Sidnei Tavares Debut Disappoints as Rapids Lose at LAFC Again

LOS ANGELES – For the fifth time ever, the Colorado Rapids headed to Southern California to play LAFC in MLS play. Like the other four times, it was exciting. And bad.

Robin Fraser had such a refreshing lineup that led to some pregame optimism. New signings Rafael Navarro and Sidnei Tavares started in their first team debuts. Diego Rubio made his first start since May 13. It was a back five with the three veteran center backs starting. Marko Ilić was in goal with William Yarbrough out.

Like every other road game at LAFC, the Rapids came out and matched the home side’s intensity in the opening minutes. The gulf in quality showed itself after that. Mario González could have had a hat trick in 10 minutes with great chances, all off of turnovers at the back.

Mateusz Bogusz opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Andreas Maxsø pushed up on González on a clearing ball. He was unable to keep the ball from Carlos Vela. Vela started a transition play, finding Bogusz for a finish in the box. There was some controversy on the play as the head referee Guido Gonzales Jr. ran into Tavares, preventing him from catching up to Vela. VAR did not force a replay and the goal stood.

Moments after LAFC had a goal rightfully called offside, Tavares had a pass to Ralph Priso intercepted. That led to a counter attack with Ilie Sánchez finding Vela for a two-touch finish.

LAFC made it 3-0 at halftime in the 36th minute. Tavares turned the ball over at midfield. Three rondo passes later, Ryan Hollingshead was off to the races down the flank. He sent the ball towards goal, possibly as a cross to González, but it ended up in the side netting.

Fraser made two subs at half, bringing Braian Galván and Calvin Harris on for Abubakar and Tavares. A flat 4-4-2 formation dealt with counter attacks better. They had a renewed mentality. Fraser felt it was a step in the right direction. Where was that in the first half though? Was that on the players, the tactics, or because LAFC stopped trying so hard because they were up 3-0?

“The urgency of the second half has to be the standard for us. The only thing that is acceptable is to play with that level of urgency that we did in the second half,” said Fraser when juxtaposing the performance.

“We were able to put ourselves in positions to make it difficult for us. They had a harder time getting out in the second half. The standard of the effort and the concentration in the second half is what it needs to be,” he added.

I won’t waste your time breaking down the second half. Colorado looked better. They had some chances. LAFC played the score line and was still the better team. It was too little too late. Cristian Olivera scored on a turnover by Conor Ronan. The game ended 4-0.

Hotel California never changes:

Five games at BMO Stadium (formerly Banc of California Stadium), five losses. They’ve been outscored 11-2. They have no answer for Vela. The gap between Maxsø and Wilson got torn apart.

Colorado added to the attack during the summer window, but their backline still is a weakness. They were again poor in the ball and punished for it. The midfield is still not setup to combat those two issues. It’s hard to see that getting better in the final 10 games.

One decent debut, one bad debut:

Navarro looked good. He got the ball more than he did with Rapids 2, something Fraser emphasized. Every time, he did something productive with it. He got the ball to teammates in good areas. He was feisty. He was not goal dangerous, mostly due the lack of help around him.

“Rafael’s a really good player. He can hold the ball under pressure. We would have liked to have seen us get him some more opportunities to go at goal. His work rate was impressive,” Fraser told Burgundy Wave.

The Sidnei Tavares debut saw him subbed at half. He was underwhelming. Two turnovers leading to goals. He did not handle the physicality well. It’s his first game. He’s been settled with the team for a week. Let’s not throw the U22 signing out with the bathwater just yet.

“Sidnie is a very skillful player. He has a lot of potential to help us. What was lacking, we don’t have the rhythm together. IT’s the final action that we have to improve on,” Navarro told Burgundy Wave through a translator postgame.

Both players received yellow cards.

Fraser has to be on the hot seat:

A lot has been made the last few weeks about personnel at the club. Fairly or not, the simplest move for the club to change staff and have an effect is to fire Fraser.

The tactics remain the same. The kids aren’t getting minutes, suggesting the coaches don’t trust them. This was another non-competitive performance. This team’s competing with Toronto FC for the Wooden Spoon. No one’s job should be safe.

Photo Credit: Antonia Geiger, emdashphoto.com.

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