Mon. Nov 4th, 2024
pedro raul scissor Rapids leagues cup preview
Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken.

COMMERCE CITY – The Colorado Rapids hosted Toluca FC in the final group stage game of the 2023 Leagues Cup on Monday night. The start was delayed due to lightning. It didn’t matter as the Rapids were bad and lost 4-1.

The match was delayed by two hours due to lightning in the area. Lightning continued at a distance. It was either eight miles away or Leagues Cup leadership let it go.

Rapids Head Coach Robin Fraser made two changes from the side that lost in Nashville. Danny Leyva and Moïse Bombito were in for Darren Yapi and Ralph Priso. Diego Rubio was on the bench for the first time since June 24.

This game was intense to start. The fans, especially the visiting Toluca supporters, brought the energy despite the rain delay. Colorado matched the intensity but were not as sharp on the ball. Cole Basset had a great effort from the edge of the box in the 14th minute but Tiago Volpi made a spectacular save.

Toluca turned it on in the final 15 minutes of the half. William Yarbrough made several big saves. Then Pedro Raul scored a fantastic goal on a scissor kick, set up by Brian García. They deserved to be ahead 1-0 at half.

https://twitter.com/LeaguesCup/status/1686232815120142336

Toluca kept the ball in the second half and continued to be the better team. Colorado looked hapless for the most part. Édgar López scored a header from close range on a corner in the 76th.

Diego Rubio entered the match as part of a triple change in the 54th. He converted a penalty in the 90th that was won by fellow substitute Kévin Cabral.

If there was a wheel left on this one, they fell off in stoppage time. Almost off the kickoff, Toluca went down and scored. Jesús Angulo finished as they carved the Rapids backline apart. Then Bombito gave up a penalty that Valber Huerta converted. The match ended 4-1 with visiting fans chanting “Olé” as Toluca played keep away.

The season is over:

Colorado are out of Open Cup and Leagues Cup. They’re second to last in MLS. Unless Rafael Navarro is the next Messi, his addition is likely too little too late to salvage anything from this season. Rapids fans at this point are just hoping this team doesn’t win the Wooden Spoon. At what point do the coaches play the kids and Navarro and build for next year?

Oh so predictable:

Nothing about this performance or result were surprising. Rapids fans feel like they’re watching the exact same game over and over. The team plays with energy in the first half. They’re ok, not great in possession. They’re not good enough in either box. They fall behind, drop off in the second half, and go out with a whimper.

The FO has become a broken record blaming injuries. Fraser’s a broken record praising effort and lamenting execution and bad luck. These excuses are now falling on deaf ears.

On the bright side, Diego Rubio is back:

Rubio did not look worse than any of the other attackers who did little in this match. It was nice to see him play for the first time in two and a half months. It was great to see him convert the penalty, having missed his last one at Vancouver. Perhaps he can kickstart the offense and work well with Navarro to help the team not win the Spoon. Hopefully Cabral drawing the penalty helps his confidence as well.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken.

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