Vancouver takes another step back in loss to Real Salt Lake

The Vancouver Whitecaps took a step back Saturday with a 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake.

The loss comes after a midweek draw at Chivas USA where the side felt they had improved.

“One of the these we did real well on Wednesday was keeping our shape and being defensively organized,” coach Tom Soehn said. “That didn't translate over to this game.”

Soehn took over as coach of the Whitecaps this week following the firing of Teitur Thordarson. Soehn has said he will push the side to focus more on possessing the ball; however, his side continues to give the ball away regularly.

“We never really got going tonight,” captain Jay DeMerit said. “New regime, new tactics, and that type of stuff doesn't happen in a day.”

The loss caps a stretch of three matches in eight days that had clearly taken its toll on the side. Add to that the firing of their coach and the expansion side had a very rough week.

In spite of that, Vancouver was able to emerge with two draws before Saturday's loss at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The side received another blow Wednesday as forward Eric Hassli received his league-leading third red card of the already young season and served his fourth one-match suspension during Saturday's match.

While the frustration of bad results, injuries, a fired coach, and suspended players adds up, there is still a good attitude in the locker room.

“The good thing about this group is its strength of character,” DeMerit said. “We're going to need that now as we continue to build.”

In this match, Vancouver simply felt dominated.

“We played a great team today and they outplayed us,” Omar Salgado said. “It was really difficult for us to get the ball.”

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