Cheer For Chido: Rapids Community Supports Awaziem in six Goal Thriller!

COMMERCE CITY – Sure the Rapids lost in Conca Champions and have two points in two leagues games. But are you not entertained?! Chido Awaziem balling out and getting supported by the entire crowd. Lalas Abubakar made his return to Colorado. Six goals with Oli Larraz and Rafael Navarro cooking. RapidMan in one piece ski suit. Other than a win, what more could Rapids fans have wanted from an MLS home opener?

Saturday night saw the Colorado Rapids host FC Dallas in their MLS home opener. This just four days after nearly advancing in CCC.

Colorado Rapids were unchanged personnel wise from Tuesday. The team was mostly in a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 at times. Anderson Rosa made the bench with his third of four call ups for the year. Connor Ronan made the match day squad for the first time this year.

Lucho Acosta started off his move to Dallas from FC Cincinnati. Petar Musa started up top, having scored last week and in his last visit to DICK’s. Former Rapid Lalas Abubakar was on the bench.

The first half was a wild swing of momentum. Colorado had their best 40 minutes of the season attacking wise. It took just six minutes for their first shot on goal. Playing up the middle, Oli Larraz played the ball out wide to Captain Keegan Rosenberry. Rosenberry delivered a cross first time to the far post that turned out to the be on target. Goalkeeper Maarten Paes got a hand to it, but couldn’t keep it out.

Fittingly, the 15,410 fans in attendance, ready to cheer for Chido erupted.

Kévin Cabral, Djordje Mihailović, and others had chances. Set pieces. Corners. Shots on goal. Colorado was cooking. They deservedly made it 2-0 in the 39th minute. Rafael Navarro rose above everyone for a header on a Djordje cross to find the back of the net.

All that good work by the Pids was undone in two minutes. In the 43rd minute, Acosta set up Shaq Moore with a through ball. Ian Murphy tried to block the cross but couldn’t get all of it. The ball found its way to Pedrinho who smashed it past Zack Steffen to make it 2-1.

Just before halftime, Lucho and Musa had a give and go that got Acosto around Awaziem and 1-v-1 with Steffen. He chipped the keeper. The crowd was stunned as the half ended 2-2.

Dallas took the lead in the 68th minute on a messy play. Reggie Cannon and Anderson Julio battled for a loose ball on a counter attack inside the six. Cannon went down, possibly fouled from behind. Musa was there to side-heel the ball off substitute Micheal Edwards and in.

The Rapids however did not hear the bell. Oli Larraz, who’d been having a great game, got to the end line in the 72nd and crossed to the near post. Navarro went to ground for a tap in, making it 3-3.

The final 18 minutes saw big chances for both teams. Lucho took a free kick at the top of the box that was wide of the post. Logan Farrington scored on a break but was called offsides. Bassett had a great chance set up by a Navarro press but he shot wide. Mihailović was visibly upset.

The match ended 3-3 with Abubakar on the bring of subbing in.

“We feel like we’re getting close as a team. We don’t want to say we let a team off the hook. Didn’t defend the goal as good as we should have. That’s part of learning. We’re still a team that’s hard to beat,” Armas said in his opening statement.

Cheer For Chido and Lalas:

It was so fitting that the Rapids scored in the 6th minute right as Rapids fans were going to give Chido a standing ovation.

Chido had a great match again. Other than getting played around by Acosta, he was flawless. The crowd cheered him anytime he made a play. It’s taken him four games to win over his new club. What a pick up. He was subbed off in the 64th minute. He was dealing with some groin tightness. It was precautionary. Edwards came on for him and was ok. Chido has made a fantastic first impression at the club.

It was great for Rapids fans to see Lalas back at DSGP so soon. He got a big ovation when he was announced as a substitute prematch. He made the roads pre and post game. He seems well. Too bad he didn’t actually get to play. Lalas said postgame he was happy yet surprised to get the support from the fans as a former player. He and Cabral swapped kits.

Larraz and Navarro led the awoken attack:

Larraz with two assists for the first time in an MLS game including on the equalizer. Navarro with his second brace against Dallas after a big miss on Tuesday. Colorado mustered 18 shots, six on goal, 1.88 xG per FotMob. This after two straight games with no shots on goal.

“Better is the amount of chances created. Not better is the we can’t score 3 goals and not win. Upgrade your shots. It just doesn’t happen. That’s frustrating,” Mihalović told Burgundy Wave.

“I told (Larraz) before the game, he wears #8 now. It’s time to be on the scoresheet. It’s important for his development and the whole team. He’s grown a lot. It’s going to be helpful at the end of the season when we’re all tired and he can keep running.”

Keegan Rosenberry with his first MLS goal since September 14, 2022 (a 2-1 win vs San Jose). This was a great offensive game. And that was with Mihailović and Bassett not firing on all cylinders. Cabral, for all his faults, ran with intensity and attracted defenders, to create space for Navarro. There’s lots of ways to contribute. This team is still set up to score a bunch of goals, especially at home.

“No not even close. (Julio) came in quick. I just tried to ride the tackle into a cross and put it in a dangerous area. I don’t know if you could tell from the lack of celebration, I laughed it off. It wasn’t very purposeful. They all count the same. I’ll take it,” Rosenberry said of his opening goal.

Blew a two goal lead but still an entertaining game:

This was the first game where Colorado’s defense did not make the opponent uncomfortable. Musa and Acosta are a great pair. They’re really hard to stop. The defense did not space well on the first conceded. The second was just Acosta doing his thing as an MLS MVP. The third goal was a comedy of errors and possibly a foul. That one deserves a look back.

“The positive takeaway is we go down 3-2 and don’t throw the match away. We climb back and get a point from it. I think we lose the game in those 5 minutes at the end of the first half,” Rosenberry said.

“It’s a step in the right direction even though it’s a disappointing night. We will find that balance. We were focusing on the offensive side of things. In games past, we’ve showed we have the defensive side of things. When we put those two things together, we’re going to mature into the team we want to be,” Larras added.

Colorado eventually became a great attacking team last year. They’ve showed they’re capable of being a great defensive team. Clean up the mistakes and find that balance, Armas and company will be ok.

Also Anderson Rosa made his debut. Good possession based fullback out of the draft. Needs to work on his 1-v-1 defending. But didn’t look out of place.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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