VANCOUVER, B.C.—The Vancouver Whitecaps produced a second-half fight back to grab a point in a 1-1 draw at BC Place on Saturday afternoon against a Houston Dynamo side that had been beset by problems in the build up to the match after parting ways with head coach Owen Coyle.
Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson had been wary of the problems the Dynamo might pose, with players out to prove points and play to impress whoever will become Houston's next manager. He was right to be cautious, with the visitors taking the game to Vancouver in the early going.
But the Whitecaps fought back after being a goal behind at the break, leveled on a half volley from Octavio Rivero and had several chances to win it, leaving Robinson with mixed feelings.
"If you had asked me after the first half, I'd have said not happy," Robinson said. "After the second half, I think we showed a lot of courage, a lot of togetherness and a lot of spirit. I didn't think we were at the races in the first half and I told them at halftime. But credit to them because we dominated the second half and we were unlucky not to win the game."
Vancouver's defensive frailties were exposed once again on Houston's goal, with Cristian Techera failing to track DaMarcus Beasley, allowing the Dynamo to go ahead on 20 minutes.
The Whitecaps once again came out slow and were caught out before firing back in the second half. It's a lack of consistency that's starting to infuriate the 'Caps coach.
"It's a microcosm of our season at the moment," Robinson said. "We are where we are because we've made individual errors at the back and they've cost us. We've dug ourselves out of a hole a couple of times and we did so again today. We need to be better than that and we will be, but it's hard work that gets you better."
Both sides finished the match with 10 men following a bust up just before halftime that saw Whitecaps captain Pedro Morales and Dynamo midfielder Alex draw straight red cards by referee Drew Fischer. Despite losing their captain, the dismissals spurred on Vancouver and seemed to affect Houston more.
"It [actually] helped up," Robinson said. "Dynamic change when the sending-offs happened – whether they were a red card or not, doesn't matter, it changed. We regrouped, especially at halftime. We got our boys together. We showed a calmness in our play today. We were playing with 10, we worked as if we had 11 players. That was the thing that pleased me. It helped us."
It was the third game in succession that a Vancouver player has been sent off, and a league-leading sixth red card in a match so far this season. Robinson feels it isn't a fair reflection of his side, but he has spoken to them that it's a situation that can't continue.
"I can tell them, and I do tell them, because I know what the league is like," Robinson said. "But I also understand from their point of view because I've been where they've sat. If it's a foul, it's a foul. I've been taught and I've learned to communicate with referees in the right way and have a rapport with them. So I understand it from both sides, but the tone was set today from the kick off."
