SANDY, Utah (AP-CP) — Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini wasn't hiding his displeasure after his team squandered an early lead Saturday night.
Brayan Vera and Justen Glad each scored in the second half as Real Salt Lake came back from a goal down to beat the Whitecaps 2-1.
After the match, Sartini took issue with his team's conceded goals and Vancouver's inability to score more despite getting several chances.
"To be honest, we've been soft. We've been soft," said Sartini. "The guys that we have to blame, it's ourselves because when you have three chances in front of the goal and you don't score, in front of the goal, guys, in front of the goal. And we conceded a goal from 40 yards and another one that was easily defendable."
Sartini added that losing in this fashion provided a lesson the Whitecaps will half to learn from as a team slated to make the playoffs as the seventh-placed team in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.
"You can play better than the other team like we did, but you lose. And that's a pretty bitter lesson," he said. "But it's a lesson because if we want to go to the playoffs, if you want to win games in the playoffs, playoffs are going to be fine margin games and we need to be better."
Real Salt Lake (12-11-7) has lost only two of its 15 home matches against Vancouver, with nine wins and four draws.
Vancouver (11-9-9) played in its seventh consecutive away match, having not played at home since August 20. Vancouver had gone unbeaten in four straight to start the road trip before a 4-1 loss in Houston on Wednesday, its first road defeat since July 1 in Kansas City.
Brian White scored for Vancouver in the 17th minute.
Real Salt Lake travels to play Los Angeles FC on Oct. 1. Vancouver travels to play the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.
"I want to see guys that are pissed, guys that maybe kicking bottles now, guys that are maybe using expletives because of the game, but I want to see guys that are fired up to go Wednesday in Denver and make three points," said Sartini.
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The Associated Press