Honeymoon Over? Timbers Take Rapids to Woodshed With Sam Vines Own Goal.

PORTLAND, Ore. – That was the mother of all reality checks. On Saturday night, the Colorado Rapids opened the 2024 season at Portland Timbers. It looked like last year’s opener in Seattle in the first half. It’s just one game, but has it ended the Chris Armas honeymoon phase?

The first ever lineup from Head Coach Chris Armas was straight forward based on preseason and training. Keegan Rosenberry wore the captain’s armband with Sam Vines at left back, recovered from the flu. Moïse Bombito started at center back.

Surprisingly, Oliver Larraz made his first ever MLS start in midfield next to Connor Ronan. Calvin Harris edged out Jonathan Lewis and Omir Fernandez to start at right wing. Homegrown goalkeeper Adam Beaudry made the bench over Marko Ilić, which nobody would have guessed.

Eryk Williamson opened the scoring just nine minutes in. Juan Mosquera made a great run in behind, drawing several defenders with him. That opened up space for a cross, which Williamson finished on his first touch. No one challenged the cross well enough. Ronan shifted to far to the far side. Harris did not pick up the runner either.

Antony then recorded a brace, scoring in the 14th and 29th minute. Off a throw in, he got isolated with Rosenberry and beat him to the cross from Williamson. It was great header. Bombito did not cut down the angle well enough. Again, no one pressured the assister quickly enough.

Antony then scored on a curler in transition. The Rapids were caught up field with too much space on their right flank. Antony got in behind. Despite Rosenberry catching up, he made a great finish to beat Zack Steffen. The play was initially called offside but VAR overturned the call.

It inexplicably got worse before halftime. Five minutes into stoppage time, Portland again went on the counter attack with the Rapids pushing numbers forward. Anthony squared the ball towards goal. With an opponent in the area but a few yards away, Vines had the ball go off his knee and into the open net. The half ended 4-0.

The second half was a lot better, but too little too late. Cole Bassett and Rafael Navarro got chances but did not finish. Harris scored on a header in the 55th minute. Ronan provided the assist on the corner. The goal was not called initially with the ball cleared nearly off the line. VAR rightfully gave the goal.

Jackson Travis made his MLS debut, coming on for Vines in the 63rd. The match ended 4-1.

“It’s difficult in the locker room after that. We obviously fall short. The second 45, it’s a good response. But it’s pretty far gone at that point,” Rosenberry said in his opening statement to the media post game.

“We did get punished from a few lapses. We have to look hard at that. We’ll work at that,” Armas added.

Finishing is the canary in the coal mine.

FotMob had Portland at 0.52 xG and Colorado at 1.19. The Rapids created chances. They got the ball to Navarro. Vines had that open look after that 1-2 with Larraz. Bassett created for himself and others. Djordje Mihailović did not have a great debut. The Rapids did not finish. Antony did. Last year, there was a worrying trend of Colorado winning the xG battle but losing games in moments because the opponent executed.

The pressing system is still a word in progress.

While the Sam Vines own goal looks to be the biggest howler, the first three goals show a deeper trend. In all three cases, the team is shifted fatally to one side of the pitch. There’s not enough pressure to the ball on the pass that creates the goal. There’s some issues with marking and 1-v-1 defending.

“We can be tighter when we are attacking. We can be better with the ball, our counter pressing, second balls. We’ll have to keep getting better at pressing. There’s lots of work to do,” Armas told Burgundy Wave.

Armas said this team would outwork everyone. They would press. They would be on top of teams, including when they did not have the ball. That was not the case on those three goals. This is fixable. There are layers of complexity Armas has yet to implement. These issues were also a regular problem last year.

It’s just one game, but . . .

Colorado went on the road to Cascadia last year to open the season and lost 4-0. That was the start of the worst season in club history. They won the offseason with a bunch of moves and money spent. They go on the road to a vulnerable Timbers side and lose convincingly with lots of self-inflicted mistakes. The new captain is 1-v-1 on two of the scored goals. Rosenberry was hung out to dry by his teammates. This game was reminiscent of last year in too many ways.

“I hear you. I feel for the fans after all that anticipation and an exciting offseason. I would encourage you to stick with us. We’ve got a good young hungry group. The group knows what we’re capable of,” Rosenberry said when asked what his message to supporters would be who are getting a sinking feeling, familiar to 2023.

It’s just one game. There are lots of new players and staff figuring each other out. Armas needs this team in midseason fitness to fully execute the system he’s still teaching them. But that first half performance triggered this fanbase’s PTSD. What does Robin Fraser think of this score line? What does Alex Gersbach think, being bought out and seeing Vines commit an own goal?

“Sam’s a pro. He’s been part of these types of plays. There’s no coddling. We will be and Sam will be ready for next Saturday,” Armas said of Vines’ own goal.

The home opener against Nashville next Saturday is huge. Colorado has a tough opening seven games. If they don’t pick up points in those games, all the goodwill this offseason created will be gone.

Photo Credit: Eric Stinson

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. If you want to support us, join our Patreon starting at $5/month. Also, we’re always looking for new talent to contribute to the site, develop, and give opportunities to. If you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer in any way, let us know.