It was a frustrating and disappointing night for the Vancouver Whitecaps down in Colorado, as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at the Rapids in a rain-delayed match.
Having fallen behind to a 51st-minute Lucas Pittinari volley, the Whitecaps thought they had salvaged a draw inside the final 10 minutes when Pedro Morales curled a perfectly-placed free kick into the top right corner of the net, but referee Jose Carlos Rivero disallowed the goal for an adjudged infringement in the wall, much to the ire of Vancouver.
"At the time that I saw it, I thought it was a good goal," Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson told Vancouver's TSN 1410 radio after the game. "But obviously he blew a free kick for a foul on Pa [Modou Kah] in the wall. I asked [the referee] to clarify at the end of the game.
"He clarified and said he pushed the guy in the wall. Unfortunately, the guy in the wall, the young boy [Axel] Sjoberg, confirmed that [Kah] didn't push him and after watching the replay again, there was no contact from my player onto their player, so he [referee] has got that one wrong."
The Whitecaps also felt aggrieved that a foul on Gershon Koffie, in the build up to what proved to be the winning goal from Pittinari, wasn't called by the referee Rivero.
"It was a great finish by [Pittinari]," Robinson stated. "Fair play to him. It was great technique, it was a super strike and it's a great goal. I'll give him a lot of credit for that, but if you're asking me if there was a foul in the build-up, yes there was."
Adding to the Whitecaps' despair is the fact that they came away from a strong first-half performance with nothing to show for it.
Robinson said he was "very frustrated" that the Whitecaps headed into halftime scoreless, especially after forcing Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin into a number of crucial first-half saves.
The inability to find the back of the net ultimately cost them, but equally frustrating for the Whitecaps coach was the fact his team wasn't able to continue its pressure at the start of the second half, after the extended rain-delayed break.
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"I wanted us to continue playing the way we played because I thought we were very, very strong in the first 45 minutes and had the better chances out of the game," Robinson said.
"I knew that Colorado would have their phase of play in the second half and they did in the first 15 minutes. They managed to get their goal and obviously that was enough for them in the end."
Despite Vancouver's inability to break down Colorado and get back into the game, Robinson still took some positives from his side's performance. But he admitted it was a very unhappy Whitecaps locker room given the way the match played out.
"I'm gutted for the boys today because the effort, the application, the attitude from them was absolutely spot on," Robinson added. "They're a grumpy bunch in there tonight because they feel hard done by and I've got to agree with them."
Michael McColl covers the Vancouver Whitecaps for MLSsoccer.com.
