Djordje Mihailović Hat Trick Lifts Colorado Rapids to Road Win at St. Louis

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – What a difference a week and two wins makes. On Wednesday night Colorado Rapids traveled to St. Louis CITY for the second game in a three game week. Djordje Mihailović and company were looking to build on Saturday’s performance. Emotionally, Rapids fans were looking for the club to exorcise demons from this fixture last year.

Chris Armas rotated the squad for the midweek game. Sebastian Anderson started at right back. Captain Keegan Rosenberry was moved over to left back with Sam Vines on the bench back from an illness. Jackson Travis was out from a stress fracture sustained last Saturday. Oliver Larraz started in the double pivot along with Cole Bassett, with Connor Ronan on the bench. The starting lineup was Lamine Diack made the bench for the second game in a row.

Former Rapids second round draft pick Anthony Markanich started at left center back in a back five for the home side.

The first half was back and forth. Djordje Mihailović scored his sixth goal of the season just nine minutes in. Anderson took a long throw into the box. The ball bounced past two center backs and the Serbian American headed it home to make it 0-1.

The teams traded chances after that. Eduard Löwen and Tomas Totland had looks. Lalas Abubakar was called for handball in the box, battling with Hosei Kijima for the ball. This after Abubakar was lucky to not get called for handball in the 59th minute on the weekend. Löwen went top left corner on the spot kick, hitting the underside of the crossbar.

Omir Fernandez was in on goal late in the half, set up by Bassett but he couldn’t connect with the cross on a kick in the air. Kévin Cabral had an open shot blocked by Markanich. Minutes later, Bassett was set up by Rafael Navarro, shooting the ball well over the bar. CITY turned up the pressure as the game went on with Markanich shooting right at goalkeeper Zack Steffen to end the half.

The second half had more chances in it. Mihailović pressed a defender and won the ball in the 58th to ultimately get Fernandez another open shot. Roman Bürki made a sprawling save. It was the fourth really good look a Burgundy Boy had that was not finished.

Two minutes later, Mihailović gave Colorado some breathing room. Bürki collected the ball off a long throw in from Rosenberry. The goalkeeper tried to distribute the ball quickly, but his pass was picked off by Mihailović, who slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.

St. Louis had their looks; there was just no end product. They faded after that second goal. João Klauss had a chance on a corner that he wasn’t ready for. The ball bounced off him awkwardly and was dealt with. Hosei Kijima had back-to-back looks in the final minutes. The first was blocked. The second went over the bar.

The Rapids defense held firm. Abubakar and Andreas Maxsø had critical blocks. Larraz (despite the Apple TV crew mispronouncing his name) got stuck in a few times. CITY’s attack fizzled out and the Rapids were cruising.

There was one more wrinkle in the final seconds of stoppage time. Substitute Calvin Harris went after it with the result decided, winning a penalty. Mihailović took it, despite missing his PK at Seattle Sounders. He buried it bottom right corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. It made for a perfect hat trick. The match ended 3-0 with the pen being the final kick of the game.

Both teams miss chances:

This game was like Monday Night Wings Night at PJ Flatts. Delicious, messy, and scatterbrained. Both teams had plenty of looks. St. Louis will be upset with themselves that they didn’t put those chances on goal to test Steffen. Löwen’s penalty was an inch or two from being unstoppable.

For Colorado, Mihailović was the only player who took his chances. Fernandez, Cabral, and Bassett all had great looks at goal. Bürki is a great goalkeeper. It just wasn’t an offensive night for either team.

“Another clean sheet. Two in a row. That’s probably what I’m most proud of from this game. We continue to grow as a defensive team,” Mihailović said in his opening statement.

Djordje Mihailović Hat Trick!

What a night for the Rapids DP 10. Three goals. One set piece, one gagenpress, one penalty. The first two sequences start with a long throw in from a fullback. St. Louis made three mistakes and he made them pay. He coupled that with good work in possession and a great pressing work rate. He now has 8 goals on the year, one away from his season high from 2022.

It’s just what he needed after playing well in defeats before the international break. Ralf Rangnick would be so impressed if he watched this matchup between his former assistants.

“So much of our attack relies on Djordje. We put a lot on him. He puts a lot on himself. The team is understanding him more. We try to put him in position to finish our attacks. Nice to see that he scores in different ways. We’ve said it now for a while now: He’s heating up. He’s helping our offense get going. His goal contributions. There’s more to come,” Armas told Burgundy Wave postgame.

“The first one, I was surprised honestly the goalkeeper didn’t come for the ball. These are things we work on in training, on set pieces. I was just in the right place at the right time (twice). I didn’t crash the box. I was surprised with the decision of the goalkeeper. I don’t think he saw me,” Mihailović added.

“I was five for five before I missed in Seattle. Nobody’s perfect from the spot. I don’t think about this stuff the next time I take a penalty. It’s nice to get my hat trick,” he said when asked about making this penalty after his previous miss at Sounders.

Sebastian Anderson puts in a shift:

This was just Anderson’s third start of the MLS season. Despite training well and finishing last year on a high, it’s been hard for him to take the spot of Captain Rosenberry. With injuries at left back, he got his chance. He was much better than he was at Houston Dynamo. He had an assist on the first goal. His defensive work rate was excellent as well. He brought energy that helped the team get their second straight clean sheet.

“Solid performance. We have trust because he’s earned that. Coaches can give players confidence. Only reliable mature performances and them being part of a victory, the self belief will keep that going. It was solid from Sebby,” Armas said of the 21-year-old right back.

Potentially great three game week:

What a difference a week off and two wins makes. Colorado were reeling going into the international break. Four losses in five games with 13 goals conceded. Armas gave the whole team a week off. The outperform Austin on Saturday then have a measured performance in this one with Mihailović being the hero.

“I would think there will (be squad rotation). We’ll take a look. I have a lot of confidence in our roster. I have confidence in our depth. I control the minutes with the staff. I like that there’s internal competition that’s driving the team forward,” said Armas.

Now they take on a beatable CF Montreal side. A bit of squad rotation and some big plays from their key players and Colorado Rapids could be looking at a nine point week.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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