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Harjeet Johal ,

October 8, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps clinched a berth in the 2015 MLS playoffs for the second consecutive season under Manager Carl Robinson. All Vancouver needed was a win or draw vs FC Dallas. Neither side was able to grasp any goals in a tightly contested match that finished 0-0 in front of 19,339 supporters at BC Place. David Ousted made four fantastic saves and earned his MLS league leading 12th clean sheet to help the Whitecaps earn a trip back to the 2015 MLS playoffs. Carl Robinson gave full credit to his players and staff for performing and getting results throughout the season that has put the club in the playoffs. "I'm happy we’re in the playoffs. I think its credit to every single player in there and staff member. We managed to get into a very tough, competitive Western Conference with two games to go. Performance, I think we need to be better. We can be better. It’s probably one of our okay games of the season, so we’ll accept that." Jordan Harvey was on very little sleep as he became a first time father on Wednesday morning. The Caps full-back was happy to cap off his evening with a Whitecaps playoff berth as he described how much this means to the Vancouver Whitecaps organization. “It’s great. This group has really worked hard throughout the full course of the season. To do it like this, you know this organization is progressing year in and year out. I’m happy to be a part of it since the first year. I’m proud of the guys, we really fought hard tonight. We didn’t play as well as we could’ve, but I thought we did really well. We go to a hard place next week and hopefully we can build some momentum going into the playoffs.” Congratulations to Jordan Harvey and wife Kimberly Caldwell on giving birth to baby Harlow Monroe Harvey this morning — Vancouver Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC) October 8, 2015

The Opening 45

The struggling Whitecaps offense desperately needed an early goal to calm any potential nerves and restore a bit of confidence. Attacking midfielders Pedro Morales, and Nicolas Mezquida both missed the match with leg injuries. Mauro Rosales was asked to lead the attack and support lone striker Octavio Rivero with Kekuta Manneh and Cristian Techera on the wings. Vancouver had a brilliant opportunity to start the match off on the right foot. Kekuta Manneh sent in a terrific cross that Octavio Rivero was able to leap above Matt Hedges and head off the FC Dallas crossbar in the 12' minute. At the other end of the pitch, David Ousted had to be sharp on the counter-attack whenever FC Dallas was off to the races. The Whitecaps shot stopper turned aside Mauro Diaz and then, Ryan Hollingshead in the 24' minute to keep the match scoreless. The opening forty-five was quite tentative as the Whitecaps failed to score. Vancouver did well to protect David Ousted and the back-four from any real potential danger. Heading into the interval the match was scoreless with Vancouver holding a possession advantage of 56% - 44%. The clock is clearly sad about the 4 minutes of aggregate time #VWFC #VANvDAL pic.twitter.com/xbNUbwvPkY — FTBL Podcast (@FromTheBackline) October 8, 2015 The Second Half

David Ousted was the only reason why FC Dallas was unable to break through with a second half goal. The 'Great Dane' was well in form and up to the task of turning away the red kitted visitors. Ousted stopped Canadian international Tesho Akindele twice, but his best save was to come moments later. In the 63' minute, David Texeira was able to turn and fire a point-blank shot at Ousted. The terrific reflexes of Ousted had him leap mid-air to stop the 24 year-old Uruguayan striker. FC Dallas was getting plenty of chances to score, but could not convert. The Whitecaps had a terrific run, but the finishing was not quite there in the 73' minute. Mauro Rosales beat a pair of FC Dallas defenders and ran towards the visitors goal. Sensing that his feet would fail him, Rosales sent a beautiful pass to a streaking Cristian Techera on the right flank. Techera was 1v1 with goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, however his first touch failed him. The Uruguayan sent his shot wide of the top corner. To make matters worse, Techera left the game with an injury. Darren Mattocks entered the match in the 75' for Techera. The Whitecaps health took another hit when Mauro Rosales went down on his own accord and had to be substituted off for Robert Earnshaw in the 86'. Carl Robinson provided an injury update on both players. “(Techera) Hamstring. I don’t know exactly what it is. Mauro’s groin, so it’s going to be a tough one. We are down to the bare bones as they say. But, listen, we’ll deal with it.” Injuries and the lack of scoring shone brightest against FC Dallas. Heading into the playoffs the Whitecaps seem to be backing into the post-season. Defense remains strong as ever, but scoring is hard to come by with nothing on the horizon in terms of help. Morales, Mezquida, Rosales, Techera, and Rivero are all hurting at the moment and without them Vancouver can't buy a goal even when they're healthy. Following the match Carl Robinson was not about to agree with a Whitecaps end of season swoon as the playoffs approach. Injuries, fatigue, and the lack of goals scored were not on Robinson excuse list. "I'm sure you’ll say that and you will write that, which is fine. But no, I've got Jordan Harvey who became a father today, him and Kim, special moment for him, 9:30 this morning. I hope he doesn't mind me telling you, but he had three hours sleep. He wants to play today, to help the club and help the team. I've got Pa-Modou Kah, whose groin is hanging off him, but wanted to play through the pain. I've got Octavo who has a sore Achilles. I've got great character in there, so we know we can be better, myself included. I always include myself in that. We’re in, so we just have to refocus now. We’ll set different targets and we’ll move on.” Man of the Match

David Ousted

Many people believe that David Ousted has been the Whitecaps MVP this season. The Whitecaps keeper earned his pay and then some against FC Dallas. Ousted made terrific saves in each half to keep the Whitecaps in the match. With a struggling offense, Ousted has zero to little margin for error. After his weekend blunder at San Jose. Ousted more than made up for it. The Whitecaps should have easily trailed in this match if it weren't for the goalkeeper heroics of David Ousted and his fantastic form. The competitive Ousted is hoping the Caps can get going before the playoffs begin. "We’re in the playoffs, but we’re disappointed because we wanted to win this. I think it’s a good sign that this team is disappointed at not winning at home and there’s still more to come from us. We need to find that these last couple of games and going into the playoffs." Who was your Whitecaps Man of the Match?

Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted (C); Jordan Smith, Pa-Madouh Kah, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba (Gershon Koffie 89), Russell Teibert; Cristian Techera (Darren Mattocks 75), Mauro Rosales (Robert Earnshaw 86), Kekuta Manneh; Octavio Rivero. 4-2-3-1 FC Dallas Starting XI: Jesse Gonzalez; Ryan Hollingshead, Zach Lloyd, Matt Hedges(C), Je-Vaughn Watson; Victor Ulloa, Kellyn Acosta (Ezequiel Cirigliano 69), Mauro Diaz (Atiba Harris 88), Micheal Barrios; Tesho Akindele, David Texeira (Blas Perez 83). 4-2-3-1 Notes: The Whitecaps will travel to Frisco, Texas to take on FC Dallas on Wednesday, October 14.