VANCOUVER, B.C. – After a stretch of unusually patchy home form, the Vancouver Whitecaps got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, coming out 2-1 winners in an entertaining match with Real Salt Lake.
Both teams combined to conjure up 32 shots during the match, 12 of them on target. Vancouver really turned up the pressure on the visitors in the second half, forcing eight corners in a five-minute spell at one point before the Salt Lake defense finally buckled 11 minutes from time.
Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson was delighted with his team's attacking display and admitted he was a very relieved man when Cristian Techera's winning goal finally went in.
"I was dreading coming in here and saying to you guys, we played really well but we didn't win," Robinson told media after the match. "That's the frustration I felt after 45 minutes. I felt we were absolutely excellent in the first 45 minutes without scoring more than one goal.
"We can do that. Whether we score enough goals to win games is the big question. I said to the guys openly at halftime ‘well played,’ but I'm sick of saying ‘well played’ but we're not winning. After the game it was nice, because the group can go to a very special place if they really believe they can and want to win."
A stunning long-range strike from Gershon Koffie set the Whitecaps on their road to victory, after some quick thinking saw him dispossess Joao Plata. The likely AT&T Goal of the Week contender was certainly a special way for the Ghanaian to celebrate his 100th MLS regular-season start.
"It is indeed," Koffie told reporters postgame. "I just read what he was going to do, that he was going to turn outside – because there was a lot of guys inside, so he's not going to go inside. So I just follow up and had a shot. We've been working so hard all week and we just got rewarded with this.
"Day in, day out I put a lot of work in on my finishing. Even strikers who score every single game, they miss some just you don't expect them [to]. You just have to keep working on your finish and you always get your reward."
Koffie has been in and out of Robinson's starting line up over the past two seasons. The Ghanaian can be a frustrating figure for the 'Caps coach at times. He can be a match winner and key midfield cog when he's on his game, but when he's not, he can disappear from matches and his influence is not felt.
Robinson has been working on that inconsistency and he hopes Saturday’s goal will help Koffie make the leap to the next level the Whitecaps are looking for.
"I keep saying to him every week he can do it," Robinson said of Koffie. "Gershon has shown on his day that he can be one of the best midfield players in the league without a doubt. My gripe with him, and it is a gripe, is his potential is massive. He's got to fulfill his potential with my help and my coaches’ help. He's pushing himself day in and day out.
"What I don't want is him to play well one game and not so well two or three games. It's about playing well. [RSL’s] Kyle Beckerman is a perfect example: He plays well every game. Gershon can do that if you challenge him."
