Vancouver Whitecaps return home to host New York City FC after tough travel schedule

After a rough week-long road trip, coach Marc Dos Santos says his Vancouver Whitecaps are returning home to what feels like a bit of a rude dinner guest.

While the Whitecaps (6-13-9) dropped a 2-1 decision in Montreal Wednesday night and faced travel delays in their return to B.C., New York City FC (13-5-8) has been in town for days preparing for Saturday’s match up.

Dos Santos compared the situation to inviting someone you don’t know well over for dinner.

“You tell him ‘Hey, be there at 7.’ And when you arrive at 7, he’s already there, smoking a cigar on your couch. It’s the same thing. It doesn’t make sense,” the coach said.

“We’re going into a game where New York has more preparation, New York has more rest and where New York travelled better. And it’s going to take absolutely everything from us to get the result we want.”

This week marks the fourth time this season that the Whitecaps have been forced to play midweek and weekend games on opposite sides of the continent.

“It’s definitely been difficult for us, a lot of Wednesday games, travelling to the East Coast and back to the West. It’s been a grind. But it’s nice now to finally be home,” right back Jake Nerwinski said.

This road swing was made especially difficult after the team’s flight out of Montreal was abruptly cancelled on Thursday.

“I should have asked some of the [NYC] guys to water my plants or something because they were here all week,” Nerwinski said.

Dos Santos wants to see Major League Soccer make adjustments to the schedule that would allow both teams to prepare at an equal level. One possibility, he said, would be to have only teams that both played midweek games meet in weekend contests.