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Vancouver was thumped by the Philadelphia Union two weeks ago, losing 4-0 on the road, then returned home to put forth a lively performance at home against the Colorado Rapids, but lost 1-0 on an own goal.

The Rapids were Western Conference cellar-dwellers and had demonstrated no real road success coming in, but the Caps lacked the ability to break down the visitors bunkered down in their own box, despite holding a season-high 71.6 per cent possession advantage.

“I thought we defended very, very well on the weekend, and limited them to very few chances. We did score at one end, but it was the wrong end,” a rueful Carl Robinson said this week.

“We created chances time and time again, and we dominated the ball. Every time we’ve dominated the ball this year, we’ve lost,” added the Whitecaps coach.

The Fire have a much superior roster to the Rapids, but will likely follow the same playbook so many other teams around the league have when playing in B.C. Place: Pack the box, dare the Caps to break them down, and take your shots when they come.

Colorado were outshot 26-9, with goalkeeper Tim Howard making 10 saves, and despite a season-high 652 passes, the Whitecaps couldn’t get the final touch to breach the Rapids’ defensive wall.

“(You have to) keep the ball moving,” said midfielder Jordon Mutch, who was one of the more dangerous Caps against Colorado after coming on at halftime.

“Especially when a team sits back like that, it’s just being simple. On turnovers, keeping them penned in, and keeping that pressure, because hopefully they fold. You’ve seen it with Spain and Russia in the World Cup. They did the exact same thing, and they couldn’t break Russia down.”