Ginger Fireworks! Oliver Larraz Goal Leads Rapids Comeback vs SKC on 4th of July!

COMMERCE CITY – For the first time in nine years, the Colorado Rapids have won on the 4th of July. liver Larraz and company played hosted Sporting KC. It took awhile, but eventually the Burgundy Boys lit off some fireworks.

Chris Armas made just one change from the team that lost at LAFC the previous Saturday. Kévin Cabral was suspended so Omir Fernandez started with Calvin Harris on the other wing. Connor Ronan was in the double pivot with Cole Bassett. MLS All-Star Keegan Rosenberry captained the side at right back.

For Sporting, most notably, Erik Thommy started in midfield.

Colorado were the better side in the first half, but both teams had trouble lighting their fireworks. The Rapids got the ball in good areas but were missing the final action with seven crosses. They found joy through Rosenberry and Harris overlapping on the right side.

Rafael Navarro had the best look for the home side a half-hour in. Harris crossed from the end line. A defender got a touch to it, bouncing the ball to Navarro who put his shot wide from yards out.

Sporting’s looks were few and far between. Johnny Russell got in behind in the 16th minute. He chipped goalkeeper Zack Steffen from a tough angle, hitting the outside netting. Thommy should have opened the scoring in the 35th. Jake David crossed it to the midfielder at the back post. He was wide open, but got poor contact on the ball, bouncing it wide.

It was a chippy first half. Thommy had a hard tackle on Bassett with advantage played. No yellow cards were handed out by Sergii Boiko to the frustration of the home side.

Sporting raised their level to start the second half. They made a triple sub at half, bringing on Alan Pulido, Tim Leibold, and Daniel Salloi. Seconds into the half, Pulido hit the crossbar.

Russell scored in the 48th to make it 1-0. Leibold got forward and crossed with time and space. Thommy tried to shoot first time from inside the box. He made poor contact, conveniently directing the ball to Russell who buried it. Sam Vines stepped towards Thommy as the ball came in, leaving Russell wide open.

Colorado responded with energy but again had trouble with the final product. Harris had trouble beating defenders, with little help from the officiating.

Moments after Jonathan Lewis subbed on for him, Djordje Mihailović took a free pick. Oliver Larraz founds a hole in the defense and rose up to head the ball into the bottom corner. It was his first MLS goal after 1400 minutes played.

Sporting professionally time wasted to see out the game. Navarro had a point blank header at the back post that Melia saved in the 81st. The match appeared destined to end 1-1.

In the third minute of stoppage time, the Pids played a great transition sequence. Jonathan Lewis won a battle on the end line to find Cole Bassett. Eventually Mihailović played Darren Yapi in on goal. Yapi tried to round Melia, who took the striker down for a penalty.

Mihailović took the team’s third penalty in a row. He beat Melia to the bottom left corner to win the game 2-1. The fireworks came a little early for Rapids fans thanks to that Oliver Larraz goal and the penalty.

Oli Larraz first goal:

Larraz has played 1437 minutes in MLS and finally has his first goal. And it was on a set piece he wasn’t even supposed to be the main target on. Mihailović even joked that he was surprised he scored and was not looking for him on that play.

“It means everything. I was going to go celebrate with the fans but then I remembered that we needed to get another one. I turned around and everyone was pumped up. We used that energy to push and get that second one,” Larraz told Burgundy Wave.

Larraz even switched to right back 86th when Colorado made their final sub. He had played there as a teenager and with San Diego Loyal on loan under Landon Donovan.

“I was in a bit of a different role than normal (being a substitute). That is the job of whomever’s in that spot (on the set piece). I was a bit lucky that it fell to me. A good thing happened.”

“He’s a winner. It’s why I trusted him at right back towards the end of the game. He’s going to bring energy. Love that he gets his first goal,” added Armas.

“I’m buzzing for him. Me and him are pretty close off the pitch. There is that competition element. I’m really happy for him. He deserves it,” Ronan said of his understudy.

Collective resilience:

If you were at training on Tuesday, you would not have known this team lost 3-0 on the weekend. They’ve bounced back from bad losses. They’ve bounced back in games where they play well, don’t score, then concede the first goal. This match was an example of both of these.

“That seems to be happening week in week out. It’s a good thing. We’ve got that little bit of edge. We stick up for each other. We’ve showed the togetherness of the team,” said Mihailović. “We’ve been doing it all season. I’ve said it before, it’s going to take us far.”

“It’s a little bit of both, the coaches and the players. We keep encouraging each other. In the second half, SKC took the lead. We have to grind and keep the guys together. The mentality of the group. I had a belief this game we were not going to lose,” said Lalas Abubakar.

Mihailović penalty and suspension:

As Braidon Nourse put it, redemption is sweeter when you know you just got suspended. Mihailović took a yellow card in the 81st for going for a ball and hitting Tim Leibold. With that he is suspended for Sunday. It is his first yellow card suspension professionally.

“I was disappointed when it happened. I went to thinking I have to somehow win this game. It’s my first time being suspended,” the No. 10 said bittersweet.

“I gave him a hug and told him I’m proud of him. It’s a little bit unlucky. He’s going for the ball. The guy puts his head down. He puts his foot up. It’s competing,” said Armas.

“He likes the pressure. Tim Melia guessed the right way. Djordje just hit a really hard shot. A confident shot. You can see the passion he plays for. He keeps heating up.”

Mihailović is happy to be back on pens after his miss at Seattle. He moves on from it immediately and very much lives in the moment during games. He’s three for three since. Whomever’s confident in the moment is taking pens. Right now, even with Navarro on the field, it’s Djordje.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.