VANCOUVER — At a time of the year when they need to be playing at their best the Vancouver Whitecaps struggled in a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer Friday night.
The defeat was another stumble in Vancouver's race for the playoffs. The Whitecaps slipped into eight place in the MLS Western Conference while losing their third consecutive game. Vancouver's season-high winless streak is now five games (0-3-2). The team has scored once in four games while allowing two goals or more for the eighth time in 10 matches.
"The result disappoints me," said Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson. "It was a very big game against a conference rival. We need to be better.
"It wasn't a great performance today but we still had a number of chances. We conceded two bad goals, which has been a problem this year. It is what it is. Do we need to be better? Yes, 100 per cent."
Simon Dawkins and Quincy Amarikwa scored for the Earthquakes, who won their first road game of the season. It also was San Jose's first win in seven games at BC Place Stadium.
Nicolas Mezquida scored on a header late in extra time for the Whitecaps.
With nine games left, Vancouver has 30 points from an 8-11-6 record. Robinson believes his team must win five or six games down the stretch.
"If we don't get them, we won't get the playoffs," he said. "Every game is a cup final. We know that now."
Vancouver has two wins in its last nine games.
The win moved San Jose (7-6-10) past Vancouver into seventh place with 31 points. That leaves the Earthquakes one point back of the Portland Timbers in the race for the sixth and final playoff spot.
Dawkins used his speed and a blistering shot to make it 2-0 in the 60th minute, silencing a sellout crowd of 22,120 at BC Place Stadium.
He took a pass from Alberto Quintero, then blew past defender Tim Parker before beating Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted with a low, hard shot.
The Earthquakes opened the scoring in the 14th minute off a corner kick. Amarikwa headed a ball that Ousted grabbed, but then dropped as he was falling back into the net.
The Whitecaps argued the ball had stayed out of the net but replays showed it had crossed the goal line. It was Amarikwa's third goal of the season.
San Jose coach Dominic Kinnear liked the confidence his team showed.
"It helped to get the early goal," he said. "It gave us some belief and confidence.
"I thought we played well, broke well and created some good chances. Vancouver is a tough place to play. To come out of here with three points, I'm really happy."
As the Whitecaps fade, San Jose is catching a second breath. The Earthquake are riding a season-high five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3). They are 1-5-6 on the road but are 1-1-3 in their last five away from home.
Another problem the Whitecaps face is their home record of 5-3-5 is the worst of any of the teams in playoff contention.
"It's not the fortress we like," said Robinson. "We need to change that."
Whitecaps defender David Edgar said its too early for the team to panic.
"It was disappointing to get beat," he said. "I think overall we put a performance together that deserved more from the game.
"The results will come. We just have to stick together as a group. We have to dust ourselves off and work hard again this week."
Robinson hinted he may be doing some lineup shuffling.
"There comes a point where you look at your team and you try and pick the players who deserve to play," he said. "I will look at a number of things. There are players itching to play."
