After an emotionally charged night at BC Place on Saturday when Vancouver Whitecaps beat Colorado Rapids to secure a place in the MLS Playoffs, Carl Robinsons men now face another must-win encounter as they open the postseason in Dallas on Wednesday night in the Knockout Round. Al-Farouq Aminu Jersey . It is the Whitecaps second appearance in the playoffs since joining Major League Soccer in 2011. Their last trip to the postseason lasted just 90 minutes when they were beaten by an LA Galaxy side that went on to win the MLS Cup. This time around, the Whitecaps are in much better shape heading into the playoffs after finishing the season well. The Form: The Whitecaps ended the season as one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer, unbeaten in five games with four wins and a tie. During that time, they have beaten three teams above them in the Western Conference and have been very good defensively. In fact, the Whitecaps enter the playoffs having had four clean sheets in a row. It is 393 minutes since the Caps last conceded a goal but Kendall Waston and company will be faced with a very difficult challenge against a potent Dallas attack. Carl Robinsons squad has a fantastic team spirit and they will go into the match in a confident mood, having shown they have the ability to get big results away from home when they beat Seattle 1-0 three weeks ago. They finished the season with what Robinson described as five Cup finals so have now become used to dealing with the pressure of having no margin for error. Dallas fell to a surprise 2-0 defeat to Portland on the final day of the regular season. Had they won that game, Oscar Parejas men would have avoided having to play in the Knockout Round. Before that loss, they set a new club record of eight home wins in a row. They won 12 of their 17 home matches during the regular season. The Texas club had some good and bad spells during the year - they were winless in eight matches in late April and throughout May, but also had a 10-match unbeaten run in late spring and early summer during which time they won six of seven matches. The Big Question: Can the Whitecaps win the midfield battle? When the Whitecaps won in Seattle, Matias Laba and Russell Teibert were magnificent in midfield. They helped ensure there was no space for Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins to take advantage of. They were first to every ball, breaking up play and frustrating the Sounders. If Robinson sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation he has utilized the last few weeks, Laba and Teiberts roles will be key to Vancouvers chances. Kendall Waston and Andy OBrien have struck up an excellent partnership in central defence, but having Laba and Teibert in front of them certainly helps. Further forward, Pedro Morales will need to be influential if the Caps are to dominate the midfield. On Saturday, he was excellent against Colorado, dropping deep to get involved, and getting the Caps going forward with his excellent range of passing. There have been times away from home this season when Morales has struggled. On Wednesday in Dallas, he needs to be at his best. The Opposition: FC Dallas finished fourth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Whitecaps to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2011. Their haul of 54 points set a new club record for points in a season. Panama international Blas Perez led the way with 11 goals during the regular season and has been a constant threat to the Whitecaps in previous matches over the last couple of years. He always seems to find a way to grab a goal and has three against Vancouver this season, including two in the win against the Caps in Frisco in September. Dallas have a very good home record and much of that comes down to the attacking pieces they have within their squad. Along with Perez, they also get attacking production from the likes of Fabian Castillo, Mauro Diaz, Andres Escobar and David Texeira. When they are on form, they are very difficult to stop. Dallas finished the season with 55 goals to tie the club record for most goals scored in a season. The Lineup: The Whitecaps will have to make at least one change with right back Steven Beitashour ruled out with a hamstring injury that forced him to leave the win over Colorado during the first half. There are two options for Robinson. He could do what he did on Saturday and bring in teenager Sam Adekugbe at left back, but that also means switching Jordan Harvey across to the right back position. Robinson describes Adekugbe as something special, and theres no doubt he has all the tools needed to become a top class fullback. He showed that in the game on Saturday, having come on in a high pressure situation. He also gives the Caps an added dimension going forward. The other option is to bring in Ethen Sampson who played in Dallas last month, Sampson hasnt seen many minutes this season, but on the two occasions he started for the Caps, he certainly didnt let himself down. He is also the kind of player who will relish the expected physical nature of the game ahead. Losing Beitashour is a blow for Vancouver as he has been extremely reliable all season long, but Robinson has two solid replacements available. The Odds: The three matches between the teams this season have been split. The Whitecaps beat Dallas 2-0 at BC Place earlier this month, and were by far the better side in July despite only tying the game 2-2. Dallas won 2-1 last month in the only previous meeting in Texas this season. Dallas will go into the match as favourites due to their excellent home record and Vancouvers five straight losses in their previous visits to Frisco, but when the Whitecaps were in Dallas last month, they played well and were unfortunate to lose. It could be a long night. Im expecting a hard-fought, close encounter that has the potential to go all the way to extra time and penalties. These two teams dont like each other, so there is a chance of fireworks. Seattle awaits the winner in a two-leg conference semifinal. Where to Watch: The match will be broadcast live on TSN1. Join me with Jason deVos, Kristian Jack and Perry Solkowski for the pre-match show which gets underway from Toyota Stadium at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Wes Iwundu Jersey .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45. Scott Skiles Jersey . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages. https://www.cheapmagiconline.com/858i-michael-carter-williams-jersey-magic.html . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights.In the end they were all right. The man in the cafe. The policeman on the street. The lady at the hairdressers. And the lads outside the pub. Hot drinks being spat all over England. Jermain Defoe to Toronto FC? No way. It couldnt be. It was last October when Ryan Nelsen shifted his head immediately from the table and looked right at me in disbelief. I had asked him what he thought a player like Defoe would do in MLS. Jermain Defoe in this league? My goodness - incredible player, Nelsen raved. One of the most natural goal scorers I have ever come across. Always out training, always trying to score, a great guy. To get a guy like Defoe for MLS, I cannot think of many that are more suited. It would be incredible, he said. Incredible? More like incredulous. A year is a long time in sports. In fairness anyone who would have argued differently with Nelsens assessment would have needed a dose of reality. Here was a club with an identity of being losers targeting a striker who had scored at every level. How could a bunch of guys who had struggled to get attention suddenly make a hot shots head turn? Well, it happened. An unlikely relationship was formed between water, brought together by Drake, a man who could widen the eyes of Defoe and make him believe everything he was sold on. Major League Soccer stood at the altar as a long-distance marriage was approved. We now pronounce you club and star DP signing. It would be a match that needed equal amounts of dedication and love on both sides. Headed where nobody took it, who meetin me there? They tel him that hes talkin crazy but he doesnt care. - Drake The first glimpse of the city of Toronto for Defoe came after he signed. The club proudly tweeted a picture of him leaning towards the car window to look at the stadium when he arrived. For a short while he was a celebrated pioneer but it was never going to be easy for him after he committed to love something he had never seen. Its one thing to flirt after a blind date but this was supposed to be more than just the football equivalent of a one-night stand. With little foundation it came as no surprise that the relationship started to sour quickly. Better late than never but never late is better. - Drake Defoe was brilliant on the pitch early in the season, scoring goals no previous Toronto player would have come close to whilst rescuing points for the club out of nothing. It was a spectacular romance, a honeymoon period that led to many fantasies. Eventually, though, every dreamer has to wake up. Injuries meant long layoffs and without the distraction of playing, the Englishmans mind would wander. Defoe pined for home and this was portrayed as a bad thing rather than it being communicated as a natural human reaction. His new family tried to help and even invited his old one over for a friendly game to celebrate. Defoe seemed happy. For a night. He would then spend long stretches away from the club to seek medical advice, yet during this time the relationship started to get worse. At no point did the two sit down publicly and explain why he was where he was. On the day Nelsen was fired the bigger story was around the potential sale of the former Tottenham man and his whereabouts. Drew Gooden Jersey. But get it while you here boy/Cause all that hype dont feel the same next year boy. - Drake The love affair was heading to an explosive divorce. In fact, the day before the transfer window closed the club could not confirm if Defoe would definitely stay. Onlookers were stunned. There had been no public admittance of Defoe missing home, or wanting to end his long-term commitment inside year yet suddenly the relationship was tearing apart. When the window closed, Defoe stayed but the writing was on the wall. But I need someone different. You know it, oh oh you know it. Oh oh you know it. We both know it. - Drake Defoe was no longer the only one looking to split up. We only want people who want to be here, was heard so often from the club that it replaced the Why cant we be great? slogan so often used around previously. Suddenly it made sense. Defoe had been fantastic when fit and ineffective when injured. It was common sense to listen to offers for him. Two sides ready for a change and move on. Simple? Not quite. After they had both given a masterclass in silence being deafening all summer they decided now was a good time to talk. Everybody talks and everybody listens. But somehow the truth just always comes up missing. - Drake Defoe went first. “It was frustrating when I was home seeing certain things—people questioning if [I was] really injured. It’s frustrating when people doubt you, when you’re dealing with a real injury and especially for someone like me who loves playing football,” he said Thursday. The club went a step further. Much of this saga is outlined in Fridays report in the Toronto Sun that Defoes mother was central to much of the fractions between the club and the player. Now the gloves were off. So much for an amicable parting. It didnt have to end like this. Defoes commitment and health has been questioned by fans and many members of the media but this latest report will hurt him the most. By targeting the woman who he loves the most, the club will mean nothing to him from now on. There will be many that will be disappointed with the allegations made against his mom in the report but they should be more alarmed by the story itself. Defoe is weeks away from becoming an ex-TFC player. Meanwhile, the club will carry on and has a reputation to rebuild. Leaks to the press about what a player has been up to when he is already leaving is nothing more than a childish way of trying to win the battle of public opinion. Defoe has played his final game for Toronto FC and the two will part less than a year after falling for each other. The striker will fall for someone else and spend the rest of his career getting injured and scoring a lot of goals. He leaves behind him a club that still has many things to learn. Tables turn, bridges burn, you live and learn. - Drake Tables continue to turn at BMO Field. That is sports. Yet, as another bridge burns you have to wonder just how much living and learning the club is doing. ' ' '