Colorado Rapids Dominated in Atlanta Ahead of Rocky Mountain Cup

Colorado Rapids and Atlanta United were coming off tough losses headed into their Wednesday night game in Georgia. The Rapids’ nine-game unbeaten streak ended on Saturday and soured the mood. Head Coach Robin Fraser’s side needed a bounce back performance going into the Rocky Mountain Cup.

The Burgundy Boys again found themselves shorthanded. Ralph Priso and Danny Leyva started with Diego Rubio and Bryan Acosta out injured. Alex Gersbach got his first league start since March 11 with two fullbacks injured as well. The bench was on the young side with several players who’d spent most of the year with Rapids 2.

First half saw Colorado Rapids dominated by Atlanta. The home side outshot the visitors 14-1 and had almost 70% possession. Leyva was called for a penalty on a handball eight minutes in, as Luiz Araújo’s shot deflected off Gersbach and up to hit Leyva’s outstretched hand. MVP candidate Thiago Almada shot well wide on the penalty.

Almada redeemed himself in the 29th minute with a wonderful free kick, bending it over the wall and into the far corner. Goalkeeper William Yarbrough’s reaction said it all as Colorado could do nothing to stop it. The half luckily ended 1-0 with Atlanta getting attack after attack.

“We were just too spread out. It was easy for them to find ways to get out. They had a lot of space to play in to create chances. When they have time and space, it’s difficult to play against. Being closer together, being more compact,” said Priso.

The Rapids were very late to return to the field before the second half. Only Yarbrough was on the field a few minutes early, as Fraser likely gave a talk to the rest of the team.

The energy improved for a few minutes with some good work by Connor Ronan. But then the game reverted to Atlanta getting a series of opportunities and Colorado unable to respond. Priso had a good opportunity an hour in but hesitated, wasting it.

Jonathan Lewis and Moïse Bombito came off the bench 64 minutes in, changing the game. Lewis did work creating multiple counter attacks. The best play led a shot from Leyva, but it was well saved by Quentin Westberg. Bombito was mobile at right center back. He made several good plays for his age to styme the Five Stripes attach.

Araújo put the game away with ten minutes to go. Playing out of the back, two passes easily got the DP into an attacking position. He was allowed to run right at Danny Wilson and threated a shot past the defense to score. Andreas Maxsø was nutmegged and Yarbrough was caught going the wrong way.

The match ended 4-0 with Tyler Wolff cleaning up on a broken play in front of goal. Giorgos Giakoumakis was wide open on a long ball in the 90th minute, chipping Yarbrough then running to tap in his own chip.

Reality check ahead of Rocky Mountain Cup:

The nine-game unbeaten streak was nice. But it was five draws against mostly bad teams. Two of the four wins came in the Open Cup against lower division opposition. The other two wins were against bad teams. Two straight losses show that streak was about schedule difficulty, not just progress.

“It’s one thing to chase a game but to chase a game and give up a goal is one thing. But to chase a game and give up three goals (at the end) is not ok,” said Fraser when asked about the game getting away from them.

This is the start of a tough stretch as they play RSL twice, both Ohio clubs, then San Jose. We’ll find out what this team is made of by June 3. It’s not looking great.

Fatigue and turnovers, especially in midfield:

Ronan, Priso, and Leyva just weren’t up for it in this game. Too casual on the ball. The press did not work. They managed to leave the backline exposed while simultaneously not help the attack going forward. Eerily similar to the midfield under Anthony Hudson. Priso and Leyva are young players with potential, but they’re missing the much needed experience and consistency of the injured veterans.

“We definitely are a bit fatigued. The guys in midfield put in a lot of minutes and covered a lot of yards. Throughout the group, everyone looked a bit tired today,” said Fraser.

“Guys being hurt isn’t an excuse for fatigue. We’re all pros. We should all be ready to play games every three days. That’s it,” Priso added.

The offense still struggles without Rubio:

Six shots. All outside the box. One quality look. Only 0.3 expected goals. Cabral and Barrios aren’t good enough at chasing down hopeless longballs when they’re outnumbered. The wingbacks getting forward helped stabilize possession but left the backline shorthanded when the ball was inevitably turned over.

“Too many turnover and turnovers led to counter attacks. Turnovers led to eroding our confidence. Turnovers led to us defending for quite a long time. When we’re good with the ball we can create more opportunities, we can defend less. The constant turnovers at the end of the day were the story,” Fraser told Burgundy Wave.

Lewis was a bright spot off the bench. But without Rubio, this team does not consistently score in transition or possession. Supporters are still waiting for Cabral to meet reasonable expectations.

Photo Credit: John Babiak.

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