Storms off, on field dampen Caps’ spirits
COMMERCE CITY, COLO. — The tornado never came. Neither did a goal, although exactly why the Whitecaps were denied an equalizer Saturday will be hotly debated.
The Caps (6-5-2) lost 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids (2-2-7) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, marking Vancouver’s first back-to-back MLS losses of the season.
It was a game delayed by lightning and a thunder storm, although the twister warning thankfully proved unwarranted.
The storm at the final whistle involved referee Jose Carlos Rivero, who was approached by a parade of angry Caps — Pedro Morales, Pa-Modou Kah, David Ousted and, finally, coach Carl Robinson.
In the 82nd minute, Morales, just on as a substitute, worked some magic. He sent his free kick up and down, over the wall and into the top corner behind goalkeeper Clint Irwin. The referee, though, waved it off. “He just said that he thought Pa was pushing into the wall,” Robinson said, “which was interesting, because after the game (Axel) Sjoberg, the big defender for them, said, no, he didn’t push him. And it proves on the TV that there was no contact. I’m gutted for the guys in there because I thought we put on a decent away performance.”
Robinson’s frustration wasn’t limited to the non-goal, which is a call you rarely see, whether there was contact or not. He was also perplexed by what warranted a yellow card on a night when Kianz Froese and Kendall Waston were booked for piddly offences, while two of his attacking talents — Octavio Rivero and Mauro Rosales — were left “black and blue” by the end.
“Three players of mine get booked and we have 12 or 13 fouls,” Robinson said. “They have 25 fouls and two players get booked. Trying to explain to the group that decisions sometimes go against them is hard. We feel it’s unjustified.”