By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com
The 2010 postseason has given Vancouver Whitecaps FC captain
Martin Nash
a taste of a role that he used to play during the earlier stages of his career.
Last Thursday, 'Caps fans were surprised to see the Victoria, BC, native start their first-round playoff series versus Portland Timbers as a withdrawn striker behind attack partner
Cody Arnoux
. The move pushed the Canadian international forward from his usual role as a central midfielder.
Though somewhat unexpected at the time, the USSF D-2 playoffs are not the first instance when the 34-year-old has played as a striker during his long and distinguished career. During the 1990's, Nash played as an attacker with both the Canadian U-20 and U-23 Olympic squads. In 1995, head coach Carl Valentine signed Nash as a striker when they were known as Vancouver 86ers.
The experienced playmaker did not feel out-of-place by his change of position in the last two games. "There was a little bit of an adjustment, particularly with the angle of receiving the ball," he told whitecapfc.com. "You have your back to goal a bit more, instead of seeing what's ahead of you from a midfield position. Overall, I thought I coped pretty well with that, even though there was a lot of work to do from a defensive standpoint. In the first playoff game last week, I felt really comfortable. I had a lot of possession and moved the ball well, so I think that helped. In our last game, I was running around and being defensive, as the whole team needed to be."
It remains to be seen if head coach
Teitur Thordarson
will use Nash in the same way when the semifinals begin on Thursday versus Puerto Rico Islanders. However, if the last series is anything to go by, Nash is ready to serve the Blue and White in any way. "It's about having a good attitude to such adjustments and the understanding of what it takes to move on in the playoffs," he said. "Teitur had an idea of how he wanted to play the team in the last round, and I feel I'm pretty flexible in the way that I can play to complement such changes."
With the Islanders being a different type of opponent from the more physical Timbers, Nash may yet be used in another role in this two-game semifinal series. Fortunately, the veteran's ability to adapt could prove to be an invaluable asset for Thordarson and his squad, as Whitecaps FC continue their pursuit of the USSF D-2 championship title.
