VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been road warriors this season, claiming three wins from their four away matches so far this year. At home, however, it's been a different story for the league leaders.
Saturday night's 2-1 loss to D.C. United meant Vancouver have now dropped eight points from their five home games this season. It's been a very different story compared to recent years when BC Place has proven something of a fortress for the Whitecaps.
It's an issue that naturally nags at 'Caps coach Carl Robinson, but the underlying reason behind the trend is not so easy to identify.
"I'm not sure," was Robinson's response when asked about it after the game. "Teams come here and play differently. We do that on the road when we go away and I think teams do that [here].
"There were questions as to whether we could get an early goal against D.C. and we got that, but from that moment on we took our foot off the gas a little bit. We stopped showing what a good team we are. Maybe we thought we were a good team. You can't do that in football. You've got to do the basics very well and credit to D.C., they did the basics very well today."
Vancouver have beaten both Portland and LA at home this year, putting in some excellent performances on the way to those six points. A draw with Columbus and losses to Toronto and D.C. have seen the team play well but unable to secure all three points, and it's that inconsistency that goalkeeper David Ousted feels is behind the team's home woes.
"We showed in glimpses today the kind of soccer we can play at home, but until we do that for 90 minutes we're going to run into results like this," Ousted said post match. "I'm disappointed with the loss. I thought we could have got more out of it."
Vancouver have seemingly found the winning formula and tactics on the road, but despite the dip in their home form, Robinson doesn't feel that there need to be changes with the way his team plays at BC Place.
"Maybe, if we didn't create one or two chances, or seven or eight," Robinson said. "Then I'd certainly be a little bit more worried about it. But we did. We had some clear-cut chances, even with 10 men. Moments change games and it wasn't our day today."
Vancouver's game changer came three minutes before halftime when Matias Laba was sent off after picking up his second yellow card of the match. Although the Whitecaps still took the play to United, Robinson felt the ensuing red card had a major impact on the final outcome, with his 10 men conceding the winner in the second half.
"It did affect it," Robinson said. "We wanted to be solid in the second half, and I think we were, and able to counter them at certain times, and I think we did. Football's fine lines. If Mauro [Rosales] hits the post and goes in, it's a different game.
"I asked them to create chances and be solid at the back and we were," he continued. "You're going to give up chances when you play against 11 men, and we did. David [Ousted] pulled off some good saves but, it wasn't our day. We have to get back to work because one thing we've done very well is that we've rebounded when we've took one on the chin."
Michael McColl covers the Vancouver Whitecaps for MLSsoccer.com.
