Colorado Rapids need for a difference maker seen in SKC loss
Earlier this week, Colorado Rapids head coach Robin Fraser talked about his team’s midweek match against Sporting Kansas City as a measuring stick match. So Wednesday night’s 3-1 loss to a balanced and mature Sporting side is certainly difficult.
Yet in the loss to Sporting Kansas City, the Colorado Rapids showed that there are some good pieces in place. This side certainly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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The Colorado Rapids came into this match third in the Western Conference, having pieced together the kind of surprising year that gets Fraser named coach of the year in MLS. So the loss to Sporting Kansas City, who came into Wednesday night in second place in the Western Conference, certainly isn’t a disappointing result.
But in terms of how they fared, the Rapids didn’t quite measure up against one of the top three teams in MLS.
“For us, this is a tough one to swallow. Definitely a benchmark game for us in regards to this has been one of the best teams in the league over the last ten or so years and they’re consistently at the top, especially at home,” defender Cole Bassett said after the match.
“They’re a good team and I think for us, this was a chance to go out and prove ourselves that we’re at the top of the West, and we have stuff to work on still. I think we all know that we have to take responsibility for this loss, but the good thing is that we’ve got another test at home versus the top team in the league right now, Seattle, so honestly that can’t come soon enough. We’ve got to learn from this. We had little lapses of concentration that killed us in crucial moments and those kinds of teams punish you. Maybe last week we don’t get punished versus a team that’s a little bit further down the table, but this week we do, so I think we’ve got to learn from it and then work hard at this next week of training and get ready for Seattle.”
They had 44 percent possession, generating nine shots but just three shots on goal.
With the loss, the Rapids are 5-3-1 (16 points) and now are in fourth place in the Western Conference.
What was seen is that the Colorado Rapids are lacking the type of difference makers who can impact a game against a top-tier side like Sporting Kansas City.
The Rapids are a young team and a balanced one, a squad built to consistently build results in the MLS regular season. But they were exposed against a top-tier side earlier this year in a loss at Los Angeles FC and again on Wednesday night with a lack of difference makers.
This is a side that needs to be more clinical in front of goal and better at retaining possession to take the pressure off their back line.
“When you play against good teams you can’t make mistakes and they’re obviously a good team and they played well,” Fraser said after the match.
“My message to the group is we just need to be more clinical—in front of our goal, in front of their goal—but certainly proud of their effort, never quitting. But at the end of the day, we made too many mistakes in a game of this magnitude.”
Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer