VANCOUVER, BC – Home sweet home.
After 10 days on the road, Vancouver Whitecaps FC returned to training on Tuesday at UBC ahead of Friday’s Western Conference clash with San Jose Earthquakes (8 p.m. PT at BC Place – tickets still available).
Here are some news and notes from the day.
PLAYOFF PUSH
“Now is the time for players to step up.”
Those were the words of head coach Carl Robinson on Tuesday. As it stands, the ‘Caps are two points out of a playoff spot with 10 regular season matches to go. And their opponent on Friday are just two points behind them with two games in hand.
“We knew it was going to be tight all along,” Robinson told reporters. “We’re not where we’d like to be, but we’ve got to deal with it. It’s probably a fair position based upon how we’ve performed in the first 24 games. It’s a great challenge to look forward to. There’s no point to be afraid.”
LOAN/TRAINING UPDATES
There were a few different pieces of news that came out of Tuesday.
Deybi Flores is returning to his old club on loan through December 2016, Sam Adekugbe made his first-team debut for Brighton & Hove Albion FC, and Kianz Froese has departed to Germany for a week-long training stint with 2. Bundesliga side FC Kaiserslautern.
On Flores, Robinson said: “It’s for Deybi. He needs to play football. He’s kicked his heels here for the last two months really without knocking on my door and trying to get into my team … Deybi missed out on the Honduran U-23 team to go to the Olympics. He was disappointed, and this one came up. I think it’s good for him and his development at this stage. He probably won’t be used too often with me between now and the end of the year. I want the kid to go and play football.”
WHIRLWIND FOR BARNES
Giles Barnes has been a member of Whitecaps FC for 10 days now.
He joined the team in Texas last week, played in Colorado this past weekend, and finally arrived in Vancouver on Sunday. It’s been a whirlwind, but Barnes is already enjoying his new surroundings.
“Incredible,” Barnes said of his first impressions of the club and city. “I spent two hours walking around. I don’t think I’ve done that in the four years I’ve been in America … the fans have been incredible to me on Twitter as well and so have the boys and staff.”
INJURY UPDATE
Robinson said that left back Jordan Harvey, who suffered an MCL sprain in training on July 27, is likely still a “couple weeks away.” Harvey did not train on Tuesday.
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