VANCOUVER, B.C – It’s been an up and down season for the Whitecaps, but the club is starting to turn a corner after a frustrating start to the campaign. The Caps return to action on Sunday at BC Place when they host New England.
The Revolution will be making a rare appearance to the west coast. New England hasn’t visited BC Place since May 2018, in what was a thrilling 3-3 draw. Four years ago the lines were of a fine variety.
Currently New England has a 6-5-5 record and 23 points. The Bruce Arena coached Revs have not suffered an MLS loss since April 23. New England is on a 4-0-4 run of play in MLS.
“We’ve just kind of buckled down and got back to the basics,” New England striker Jozy Altidore told Har Journalist following training on Saturday. “We’ve been a hard team to play against and I think we have quality going forward. We just want to keep continuing on that way and as the season keeps building, get stronger and peak at the right time. We’re steadily improving.”
Vancouver is 6-8-2 on the campaign with 20 points.
The surging Caps are 4-1-2 at BC Place this season and haven’t lost at home since April 9.
As the Caps continue to charge up the MLS table, several key players have returned to first team full training. That includes goalkeeper Thomas Hasal who had been sidelined from first team action since fracturing his L middle finger on his left hand on May 8.
The 22 year-old Hasal returned to first team training on June 20 and played a full 90 minutes for WFC 2 on June 24 at Swangard Stadium, a 3-2 loss to San Jose Earthquakes II.
“It’s fantastic to be back with the team,” Hasal told Har Journalist following training on Saturday. “The finger is feeling better every single day.”
The play that sidelined Hasal was quite controversial, creating several strong talking points.
In his first interview since damaging his digit, Hasal describes what happened.
“I think for anyone that has seen it,” Hasal recalled. “It’s a ball coming out, going for it, and he just kicks through, comes through my hand. It bent both of my fingers. One dislocated and the bone popped out of the skin. The other one had some injuries as well.”
The burning question remains, did Hasal have control of the ball?
“I think it depends on who you ask,” Hasal said. “What the rules of the game are. It’s not my decision to make, it’s the referee. I think it’s right there and I think it’s a tough one because anywhere else on the field, if two players are going in for the ball and even if they have a hand on the ball and somebody goes through them, it’s deemed a dangerous play. That’s my opinion on the play.”
One of Hasal’s biggest backers wasn’t about to see him take any heat online.
“My mom is my biggest supporter,” Hasal said.
The control of the ball was not the only point of contention during the scramble in the Vancouver box. TSN Soccer Analyst Steven Caldwell suggested Hasal was “play acting.”
“First, I’ve got to say that he gave me a call and he apologized for that,” Hasal revealed exclusively to Har Journalist. “Of course I think it’s clear that I wasn’t playing acting. Secondly, I think if that’s the case and a player is down injured and he’s going off it’s something that they shouldn’t comment on. They should comment on the game, the laws of the game and not on a player and the circumstances if they don’t know what’s happening, it’s my opinion. He gave me a call and apologized, all is well.”
In the absence of Hasal, Cody Cropper has taken over as the Whitecaps top shot-stopper in net.
Cropper has posted a 7-1-1 record across all competitions with three clean sheets.
“Yeah he’s done well, stepped up,” Hasal said. “The whole team has done well over the last little stretch and hopefully we can just keep that going. We’re all focused on New England tomorrow.”
The 29 year-old Cropper is a big reason why Vancouver has positioned themselves in the race for a playoff spot. Earning a chance to return to MLS action won’t come right away for Hasal. Isaac Boehmer will be on the bench vs New England.
When will Saskatoon Schmeichel return to the Whitecaps starters net?
“I don’t know,” Hasal said. “That’s a question you’ve got to ask Vann (Sartini)i. I don’t make those decisions. Again, everyday I’m working hard to get back to speed and be there as soon as I can.”
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