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Vancouver, San Jose set sights on postseason berth

Sep 9, 2014 - 9:16 PM Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) - Two clubs hoping to strengthen their postseason odds will meet at BC Place on Wednesday when Vancouver Whitecaps FC plays host to the San Jose Earthquakes.

Vancouver enters the clash in a far more favorable position as the Whitecaps sit on 34 points, just one point adrift of the fifth-place Portland Timbers with one fewer match played.

San Jose, meanwhile, has some ground to make up as the Earthquakes sit second from bottom in the Western Conference on 27 points.

Neither side managed to inch any closer to a playoff spot last time out as Vancouver was held to a 0-0 draw by D.C. United while San Jose played to a thrilling 3-3 draw at Portland.

Chris Wondolowski thought he had netted a late 85th-minute winner for San Jose at Providence Park on Sunday, but Kalif Alhassan managed to strike just one minute later to see the two sides split the points in a six-goal thriller.

It extended San Jose's winless run to six games, but head coach Mark Watson stressed the importance of remaining positive as the club pursues a postseason berth.

"What I would tell them is we need to stay positive," Said Watson. "We're disappointed. We'll look at the video and the things we need to improve upon. We'll get rested up and go again Wednesday in Vancouver. We all know we need wins right now. Everyone is well aware of that. We go over the game. We try to learn from some of the mistakes we made and letting a team back into the game and we push forward."

Vancouver could have climbed ahead of the Timbers with a defeat of D.C. United, but instead, the 'Caps were made to settle for a draw while seeing their scoring drought extended to 411 minutes.

"We've been through some tough streaks, we got a clean sheet today which was good," Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson said after the stalemate. "(D.C. United) are a very good team, top of the Eastern Conference and they come in with a game plan. But we weren't able to break them down so credit to them tonight."

The short layover between matches, along with a few minor injuries sustain in Saturday's draw, could force Robinson to shuffle the lineup against San Jose.

"I think a few of the guys looked a little bit tired after 60 odd minutes," Robinson said. "I look at Pedro Morales and Mauro Rosales picked up a little knock as well. I was tempted to try and make a tactical change then, but you always know with Pedro that you can do something, same with Mauro as well and he picked up an ankle knock. - But there will be some fresh faces in on Wednesday I think we need some freshness in the team with three games in a week."