Calvin Harris Brace! Colorado Rapids Get 9 Point Week! Roll CF Montreal!

COMMERCE CITY – Nine point weeks are rare. They’re also extremely fun. On Saturday, Calvin Harris and the Colorado Rapids hosted CF Montreal. It was Djordje Mihailović’s first game against his former club.

Chris Armas again did some squad rotation to close out the three-game week. Sam Vines returned to left back off illness with Sebastian Anderson on the bench. Connor Ronan started in the double pivot with Cole Bassett. Oliver Larraz was on the bench. Calvin Harris made his first start at right wing since May 18 at RSL.

The first half got off to a slow start. Montreal came out in a defensive posture. Colorado threw numbers forward but had trouble creating chances on goal. After some nice passing around the box, Calvin Harris forced a foul from Montreal left back Raheem Edwards in the 27th minute.

Mihailović provided the service. Harris found some space in the box and got air to deliver ahead on goal. Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois made the save but Harris followed up and headed the rebound home.

CFM came out of their shell after that getting a few crosses into the box but nothing on goal. Harris made it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime. Some quick passing from Rafael Navarro and Mihailović played Harris in between the center backs. He got a step on the last defender and beat the keeper to record his first brace as a professional.

Montreal made an impact early in the second half. The created a 2-on-1 in the 53rd minute. Lalas Abubakar tried to intercept a pass to set up a tap in but put it into his own net for an own goal to make it 2-1.

The two sides traded chances. Andreas Maxsø had multiple looks on corners. Montreal continued to try to chip Zack Steffen and attack in transition. The Rapids put the game away in stoppage time. VAR had referee Rosendo Mendoza go to the monitor to review a possible handball. Maxsø and George Campbell battled for a ball on a corner. Campbell was called for a handball.

Mihailović took the penalty and buried it. It was his second penalty goal of the week and seventh in five games. Oh, and it was in his first game against his former club.

Rafael Navarro might have been upset to not get to take the penalty. Mihailović and Bassett made it up to him, setting him up for a simple finish in the fourth in stoppage time. The match ended 4-1.

Calvin Harris brace!

What a night for the 24-year-old. He showed his growth and versatility in scoring two very different goals. It was his third and fourth goal of the season and his first brace. He’s grown so much in the year and half he’s been with the club.

“We wanted to have fresh legs but continue the momentum. Who do you call upon? The hunch was to go with Calvin. He was hungry. He’s been training well. He is goal dangerous. Both sides of the ball, he’s meeting the demands. I tell him not to worry about the goals. Meet the demands physically and the goals will come,” Armas said of Harris.

“Very happy to get a brace in the game. It feels great. A really strong attribute of the team is depth and competition. Djordje, the weight of the pass made it easy for me to run onto. For me, I enjoy the competition,” Harris said.

“The hardship of last year has added to the character of the team for this year. We’re all very grateful. The way that we show that is through our hard work.”

Mihailović and Navarro fittingly topped off the week with goals to make it 4-1. It was the first time Colorado’s scored that many goals since 2022 against Minnesota United. The No. 10 now has 11 goal contributions in 10 games.

Imperfect defense. Lalas Abubakar still makes mistakes.

Maybe the one blemish on the night was the goal conceded. In Abubakar’s defense, if he didn’t get to the ball first, it was going to be a goal anyways. He nearly cleared it away from goal. The bigger concern is how the team let that situation come up in the first place.

Still, this is three bad situations Abubakar has been in through three games: One handball that was not called, a handball that was called, and this own goal. Abubakar has done good work with Moïse Bombito called up for Canada. There’s still some concerns.

“It was not good enough. We conceded too many goals. We had a talk with the whole back line, the coaches, and the keeper. We stepped up. Hard work is the key,” Maxsø said of the improved defense coming out of the international break.

We stand with Bombito. No room for that bs.

Fans and players showed support for Bombito on the night, who was subjected to racist abuse after his first game in Copa America. Centennial 38 had a tifo referencing his Rapids and Canada shirt numbers and his Instagram story responding to the abuse.

“It’s such a shame. It hurts seeing it from afar. We stand strong against this type of behavior. Pádraig (Smith) has spoken to Moïse. I’ve spoken to Moïse. The team, our fans are supportive of Moïse. He knows that he’s loved over here. This is really disgraceful. The best part for Moïse is he’s so well put together. His character. His self belief. He says ‘I’m past it.’ We’re behind him,” Armas told Burgundy Wave.

“It happens in football as much as we don’t want to see it. I’ve had that happen to me as well a couple of times. I reached out to him and made sure he’s all good. He’s a strong individual. I’m sure that he’ll be alright,” added Harris.

“He got a lot of slander after a tackle. It’s football. Tackles happen. We’re going to stick by his side,” said Vines.

Maxsø put it more bluntly: “Small people with small minds. It’s unacceptable.”

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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