SEATTLE – After the Vancouver Whitecaps’ CONCACAF Champions League victory over Sporting Kansas City earlier this week, Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson said that his team’s playoff hopes were squarely on the line in their subsequent matchup with the Seattle Sounders.
But the do-or-die circumstances didn't produce a victory – or even a draw – for the Whitecaps at CenturyLink Field on Saturday. Sounders rookie forward Jordan Morrisbagged the game-winning tally in the 81st minute, sending Vancouver to a defeat that very well could have been the dagger to their postseason hopes.
The loss kept Vancouver stuck on 34 points on the season and in eighth place in the West with just four more MLS matches to play.
“I’m pig-sick from today,” Robinson told reporters after the game. “This one hurts me a little bit more than the others because I don’t think we got we deserved today. Performance-wise, we were spot on. We mixed with a very, very good team, there’s no doubt about that.”
Vancouver’s scoreless showing on Saturday wasn’t for lack of chances, in a game that featured many more attacking fireworks than the scoreline might indicate.
Forward Erik Hurtado had a fleeting opportunity at a wide-open net in the first half after he chipped a breakaway attempt over the head of Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei. But Frei managed to track back and paw the ball away from Hurtado's head to keep the game scoreless.
“I think he tried to put it over Stefan and head it in, which in hindsight he maybe should’ve just lobbed it into the net.” Robinson said of Hurtado’s chance. “That was a key chance and we didn’t take it.”
Second-half substitute Giles Barnes nearly gave Vancouver the lead again in the 62nd minute, but his shot rebounded off the post.
The result appears to be a major setback for the Whitecaps’ playoff hopes in what has been a frustrating 2016 campaign. But with his team still mathematically alive, Robinson said he expects his squad to tackle its final four games with the mentality that the season can still be salvaged.
“We keep fighting,” Robinson said. “One thing we are is a group of fighters in there. I think you saw how proud those guys are to wear the white jersey today. We’ll keep fighting. Stranger things have happened in this league. But it’s out of our hands now.”
