Koffie's star rises after glowing against Galaxy

Published on: 30 July 2012

Gershon Koffie will likely never be labelled as outspoken. Polite and shy seem to be his speed, at least when dealing with the media.

Chatting with a small gathering of reporters Friday after training at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex, the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder didn't offer any extended sound bites, fraught with clichés about Wednesday's 2-2 draw with the L.A. Galaxy, or any controversial banter about Sunday's match at BC Place Stadium with the top club in Major League Soccer, the San Jose Earthquakes.

Instead, he quietly raved about how much he benefits from playing alongside veteran mid-fielder Barry Robson, the positive influence veterans have had on the younger players, and the atmosphere in the crowd for David Beckham's showing in Vancouver.

Lost in the Beckham hoopla of Wednesday, Koffie put together maybe his best game as a member of the Whitecaps, scoring a brilliant goal in the 18th minute when he turned Galaxy defender David Junior Lopes inside out, then fired a low shot past goal-keeper Josh Saunders from the top of the 18-yard box.

He had a chance later in the second half to make it two goals on the night, but his blast from well outside the box rang squarely off the crossbar.

His teammates were quick to gush over what they saw from the 20-year-old sophomore, who hails from Koforidua, Ghana.

"I thought he was our best player, if I'm honest," said Robson, who also scored for Vancouver against the Galaxy. "He's a young kid, he's learning and he's willing to learn. He's a terrific athlete and he's got this gift of knowing when to turn out of trouble, and he's going to be a big player for this club.

"He's someone I think they're going to need to tie down and make sure he's going to be here for a long time, because they're the type of players that the club needs to build itself on."

Koffie, despite his youth, has started in all but two games combined over the last two years for the Vancouver side, after coming to MLS as a 19-year-old rookie.

Much of the talk heading into the weekend centred around his potential breakout game against the Galaxy, how good he can be in the future, and how to maximize not only his athletic talents, but his game-bygame effort and finish around the net.

He has two goals and one assist this season, and just one goal in 2011.

"I think Koffie, we just need to consistently get him at that level and we're getting him there much more," said Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie.

"But when he's at that level, it just shows the quality he's got and if he can add a goal threat to his game, then he's going to be a top, top player. I think sometimes young players can be inconsistent but if you give them that excuse 'oh well, because you're young you're going to be inconsistent,' then they end up being inconsistent. "You've got to give them a better reputation to live up to - and I think he can now be a consistently top performer for us. If he's willing to put in the work and make that happen then he's going to have a great career."

Source:Vancouver sun

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