Vancouver Whitecaps FC coach Marc Dos Santos called conceding the decisive goal in stoppage time āheartbreaking,ā and he was frustrated that his teamās edge in possession didnāt translate to more chance creation.
But his biggest gripe after a 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy Sunday at Dignity Heath Sports Park was for referee Victor Rivas for a āvery bad decisionā leading up to Kai Koreniukās winner for the Galaxy.
āWhat Iām more frustrated [by] is that I think the referee had a very bad decision on the foul he gives on [Russell Teibert] that originates them being in our half and scoring the goal,ā Dos Santos told reporters in a video conference call after the match.
On the play in question, Teibert chases Carlos Harvey and wins the ball as Harvey goes to ground. Rivas blew his whistle for a foul and booked Teibert for the challenge in the 89th minute.
Moments later, Cristian Pavon sent a cross to the edge of the six-yard box where Koreniuk loses his mark to finish first time.
āThereās a play with Rusty that goes from a very clean tackle from Rusty, a very good ball that he won and ready to initiate a counter attack of 5v4 and the ref does an incredible mistake, calls the foul, gives the yellow card, puts LA in our half,ā dos Santos said. āFrom that moment, they get something, a cross in ā we spoke so much about preventing the cross, thatās the type of game LA plays ā unfortunately, when you start getting tired, you lose a little bit of sharpness and decision making.ā