Whitecaps return from lengthy road trip but still can't get it right at home

VANCOUVER – In a season that's been overwhelmingly positive to this point, the Vancouver Whitecaps sure have a few puzzling problems unbecoming of a team that's currently tied for first place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.

The most perplexing of those problems has been their home form, which had been a huge strength in the past. Sunday's 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City dropped Vancouver to an uninspiring 4-4-1 record at B.C. Place in MLS play in 2015. It was a disappointing defeat as the Whitecaps missed out an an opportunity to take sole ownership of first place in the Western Conference. Instead they remain deadlocked with the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas on 32 points for top spot.

"It hurts," is how Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson described yet another mediocre home performance by his side and later added "It's a tough one to swallow."

Vancouver carried play in the first half against Kansas City, but they soon ran out of the gas and allowed the visitors to take control from the second half kick off. Once Kevin Ellis headed home Krisztian Nemeth's cross to give SKC the lead in the 52nd minute, their grip on the game tightened even more and it became difficult for the Whitecaps to break them down. That's been the case far too often this season.

"We should have scored in the first half," said Whitecaps midfielder Mauro Rosales. "We created at least six or seven chances to score a goal. Then we didn't come with the right mentality in the second half, allowed them to score and they make everything difficult for us to come back."

"I think from the first minute [Kansas City] wanted to play at that [slow] pace," added Robinson. "They were allowed to do it. They shouldn't be, but they were."

It was the Whitecaps' first game in Vancouver in six weeks after being forced on the road with the Women's World Cup taking over B.C. Place. The squad survived what some termed as season-defining stretch by picking up terrific wins against the Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, and New England Revolution, even if the five-game road spell was book-ended by disappointing losses to Montreal and Colorado.

They're now back in the comforts of home, but they barely have any time to catch their breath, which was exacerbated by their loss to SKC. The Whitecaps' next challenge is to avoid the summer slump that's plagued them in prior seasons. They won just twice in 10 games last year in July and August and they've already lost their first two July games of 2015. It's not about to get any easier either. Coming up in the next two weeks are tough fixtures at Portland and Seattle.

Vancouver's depth, though improved from year's past, will be tested, especially with three additional games on the schedule with the start of the CONCACAF Champions League and the two-legged Canadian championship final against the Impact. Captain and offensive catalyst Pedro Morales missed his fourth straight game Sunday with a calf injury while Darren Mattocks and Russell Teibert are away on international duty at the Gold Cup.

The West is incredibly tight. The top six teams are on either 32, 31, or 30 points. By comparison, D.C. United is the only side in the East to have cracked the 30-point mark with with 35 points. The Whitecaps recognize the margin of error is slim. And the fact that they have a share of first place with a home record uncharacteristic of a top tier team shows they've definitely taken steps toward becoming one. The time to prove it is here.

"It's going to be nip and tuck between now and the end of the year," said Robinson. "We know where we are. We need to be better ... We will be better."

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr