VANCOUVER, BC – They were made to do it the hard way, but Vancouver Whitecaps FC moved back into the playoff places in the Western Conference after battling to a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake at BC Place on Saturday.
After Pedro Morales missed a first-half penalty and Vancouver fell a goal behind just before the hour mark, the 'Caps showed fighting spirit with Morales scoring twice to help the team secure three vital points.
"I'm hot. I'm sweating,” Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson told reporters after the game. “It was a great game to watch if you were a neutral, difficult to watch if you were either manager."
It won’t be difficult for Robinson to look at the Western Conference table after Saturday’s win. The victory propelled Vancouver one point past Portland – who lost 3-2 at Toronto earlier in the day – and into the Western Conference’s fifth and final playoff spot.
"That was probably my hardest [halftime] team talk of the season,” Robinson said. “We're struggling for goals as everyone knows, we miss a penalty just before halftime on probably a decision we were lucky to get and I had to go in. The boys had played well, we'd just missed chances again, and I just said, 'Listen, you've got to keep going and it'll make it more enjoyable when we do win.'"
"Sometimes there are season defining moments," Robinson continued, "and this might be our defining moment."
What was as pleasing to Robinson as the three crucial points was the resilience shown by his side after going behind to a Nat Borchers goal. Robinson had been critical of the "disappointing" fight his squad showed in the 3-0 loss to Portland last week, feeling their heads went down after falling behind.
They bounced back in style against Real Salt Lake, recording their second come-from-behind win of the season.
"It's not easy, not only conceding but missing a penalty," he said. "You can feel sorry for yourselves and I think last week we did a little bit, but not from the want of trying. We're talking about leaders in this group. We lost a couple of leaders this year and it's time for these guys to step up."
"I challenged this week that they have to step up at some stage. I can do everything from Monday to Friday for them, [but] in big games, you need big players and today we had some big players."
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