes will be on Dempsey on Saturday night.
“This is one of our better records since I’ve been here”. After all, Bruce Arena’s team has made an annual habit out of slogging away until the season’s stretch run, then turning it on as the playoffs approach.
They face LA Galaxy next in the MLS on Sunday. “Once we get past Saturday’s game, on Saturday night I’ll tell you Wednesday’s game is the most important”. “Hopefully it’ll work again”.
Since joining Major League Soccer, the Sounders haven’t been afraid to invest big money in new signings, and with the Western Conference incredibly tight and a new mechanism introduced by the league allowing teams to add an additional high-profile player, the Sounders could strengthen their squad before the transfer window closes at the end of next week. Nicolas Mezquida has been playing extremely well in Morales’ absence through injury, and with so many games coming up they need to make sure Morales isn’t rushed back. Still, the hosts are wary.
It was the first of four matchups between the Whitecaps and Sounders over the next two months, including a league match on September 19 in Vancouver and two meetings in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. “It’s a huge test”.
This year, the feeling seems to be different, even if the Whitecaps have a young team.
When the season started, it was expected that New York City FC would be a second-half team, improving once the team jelled and Frank Lampard (and now Andrea Pirlo) joined up. “Champions League is not unimportant”.
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Vital points in the chase for the postseason aren’t the only thing on the line Saturday.
