Coffee with the Caps, Friday February 10

Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are just about ready for the weekend — there aren’t too many more for the foreseeable future that will not feature MLS.

The Caps concluded their preseason with a derby against Toronto FC, and while the match doesn’t really mean anything, a win over TFC is always good for a little bit of banter.

To that end, Vancouver beat their rivals 3-0, though the goals were scored in the second half when substitutions became a bit more frequent. Isaac Boehmer stiffed Federico Bernardeschi on a penalty, despite a monstrous salary difference, which was pretty fun as well.

Highlights show a match where TFC got some better looks than DC United and Charlotte had but generally this seemed a pretty well-drilled defense, which included a cameo by Mathias Laborda at right back.

Julian Gressel looked good pulling the strings and Brian White had a gilded edge chance to put away in the second half before the goal flurry started.

Cristan Dajome had a pair of goals, including a well taken penalty, and one hopes his good preseason is going to help get him back on track after a down year. Javain Brown had a goal and an assist as well, continuing a decent preseason for him as well.

There certainly seem to be questions about how potent this attack will wind up being, questions which will not be answered until we get a look at Sergio Cordova on the pitch. The quality of the defense, however, has looked improved in the Palm Springs tournament and that alone will elevate this team.

It was a busy week down in the Whitecaps 2 world as well, starting with the leadership at the very top.

Ricardo Clark will lead the Thundercaps (I’m still trying to bring it back), a move that will make all of us remember when he played in MLS feel old. But this is a natural move for a guy who has been on the first team staff for two seasons now and, by all accounts, has done a pretty good job.

The Caps have a good history of former MLS players being involved with the reserve sides (Pa-Modou Kah, anyone?) and having someone working with youngsters who has first hand experience in what needs to be done to reach the top level isn’t a bad thing.

Clark will have a new toy to play with seemingly, with the Caps reportedly nearing a loan deal for Antoine Coupland, the Canadian Premier League hot prospect turned player for HNK Rijeka in Croatia.

This is a bit of a reclamation project for the Caps, as Coupland has played not at all in the first team, though the 19-year-old has acquitted himself decently well at a youth level.

This is a pretty low-risk punt for the Caps; if Coupland comes and does well, he could even be an asset at a first-team level and Vancouver could potentially work out a permanent deal for him. If it doesn’t work out, well, it is only MLS NEXT Pro.

Hopefully this is a sign we get some other low-risk, high-reward signings for the Whitecaps 2 side ahead of their second season.

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