P osted by

Harjeet Johal ,

April 16, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps travelled to Sandy, Utah to take on an undefeated Real Salt Lake squad. Carl Robinson's squad came into the match with a desperate need for goals, from any variety, just goals, and a lot of them. Vancouver created plenty of chances to score, but squandered those opportunities as Real Salt Lake came away with a 1-0 win in front of 19,720 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium. Carl Robinson shared his thoughts on the loss and what could have been if Vancouver had scored early. “We didn’t make it in today and unfortunately it comes back to bite you in the bum when you miss chance after chance. Unfortunately we’re going to have to take that." Real Salt Lake coach Jeff Cassar was happy to see his team continue as the only undefeated MLS team this season, but he also cautioned against getting too overconfident. “Listen we’re taking this one game at a time. At the end of the day we are happy where we are. We could be even better if we would have made some better choices. But we’re striving to get better every game. Yesterday I told the guys ‘We need to make sure we don’t get too big of heads. We need to think that we are 0-0-0.’ Every time approaching it that way; we’re going to give the guys Sunday and Monday off and we’re going to forget about this game and focus on LA." The Opening 45

Vancouver had some noticeable early jump to the match as Real Salt Lake was playing a high back-line and living dangerously. Octavio Rivero was able to get behind Aaron Maund as he looked to score his first of the season. Rivero's shot rolled wide of the far left post. Moments later, a Kekuta Manneh shot was deflected by Maund and nearly found a home in the RSL net as Nick Rimando was sent the wrong way. Cristian Techera had his shot saved by Rimando in the 9' minute as the ball then looped high in the air almost landing in the Real Salt Lake net. 25 year-old Aaron Maund cleared the ball off the line just as Manneh looked to have an open header. The snake-bitten Whitecaps have had trouble finding the back of the net and that includes not scoring any goals from open play this season. Although they had the majority of scoring chances in the opening forty-five. Converting those chances and finding a goal remained an obstacle. Octavio Rivero was able to split the RSL back-line in the 28' minute. Rivera fired a point-blank shot on target that goalkeeper Nick Rimando did well to save and clear away for a corner. Scoring opportunities were certainly there for the taking, however the goals just did not materialize in the first half. Not only was the score-line even, but so was possession with each team controlling 50%. Stunned by #VWFC's lack of, well anything... And then you begin to wonder if they've actually gotten their DPs right... — Kurtis Larson (@KurtLarSUN) April 17, 2016 So the conversation is switching from "are they scoring from open play?" to "are they ever going to score at all?" #WhitecapsFC #VWFC — FTBL Podcast (@FromTheBackline) April 17, 2016

The Second Half

Vancouver continued with mounting pressure with chance after chance. Octavio Rivero was able to nic the ball off of centre-back Justen Glad deep in RSL territory. Nico Mezquida was able to go 1v1 with Nick Rimando. The former UCLA product was able to make himself as big as possible as he denied Mezquida's shot from in close in the 49'. All the chances Vancouver had that they did not capitalize on, came back to bite the Caps. Yura Movsisyan hit the post before David Ousted was able to stop his effort. After a Whitecaps turnover from Fraser Aird, Joao Plata was able to find Juan Manuel Martinez in the 55' minute. Burrito, as he is affectionately called, dribbled around Kendall Waston and fired his shot past Ousted. Real Salt Lake found that breakthrough goal as Vancouver was caught after a costly error. Looking to shake up his lineup, Carl Robinson made the first substitution of the match as Christian Bolanos entered the pitch for Nicolas Mezqudia. With Vancouver pushing forward thanks to second half substitutions featuring Masato Kudo, Erik Hurtado, and Bolanos. The Caps were left vulnerable at the back with three defenders protecting David Ousted. Joao Plata was looking to double Real Salt Lake's lead in the 81 minute as he darted in on goal. The Ecuadorian's shot appeared to be heading into the net, until Tim Parker raced back and made a terrific goal-line clearance to save the day. Vancouver was needed to score without giving up another goal. That elusive goal of any kind... did not arrive for the Vancouver Whitecaps and they suffered their third consecutive defeat in a row. Under Carl Robinson that has never previously happened. Vancouver has now gone 7 matches without scoring from open play. Real Salt Lake didn't have as many goal-scoring chances as Vancouver did, but they scored the goal they needed to earn all three-point and remain the only MLS team not to lose this season. The Whitecaps will have to go back to the tactics board. Man of the Match



Nick Rimando

Rimando was spectacular in the first half and did a great job shutting the door as Vancouver pressed with chance after chance. Rimando finished with four saves in what was his 399 MLS start. He earned his second consecutive MLS clean sheet and had this to say on the big win. "I think everyone would put their hand up and say we have to get a little tighter. They got behind us a lot in the first half, but we dealt with the situation and that’s a good thing. When we’re put in some difficult situations and you can come out of them because the guy next to you is helping you out, that means you’re doing something right and these guys on the back line are working hard and we’ll continue to work hard.” Who was your Whitecaps Man of the Match?

Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted(C); Fraser Aird 83 (Erik Hurtado), Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Andrew Jacobson 78 (Masato Kudo), Matias Laba; Cristian Techera, Nicolas Mezquida 61 (Christian Bolanos), Kekuta Manneh; Octavio Rivero. 4-2-3-1. Real Salt Lake Starting XI: Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Justen Glad, Aaron Maund, Demar Phillips; Kyle Beckerman(C), John Stertzer, Luke Mulholland 75 (Jordan Allen); Joao Plata, Yura Movsisyan 90 (Devon Sandoval), Juan Manuel Martinez. 4-3-3