P osted by

Harjeet Johal ,

September 3, 2016 Twitter

@HarJournalist Read this on your iPhone/iPad or Android device



VANCOUVER, B.C - The Vancouver Whitecaps took on the New York Red Bulls on a sunny afternoon at BC Place. The home-side was looking to jump back into the MLS western conference playoff race, while New York had other ideas. Vancouver created, chances galore, but could not find a goal as the New York Red Bulls claimed a 1-0 win in a match that also saw Vancouver Whitecaps Manager Carl Robinson ejected before halftime. A crowd of 22,120 watched as Vancouver fell to 8-13-7 on the season.



Carl Robinson was left puzzled by his sending off. A potential appeal of his pending suspension could possibly come this week.



“Well I appealed for a throw-in, which was our throw-in, and I got sent off. So I’ll have to read the rules to see what you’re allowed to do and not allowed to do. But I appealed for a throw-in which was our ball, and he sent me off.”



The Whitecaps gaffer was sent off for "Acting in an irresponsible manner." Red Nation Online investigated further.



"At the 18th and 42nd minutes of play, Mr. Robinson was warned after he verbally dissented and visually gesticulated his disagreement to the decisions of the referees. At the 45+1 minute of play, Mr. Robinson continued verbally and visually dissenting the referees decisions and was dismissed from the technical area."



The Opening 45 It was quite a tentative first half as both sides had a strong defensive shape. Vancouver lacked the necessary game breakers needed to open up the visitors for a sustained attack. New York was content with attacking on the counter with lone striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, while Vancouver went with a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of keeper David Ousted.



The best scoring chance for the Whitecaps was initiated by Ousted who sent a long ball up the pitch to Cristian Techera. The Uruguayan was able to out race defender Sean Davis to the ball as he raced in on goalkeeper Luis Robles. Just as Techera darted into the box to make his move, he lost his touch of the ball and Davis was able to recover before a shot on goal was attempted.



Vancouver created far more superior chances compared to the Red Bulls, but they could not find any goals. Erik Hurtado had two brilliant opportunities to score his first MLS goal of the season. Unfortunately, for the Caps striker, he sent both of his attempts wide of the target. Moments later Fraser Aird sent in Cristian Techera 1v1 at the side of the New York net, and he did not score. Finishing in the final third has been difficult for the Whitecaps this season and the table reflects those result of not scoring.



“I just said to the guys in there, how’d you feel?, said Carl Robinson. 'Tell me what you saw at the end of the game. And they said we’d done everything boss, we give you everything, we created, we just didn’t score. And then it was a mistake at the back, which has cost us. So it’s a microcosm of our season I think. And it is what it is. You can’t sugar coat it, and we won’t. We need to do better.”



Prior to the end of the first half, Vancouver Whitecaps Manager Carl Robinson was ejected from the match by referee Sorin Stoica. Vancouver and New York went into the interval scoreless with New York holding a possession advantage of 56% - 44%. Hurtado's failure as an MLS striker is tied to Lenarduzzi's failure to bring in a striker #HurtadoOut #LenarduzziOut #Whitecaps #MLS — Luke Dotto (@LDotto) September 4, 2016

The Second Half Erik Hurtado was up to his old tricks, he created another glorious opportunity to score, but did not come close to hitting the target. New York was offering chances, however Vancouver's Hurtado was not up to capitalizing on those chances.



A team with as much quality as the Red Bulls only needs one great opportunity to find a goal. Leading scorer, Bradley Wright-Phillips has been on target all season long and he opened the scoring in the 50' minute with a great individual effort. The 31 year-old sliced through the Whitecaps back-line, and kept control of the ball. Despite the ball hitting him in the shoulder/arm, a handball was not called. Wright-Phillips blasted a shot past David Ousted to put him into a tie for first in MLS goals with his 17th.



“I think I remember a long ball, not sure if it came from Aurélien," said Bradley Wright-Phillips. "To be quite honest I got very lucky – I think there was a few ricochets. And when it broke free I just thought hit the target, try to hit the target. I kind of blacked out, I don’t remember too much, just happy to get a goal and three points on the road.”



Vancouver brought on a pair of substitutions in the 79' minute as they pressed forward and looked for a coveted equalizer. Alphonso Davies and Masato Kudo entered the match for Cristian Techera and Jordan Smith. Vancouver shifted to three defenders at the back as a loss would severely jeopardize their playoff hopes for this season.



The New York Red Bulls didn't play champagne football against Vancouver, but they did just enough to earn three quality points on the road in a tough environment. Vancouver will look to get back into winning form next weekend in Columbus, and depending on how a possible appeal process goes, they may or may not have Manager Carl Robinson patrolling the touch-lines.



Man of the Match Bradley Wright-Phillips was the difference as lead the Red Bulls to victory on international week. New York didn't create as many scoring opportunities as Vancouver, but when they did, they scored. Bradley Wright-Phillips has flown under the radar this season and his phenomenal goal production hasn't been talked about much. He took his chances and that was the difference on the day. When a team has a quality finisher it doesn't take much to find the back of the net consistently.



Vancouver Whitecaps Starting XI: David Ousted; Jordan Smith, 79 (Alphonso Davies), Andrew Jacobson, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Russell Teibert; Fraser Aird, Pedro Morales(C), 65 (Nicolas Mezqudia), Cristian Techera, 79 (Masato Kudo); Erik Hurtado. 4-2-3-1



New York Red Bulls Starting XI: Luis Robles; Chris Duvall, Sal Zizzo, Aurelien Colin, Ronald Zubar; Mike Grella, 89 (Gonzalo Veron), Felipe; Dax McCarty(C), 76 (Omer Damari), Alex Muyl, 65 (Daniel Royer), Sean Davis; Bradley Wright Phillips. 4-2-3-1 Notes: Jordan Harvey returned to the Vancouver lineup after missing five matches with a knee injury. Russell Teibert earned his 100th cap for the Whitecaps.