ClapThe Colorado Rapid’s interim coach, Conor Casey made his first appearance last night as the Vancouver Whitecaps visited in Commerce City, Colorado. However, the end result of the Rapids racking up their seventh straight loss was not what Casey had hoped.
After losing its last six games, the Colorado Rapids once again failed to get the job done after Andy Rose, a late substitute scored ending the 2-2 tie and giving the Vancouver Whitecaps the victory. Commenting on the loss, coach Casey said,
“Disappointed. I’m disappointed for the guys once again. They deserve to win and have been working hard to get there.”
Major League Soccer
Vancouver jumped into a 2-0 in the first half with striker Fredy Montero scoring their first as well as earning an assist on the goal by Lucas Venuto. Colorado was able to tie the game after two penalties from Kei Kamara, and that levelled the match. Commenting on the energy and fight of Colorado, Andy Rose, a midfielder with Vancouver said,
“They had certainly a lot of energy and a lot of fight. We have a lot of respect for the players on their roster, incredibly talented players that are very proven in MLS, so it was a really tough test. 2-0 up on the road, you expect to come home with three points, but it’s a credit to them to battle back. They never gave up.”
Fredy Montero’s goal came 16 minutes into the first half after he sprang free to pick up a pass by Lass Bangoura and putting it past Tim Howard to put the Whitecaps up 1-0. It took only ten minutes for Vancouver to increase their lead to 2-0 when Montero sent the ball to Lucas Venuto who put it past Howard.
The Rapids managed to reduce the lead to 2-1 after scoring at the 38th minute mark with a penalty kick that was awarded after officials called Inbeom Hwang for his takedown of Kellyn Acosta. That saw Kei Kamara lining up for the shot and capitalising on Hwang mistake.
The two teams both possessed the ball almost equally but it was the Rapids that outshot Vancouver but it was the Whitecaps that were on target, and that made the difference. Colorado was successful in the second half applying pressure against Vancouver, and that saw frustration building that resulted in another penalty kick going to the Rapids, and one that made full use of to tie the match 2-2.
Kellyn Acosta nearly put the Rapids in the lead after going down the ride side bypassing Vancouver’s defense and sending a shot towards Maxime Crepeau, but the goaltender blocked the shot. His talent is not lost on Andy Rose, who commented,
“Max is incredibly talented and a big part of our team and once again today he came up big.”
The hope for Colorado of ending their losing streak came with 13 minutes remaining in the second half after they lost Diego Rubio due to a red card. That left them with ten on the field for the remaining minutes of the match. Commenting, Conor Casey post-match said,
“I haven’t seen it. Obviously, it had an effect on the game. We had good momentum and it looked like we were able to turn it into three points.”
Shortly after Rubio left the game, Vancouver scored, but that goal was discounted due to Andy Rose being offside. However, Rose was handed redemption after Rose scored the winning goal with a sneaky shot past Tim Howard to put Vancouver with a 3-2 lead.
The display showed the liabilities of the Rapids defense that has been evident all season. It is an issue that interim coach Casey intends to address. Commenting post-match, Casey stated that goals are still catching them adding,
“It’s a difficult balance. We want to play attractive we want to play forward, especially at home. It’s a tough balance. At the end of the day I want to win and so does this team and so does this club.”
The Colorado Rapids will next face off against the Real Salt Lake on Saturday and hope to get its first win of the season, while the Vancouver Whitecaps now return home to welcome Portland on Friday. The bottom line is Colorado is in trouble and without serious change, will fall to the wayside and not be in a position that will allow them to catch up and return to being relevant.
