Sixth Rapids Scoreless Draw: Houston Earns it as Colorado Gets Sixth 0-0 in Twelfth Home Game

COMMERCE CITY – The Colorado Rapids hosted Houston Dynamo on Saturday night. It was the 12th home game of the MLS season for the Pids and their final game before the break for Leagues Cup. It followed the same script the other scoreless home draws have had this year.

Rapids Head Coach put out the same starting lineup from the previous Saturday against FC Dallas. Andrew Gutman was at left back in a back four. Darren Yapi started up top in front of Calvin Harris and Braian Galván.

Colorado continued their trend for home games in the first half. They were energetic and put the opponent under pressure. They got the ball in good areas but again did not have the final product.

Andrew Gutman and Calvin Harris were live wires on the left flank. There were plenty of crosses towards Darren Yapi in the box, but Houston’s center backs were up to it. Connor Ronan had some good balls on set pieces, but the Dynamo delt with them. They won the corner battle 5-0 in the first half.

Keegan Rosenberry had an ambitious shot over the bar after a good build up, but it was over the bar.

There was a potential handball in the box as Bryan Acosta recovered to slide in and block a shot by Franco Escobar. VAR had Filip Dujic go to the monitor. A handball for a penalty was confirmed but Houston was found to be offside in the buildup.

Things slowed down in the second half with Houston being better on the ball. They had several chances with Iván Franco asking questions. Maybe the most dramatic came in the 61st when Yarbrough came up to get a hand on a ball to the back post by Franco.

Fraser raised the energy when he made a triple sub in the 67th with Jonathan Lewis, Michael Barrios, and Kévin Cabral coming on. Minutes later Barrios had a great look in transition but the shot was a routine save for Steve Clark. Cole Bassett had another great look in the 82nd from Barrios, but it was a tough angle and saved.

Corey Baird forced a great save from Yarbrough in the final minutes while Cabral nearly got on a breakaway but Clark beat him to the ball. The final 20 minutes paled in comparison to the first half as the match ended 0-0.

The left side belong to Harris and Gutman:

Two appearances as a Burgundy Boy, and Andrew Gutman looks like a gem at left back. He’s been great going both ways. Physical. He’s already building chemistry with the players around him.

“It’s surprising when someone comes in and fits in so quickly, especially with the altitude. That’s a testament to him. He’s been excellent. No one’s gotten the best of him. He’s been a breath of fresh air,” Connor Ronan said, complimenting Gutman.

Calvin Harris was lively in a third straight appearance. Fraser has praised his work in training. He’s earned his opportunities and done everything but get a goal or assist. He and Gutman have been dominant. Let’s see if they can do the same on the road against a good team.

“He and Andrew have done a good job of dividing up the left side. Being wide, being inside, sometime going in behind. They’ve formed a good partnership. They’re positive thinking,” Fraser told Burgundy Wave.

Performance goes begging in sixth Rapids scoreless draw:

This was the sixth Rapids scoreless draw at home for the Rapids in 12 games. They’ve been the better team overall in most of those games. But they’ve followed a similar script. Good start. Plenty of plays where they get in great positions. Poor finishing, poor passing, good defending from the opponent, and one spectacular save from the keeper gets the visitors a point they’re content with.

First half I thought we were as positive really as any game as we have been all year. The overall feeling is that we could have gotten more.

“We need to have performances like this and reward ourselves with goals” was Fraser’s response when asked what they need to do in Leagues Cup to be in a better state for the restart of MLS play.

Draws aren’t good enough anymore. If you only won one home game in a season, you deserve to finish last. Hopefully the club can put forth a good effort in Leagues Cup to be better when MLS play resumes on August 20 at LAFC.

“It’s just encouragement on and off the pitch. It will come together at some point. We have a lot of young players who are still early in their career. Once one or two of them get going, we’ll start to see that from all of them,” Ronan added.

Credit to Houston, especially on set pieces:

Ben Olsen went old school Benny Ball on this game. It worked to great extent. They absorbed pressure. Daniel Steres at outside back was effectively a third tree on set pieces. They grew into the match in the second half. They earned a draw. Dealing with 10 corners, 16 crosses, and good work from Ronan were no small feat. Houston earned this result more than Colorado came up short.

“I’m not 100% sure what the difference was between how we were able to align ourselves in the first half and get ourselves. In the second half, we didn’t get ourselves out (behind Houston’s first line) with the same time and space like we did in the first half. They did a better job in the second half. We would have liked to remain as dominant,” said Fraser.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken.

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