Seattle counter-attack sinks Caps
Beitashour: ‘They’re a smart team. They’re mature. They’ve been around the block’
Steven Beitashour sounded sick to his stomach after Saturday’s 2-0 loss.
From the fullback’s perspective, the Whitecaps gifted the visiting Sounders an early goal at B.C. Place, which was as good as handing them three points.
Vancouver chased the game from there, which is never a fun plan against a veteran Seattle squad.
“It was too easy of a goal,” Beitashour said of Chad Barrett’s opener just five minutes in. “We can’t do that. We’ve got to be smarter and sharper at home.
“It’s definitely disappointing. Being at home. Against a Cascadia rival. The whole thing. That first goal deflated us. Deflated the crowd. You could tell.”
Seattle had barely touched the ball when Barrett scored his first of the season.
Caps forward Octavio Rivero had leaped for a header, and the ball regrettably landed at Clint Dempsey’s feet on the Caps’ side of half.
The U.S. international smartly picked out Barrett, in behind Kendall Waston, and Barrett finished well with the outside of his right boot, beyond a challenging David Ousted in goal.
Barrett, who also scored at B.C. Place in a 2-2 tie last year, had only started because designated player Obafemi Martins was back in Seattle with an injured leg.
The Caps said they’d prepared all week for Seattle’s desire to counterattack in that left channel, but the well-travelled Barrett struck a second goal from a similar spot shortly before halftime and the Caps were done.
Their frustration showed in the second half.
“It’s tough,” said Beitashour, who’d missed two games with a glute strain and watched Ethen Sampson and Tim Parker take turns filling in.
“They’re a smart team. They’re mature. They’ve been around the block a few times. They know how to keep the ball and make us chase and tire us out.
“You’re just chasing empty grass around. Chasing the ball. It’s a big pitch and when you’re down 2-0 you have to chase, you can’t just sit back.
“It’s a tough situation to be in and we’d like to not go down in the first place.”
The Caps (6-4-2) came into the game tied with Dallas atop the Western Conference standings. They had a chance to again take sole ownership of first with a win because Dallas played to a scoreless tie against the New York Red Bulls.
Instead, they were taught a lesson in lethal finishing by last year’s Supporters Shield winners.
It was the Caps’ fourth loss of the season, but they’ve yet to drop backto-back games.
“We know we’ve got a good team,” said Beitashour. “But we want to get to a great team. And in order to get there, we have to cut this stuff out.”