Colorado Rapids grab impressive three points on the road
It is four in a row for the Colorado Rapids, who beat the LA Galaxy on the road on Tuesday night. The 2-1 win is yet another statement of intent from a Rapids side that is quietly churning out results and beating expectations.
Not to mention that this is now a fifth road win this season for the Rapids. Impressive to say the least.
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An Andre Shinyashiki header in the 73rd minute lifted a 1-1 deadlock as the Rapids opened the scoring in the 13th minute via a Johnathan Lewis penalty kick. The result now means that the Rapids have beaten the Galaxy in four straight matches and haven’t lost to the Galaxy in their last six matches.
Although the Rapids have garnered some buzz as of late, this was a big moment for a club that looks like a playoff team and an ambitious one at that.
“Honestly, we’re just trying to do our thing and to be efficient in how we play and limit teams’ opportunities and create chances,” Rapids head coach Robin Fraser said after the match.
“In terms of it being a statement to the rest of the league, I don’t even know if that’s worthwhile commenting on because there are a lot of teams who are good teams, there’s a lot of season left and we just have to keep playing well and doing our thing.”
With the win, the Rapids are now 10-4-4 (34 points) on the season. They are just a single point away from the Galaxy for third place in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy have been one of the best teams in MLS this season and consistently top three in the conference. They have played two more matches than the Rapids in fourth place.
Colorado Rapids step up on the road
It was a good game plan for the Colorado Rapids from Fraser, as he allowed the Galaxy to keep possession but limited opportunities for the home side in the final-third. It was a bend, don’t break mentality that resulted in Colorado running away with the full three points.
At some moments, it was yeoman-like from the Rapids, fitting their profile as a balanced team that defends well and wins contests.
“What a hard-fought win. They’re obviously a very good team and I was really proud of how we—it was tough. It was very tough. I was really proud of how we defended, kept ourselves in the game and really early on created what, in our opinion, should’ve been three penalty kicks, and really gave ourselves some confidence,” Fraser said.
“Even as the game wore on, as I said, they’re a very good team, they’re able to put together a lot of passes, spend a lot of time in our end of the field, but fortunately, we were able to limit their actual goal-scoring chances. I thought in the second half we got a little bit more aggressive and we were able to disrupt them a bit more and certainly in the second half we had some decent possession and it ended up creating a few good chances.
“In terms of going on the road against one of the best teams in the league and coming out of here with a win, obviously we’re extremely proud. The effort put forth by the team—I keep talking about how proud I am of this team. This is just another example. Really a tremendous effort in tough conditions.”