Whitecaps still have belief, confidence after disappointing loss: coach

The team held strong through the first two thirds of the game and went into the half up 1-0. But the squad’s energy was “zapped” in the 82nd minute when Sporting scored their second of the night, said Vancouver’s interim coach, Craig Dalrymple.

“The first 15 minutes of the second half we were strong, we were in control, we weren’t gifting them too many opportunities,” he said. “Once the momentum swung with a fatiguing team, it was hard to get it back in our favour.”

The final damage was a 4-1 Kansas City win.

Teibert said after the match that the Whitecaps “crumbled” and publicly apologized for their performance.

The club will be looking to prove themselves on Sunday, he said at training this week.

“It’s about righting our wrongs. We can’t play how we finished that game (on Wednesday),” Teibert said.

Getting back on the field is the only way to get past the defeat, said ‘Caps fullback Jake Nerwinski.

“We’ve just got to learn from it quick and move on and know that we have to get points now,” he said. “That’s really all that it is. You just kind of accept what happened, right some wrongs and get back out there.”

Dalrymple expected “doom and gloom” at training on Thursday given the result but found the opposite.

“Regardless of the result (on Wednesday), there’s still a lot of belief and confidence in the group,” he said.

The Whitecaps were without some of their marquee players Wednesday night, with several athletes, including captain Kendall Waston, striker Yordy Reyna and teenage star Alphonso Davies, playing for their national teams.

With international duties now done, the players have returned to Vancouver, where they’ve injected a much-needed “spark” at training, Dalrymple said, adding that he expects them all to be available for Sunday’s game.

Teibert played all 90 minutes of the Canadian men’s team’s 5-0 victory over Dominica on Tuesday, then flew back from Toronto and came off the bench for the Whitecaps in the 69th minute of Wednesday’s game.

The 25-year-old said he’s feeling good, despite the packed schedule, and is ready to go for the crucial battle against LAFC (16-8-8).

“My body feels good,” Teibert said. “This is what we work all year long for, this is what the work in the gym is for, this is what all the extra hours are for, for taking care of your body and producing when the team needs you most.”

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VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (12-13-7) AT LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB (16-8-8)

Sunday, Banc of California Stadium

FRESH GROUND: Sunday will mark the Whitecaps’ first visit to LAFC. The expansion team has only lost once at home in their inaugural season, posting a 9-1-6 record at the new Banc of California Stadium this year.

HEADMASTER OUT: Vancouver will be without their leading scorer for Sunday’s match. Kei Kamara was handed a red card for violent conduct after he put his hands in the face of Sporting Kansas City’s Johnny Russell following Wednesday’s game. On Friday, an independent panel denied an appeal of the red-card suspension. Kamara has 14 goals in league play this season, including several off of his head.

LAST MEETING: When the Whitecaps LAFC back in April, the visitors waltzed away with a 2-0 win. Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi scored for L.A.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Whitecaps still have belief, confidence after disappointing loss: coach

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