VANCOUVER - Carl Robinson didn't know how to feel on Wednesday night.

The head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps had just watched his team grind out a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City in a game where they played down a man for nearly 40 minutes after defender Kendall Waston was sent off.

But Robinson was also disappointed by a miscue that saw Vancouver squander an early lead, another mistake that led to the sending off, and with referee Armando Villarreal.

"I'm not sure whether to be happy, to be frustrated ... annoyed," said Robinson. "I thought we played very well in the first half. We played some of the most exciting stuff that we have done."

Christian Bolanos, who joined the Whitecaps in the off-season, scored his first in Major League Soccer off a Cristian Techera corner in the 14th minute that he deftly slotted into the top corner with a left-footed volley past a helpless Alec Kann in the Kansas City goal.

A veteran of two World Cups with Costa Rica, Bolanos was mobbed by teammates as Vancouver (3-4-2) celebrated in front of its supporters section.

But that joy was short-lived as Sporting (4-4-1) equalized 13 minutes later when Diego Rubio also buried his first in MLS off a scuffed shot from Kansas City's Lawrence Olum.

The Whitecaps pleaded for offside, but replays showed that Rubio was level with Vancouver's defenders when Olum made contact.

"We got our noses in front," said Robinson. "Credit to them, they get back in the game, but that shouldn't happen from us. We switched off in the second phase. When you do that against good teams you get caught.

"I was pleased and disappointed in the first half."

After each team had a good chance before heading to the locker-rooms, Vancouver went down to 10 men in the 51st minute when a poor back pass from defender Tim Parker to goalkeeper David Ousted forced Waston to take Rubio down for his second yellow card.

Robinson had no issue with that card, but said the first infraction, also on Rubio in the 40th minute, didn't warrant a caution.

"That's the frustrating thing for me. But there were a number of frustrating things," said Robinson. "I tried to ask the referee at the end of the game and he didn't want to shake my hand. That might tell you something."

The Whitecaps also had a player sent off in a 2-1 loss at Sporting in March and have now been shown a red in three of their nine games this season. After Waston's dismissal, Robinson was forced to sacrifice captain Pedro Morales, who was just back from a hip injury following a three-game absence, for Pah-Modou Kah to shore up the backline.

Kansas City countered by bringing star striker Dom Dwyer on for Rubio, who was himself on a yellow, as well as midfielders Brad Davis and Graham Zusi in hopes of pushing for the three points.

The visitors controlled the play for the rest of the match, but never really threatened Ousted's goal despite their numerical advantage as Vancouver did well to hold on and even came close to snagging an unlikely winner on a late free kick that floated into the Sporting penalty area.

"Getting a point, it's OK," said Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes. "Whenever you go up a man you always want more. I thought we had a couple of opportunities here and there, but they did a good of really compacting the middle."

Notes: Both teams played the second of three games in eight days. The Whitecaps downed FC Dallas 3-0 at home over the weekend and visit New York City FC on Saturday. ... Kansas City — which opened the season with three consecutive victories, but came in having dropped three in a row — fell 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes last Sunday. Sporting travels to meet the Los Angeles Galaxy this weekend.

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