VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps came in to their match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday preaching the importance of home wins to guarantee their goal of reaching the playoffs.
But a 1-0 loss, on which the goal came from the visitors' only shot on goal, is a huge missed opportunity, head coach Vanni Sartini said.
It was a tough result for Vancouver (8-8-7) to swallow having dominated the entire match with 19 shots, eight of which were on target.
"I think today, not only because we were at home, but we deserved three points. I think today, in terms of the volume of how we played and the way that we played, we should've won," said Sartini after the match.
A cross from Vancouver was cleared by a San Jose (9-8-7) defender leading to a four on two against defenders Ranko Veselinovic and Tristan Blackmon, with Earthquakes' Cristian Espinoza sliding it in for the winner.
"We knew that exact play was in their game plan. We rehearsed that exact situation many times this week, the past two weeks. That's where they're dangerous: in transition. And they'll get you exactly how they got us," said wingback Ryan Raposo.
The game also marked the debuts of new Vancouver signings Sam Adekugbe and Richie Laryea, who each played a half.
Both had a chance to open their accounts with Laryea firing wide in the first half and Adekugbe ringing a freekick off the post in the 79th minute.
"I think we need to take the positives out of this. There's no time to dwell on losing a game and yeah there's a bunch of road games coming up and that will test the character of the group. It's a great opportunity for all of us to step up," said Laryea, who felt he should've converted at least two of his chances into goals.
Sartini and sporting director Axel Schuster had talked before the match about the aim of winning the remaining four games at home in order to clinch a Major League Soccer playoff spot.
Vancouver currently sits eighth in the Western Conference.
"It's going to be hard to the end. We need to win games," said Sartini. "Maybe one or two (away wins) would have been enough. Now maybe, it's two or three."
For the Whitecaps, the match was a lesson in frustration as despite leading in shots and possession they could not find a way to get a ball past San Jose netminder Daniel de Sousa Britto.
"I think the maturity in the group has to be there and not dwell on this loss. We have a bunch of road games coming. Statistically we haven't been the greatest on the road so we have to find a way to turn that around," said Raposo.
The frustration appeared to boil over near the end of the match as midfielder Ryan Gauld and San Jose's Rodrigues argued and shoved one another after a tackle.
Both received a yellow card, with Sartini also receiving one for his protests.
The Whitecaps peppered the Earthquakes' net throughout the match with striker Brian White seeing several chances saved.
At one point, San Jose's goalkeeper stopped three Whitecaps shots in a row early in the first half.
Part of the issue, Sartini acknowledged, was wingers aiming for the lead striker but the crosses drifting behind and lacking a player there to follow up on the chance.
The roof at B.C. Place was closed, with smoke from wildfires in various parts of the province having blanketed the city in a thick haze.
UP NEXT
Vancouver begins a seven-game road trip next Saturday starting with a game against the Portland Timbers. The Earthquakes will head to Kansas City to take on Sporting KC.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2023.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press