Vancouver FC suffered their first loss to Halifax Wanderers of the season, as the eastern team picked up a crucial 3-0 win at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, Aug. 12.

For Vancouver head coach Afshin Ghotbi, it was more frustration, as they’re now winless in five games.

“Winning and losing is about momentum, and it’s about habits,” Ghotbi said. “I think one of the things that is very difficult for teams that sit at the bottom of the table is how they mentally recover from losing matches.”

“I do believe our players were in a very good place before this game, but now I have to lift them up psychologically and move on and try to quickly get them to believe in the mission at hand, as we have nine games left, and as long as mathematically we have a chance at the playoffs, we’re going to fight and we’re going to try to find our way back in this competition.”

Halifax scored in the first five minutes, but Vancouver nearly tied it in the 17th minute. The ball fell to Gabriel Bitar who sent a shot just over the goal from a tight angle.

READ ALSO: Vancouver FC signs Colombian-Canadian Ivan Mejia

After that, things slowed down for a bit. The next chance didn’t come until the 39th minute, when Lorenzo Callegari found Perruzza with a great through ball, but he’d be denied by Vancouver’s Callum Irving.

Right before the half, however, Vancouver had their best look of the game from Shaan Hundal, who drifted through Halifax’s defence, but his shot would be denied by Yann Fillion.

They had another good look right on the other side of half time, but Renan Garcia was just wide of the mark.

Minutes later, Hundal fired in one that just bounced over the outstretched legs of a wide-open Alejandro Díaz.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Two minutes, two goals mean a loss for Vancouver FC to Forge

In the 57th minute, Halifax would push back the other way. There, João Morelli would carve into the box, where he’d get taken down by Rocco Romeo, winning a penalty for his team and doubling the score in the process.

Vancouver had another opportunity in the 62nd minute when Garcia, on a free kick, forced a strong save by Fillion.

Shortly after that, Massimo Ferrin made no mistake on a breakaway to make it 3-0.

Vancouver nearly found their opener in the 78th minute when Díaz managed to unleash a left-footed shot from distance, narrowly sending it wide of the mark.

TJ Tahid also had a good look in the 89th minute, firing from outside of the box, but couldn’t get it past Fillion.

Next up: Saturday, Aug. 19th, Vancouver FC hosts Pacific FC at 1 p.m. at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park.