Colorado Rapids Squad Rotation Falls Short at LA Galaxy

CARSON, Calif. – Sometimes you try something different and it doesn’t work. Sometimes you come up a bit short. Wednesday night saw Colorado Rapids head to Dignity Health Sports Park to play LA Galaxy. It was a midweek game ahead of Saturday’ Rocky Mountain Cup finale against RSL.

Chris Armas made four changes from Saturday’s lineup. Sebastian Anderson was in at right back for Keegan Rosenberry. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen was captain for the night. Jonathan Lewis made his first MLS start of 2024 after 14 sub appearances. Moïse Bombito started at center back, back from Copa America. It was his first MLS appearance since June 1. Jasper Löffelsend was in for Oliver Larraz in central midfield. It was his and Anderson’s first starts since May 29 at Houston.

The first half was a mess. Colorado were lucky to only be down a goal. It could easily have been 5-1. LA had a goal called back seven minutes in as Andreas Maxsø was called for a jersey pull on Diego Fagúndez. Galaxy were frustrated that advantage was not called as Löffelsend tackled the ball to an opposing player who scored.

The Gs deservedly took the lead in the 12th. Anderson left Fagundez wide open in the box to score 1-v-1 on Steffen. Both central midfielders were out of position on the play. Steffen made several big saves in the following minutes as the Ps, Riqui Puig. Gabriel Pec, and Joseph Paintsil created chances.

Against the run of play, Lewis found Cabral for a tap in come the 32nd. It was Cabral’s third goal in two games in Carson since being traded from Galaxy. The winger did hurt his elbow on the play but stayed in the game. He was subbed out at halftime for Larraz.

Before Cabral was able to return, LA made it 2-1. A Rapids corner went all wrong as Pec cooked Connor Ronan and Löffelsend to find Paintsil. Puig made it 3-1 in the 42nd. He found space in the box and delivered a great finish that Steffen was never getting to.

The Rapids looked out of it but found a way to make it 3-2 by halftime. Rafael Navarro, who had been on an island, won a penalty on Miki Yamane on a corner. Navarro took the PK but was saved by John McCarthy. Cole Bassett crashed the box and headed in the rebound. He and Maya Yoshida appeared to encroach on the play.

Armas stabilized things in the second half with two substitutions. Larraz did well in midfield on the ball and plugging gaps. Omir Fernandez brought creativity in the final third. He came on for Löffelsend. Lewis had chances. Larraz was 1-v-1 with McCarthy in the 57th. His off balance shot was saved. Navarro had a header in the 73th that was saved.

Los Angeles had a more defensive posture. They contained the Rapids attack, including in transition. The visitors’ best chance to equalize came in the 84th. Substitute Kimani Stewart-Baynes found space in the box and squared it to Sam Vines. Vines made poor contact on the ball and it went out for a goal kick.

Colorado were unable to find an equalizer. The second half was scoreless with the Galaxy winning 3-2.

Rapids squad rotation:

Armas started three bench players and it did not really work. Anderson was at fault on the first goal. Löffelsend was aggressive in midfield, but was played around on several occasions. He and Ronan did not do a good job of containing transition play, managing space, and supporting the backline.

Bombito looked a bit leggy at times coming off national team duty. Credit to Lewis on the assist to Cabral but he had open looks in the second half that were punted into the stands.

It was much better in the second half. Larraz did well. The shape was much better defensively. Colorado just couldn’t finish their chances. Djordje Mihailović was certainly missed, with no disrespect to Bassett’s performance.

“We went toe to toe with a really good team in their building. Tale of two haves. We got punished on a few mistakes and some good goals in the first half. We had a good push after halftime. Changed the structure to a 4-1-4-1 and it helped. It minimized some unforced errors,” Armas said in his opening statement postgame.

“We thought it was important to come into this building with some fresh legs. A lot of guys logging a lot of minutes in games. We fell a little bit short tonight. But we were right there. A couple of big chances in the second half. We put them on their heels. I’m proud of that.”

“When we do give up goals against good teams away from home is when we get stretched. We could have done a better job of putting pressure on them in the first half. Not giving them time,” Bassett said when asked about the team’s struggles on the road against good teams.

Another Navarro penalty miss:

On some level, the PK getting saved is irrelevant because the Rapids still scored on the play. But this is now Navarro’s third penalty miss in a row. That’s after starting the year four for four. Great work by Bassett to finish the play. Still not sure if the encroachment was cancelled out because of Yoshida encroaching first.

Navarro has now gone five games without a goal. He has just one goal contribution (an assist vs St. Louis) since becoming a permanent Rapids player. That’s starting to become a concern. Does Bassett take over on penalties while Mihailović is still with the Olympic team?

“He’s our guy. What I look for is his reaction and his response. He had a good response after halftime. He’s our striker. Eleven goals. More to come,” Armas said of his DP striker.

All eyes on Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Cup finale:

There were positives to take from this game. It was much better in the second half. Colorado were clinical with their few looks in the first 45. Two goals on three shots. Give them a few more days to get healthy and rest and the starting lineup will be much better on Saturday.

Everyone around the club knows how important the Rocky Mountain Cup on Saturday is. They play 90 minutes like they did the second half, they’ve got a great chance to win the derby for the first time since 2020.

“This is a big game for the club and for the fans. Johnny Lewis steps in tonight, his first start of the night and does well. That gives the team a boost. We’re ready to go. We know the importance of this one,” Bassett told Burgundy Wave.

“They (the fans) see a team that fights and goes after it home and away. We’ll recover. We’ll have a few guys get healthy. We’ll be ready to go. We’ll have enough to cause Salt Lake some problems,” said Armas.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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