Jackson Travis Red Card Catalyzes Rapids Loss at LAFC

Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium might as well be the 10th level of hell for Colorado Rapids.

Chris Armas changed things up for this midweek clash. The team came out in a 4-4-2 diamond. Reggie Cannon was back from suspension at right back. Cole Bassett started at right midfield. Darren Yapi started up top. Josh Atencio was at the base of the diamond. Andreas Maxsø was the captain at center back. Homegrown Jackson Travis started at left back with Sam Vines still hurt.

Olivier Giroud had left LAFC. Denis Bouanga started up top of course. Sergi Palencia started at right back, setting up potential challenges with Chido Awaziem after their inappropriate language incident on February 25.

So the game was pretty much lost six minutes in. Travis and Palencia went up for a header. Travis outstretched an elbow and was called for a foul. Jair Marrufo gave Travis a straight red card. The official was a good 20 yards away from the play in question with traffic in midfield. The elbow was to the face but the force of contact and positioning did not appear red card worthy. It did not appear malicious. The Rapids bench and Apple TV crew were surprised at the call. VAR confirmed the sending off. Rapids fans on social media were up in arms.

Armas put Keegan Rosenberry on in the 16th minute with Yapi coming off. Colorado moved to a 4-4-1. LAFC did their thing for the 84 minutes after going up a man. It looked familiar for Pids fans who have suffered through the previous eight trips to the Banc.

Rosenberry made two great blocks in the 27th. The Black and Gold would not be denied before halftime. Bouanga got into space on 40 minutes. He tried to cut between Maxsø and Cannon. With his back to the player, Maxsø stuck his leg behind him high trying to block a shot. Bouanga was still dribbling and was tripped up. Cannon did get a touch on the ball and possibly also made contact on Bouanga. The striker buried the pen for the 1-0 halftime lead.

The second half was one-way traffic. Colorado put the occasional passing sequence together. There was a shot or two. Calvin Harris got a breakaway and tried to chip Hugo Lloris from 30 yards out but the Frenchman was off his like to block it.

In the 48th minute, Ryan Hollingshead found Javairo Dilrosun who was denied by Nico Hansen. The keeper however left the rebound for Nathan Ordaz for a tap in.

The match turned into a training session. Colorado’s pressing was limited. LAFC settled for probing possession football, playing with their food. They tore the tired defense apart in the 59th for a Javairo goal to make it 3-0.

Jackson Travis red card:

The red card changes the game. It was just a matter of when LAFC would get their first goal after that. This was always going to be a tough game. Colorado had little margin for error. It’s almost not worth critiquing the performance or the result after going down a man. The broadcast even said it turned into a training exercise. LAFC was called for 20 fouls to Colorado’s 8. There were no yellow cards.

Burgundy Wave was able to submit a pool reporter question regarding the incident. The red card was given for “direct contact to the face with arm at speed.”

Was the elbow directly to the face, yes. If that’s a red card fine. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen an MLS ref give that as a straight red. Here’s what Chris Armas told Burgundy Wave afterwards:

“That red card is a tough one for us to swallow. From the nature of the elbow that was in question, the positioning of the referee, where he has two players in the sight line from maybe 30 yards away. That’s a difficult call to make from that position and a tough one for our guys to handle. Red cards in the first few minutes change games. And it’s this is the talking point tonight. I’m not sure we can talk anything other than that. So it’s really disappointing, especially that we have a system in place that should help remove all these big decisions from games. The big decision should be helped with the VAR and I was on the disciplinary committee for years. It was always when you look at these plays, did the player, Jackson Travis, use the elbow as a tool or a weapon? I think it was clear and obvious that the player is using it as a tool. So maybe it’s a yellow card and you just get on with it. But to change the game with this, I think is something that should be looked at closely.”

The BMO Stadium curse lives.

If the 11th level of hell exists, it’s BMO Stadium for Colorado Rapids. They are now 0-9 all time at LAFC. They’ve been outscored 26-2. Pretty sure Bouanga has more than two home PK goals against the Rapids. This is one of the best transition teams in MLS. Give them space to move and pass and they will blow you out. They play to Colorado’s weaknesses as well as Portland. The red card only exacerbated the mismatch and the gulf between these two teams.

Colorado put up good resistance prior to the penalty. Given the history and where the two teams are at, it was about keeping the game tied as long as possible. Once the second goal went in, it was non-competitive. This team still has a low floor when playing against great teams and met with adversity.

“We’re not putting ourselves in good situations to help get the first goal. We’re just not playing the way that we want to or we make dumb decisions that end up costing us. You can’t put any blame on Jackson there. It’s a normal jump,” said Bassett.

Headed in the wrong direction. New formation buzzkill.

This team is now 0-8-2 when they give up the first goal this year. Three wins in their last 14 games, all against some of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Chris Armas hasn’t settled on his best starting lineup or the ideal formation. It would have been interesting to see how the 4-4-2 diamond played. Cole Bassett certainly would have liked having 11 men to try out the new tactics.

He told BW the plan was to “utilize the 4-4-2 in a way that our two pivots Ollie and Josh would try to draw them in centrally. Then I’d be able to get the ball on the right hand side and try to dictate the game from us from out wide. So kind of would have turned into like a 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2.”

He “would have been like a maybe Trent (Alexander-Arnold) role today in build up, but we obviously didn’t get to utilize that.”

They’re still too easy to score against. The summer transfer rumor mill has been quiet. With this loss, they’re now below the playoff line. Chris Armas is in a contract year. For as much joy, surprise, and success they had in 2024, they’re regressing.

This team isn’t playing playoff soccer right now. They’re back in action on Saturday vs Vancouver Whitecaps at 7:30 pm. They close out the month at Seattle and at Philadelphia Union. It’s a tough schedule. Pending a Leagues Cup run, they’re running out of time to make this season better than 2024.

“They’ve had some tough ones. Even recently, little moments change the games. They become tough emotionally to deal with,” said Armas.

“My message to my players is to increase intensity, to play with passion, to go after games and be on the front foot, and we don’t. I gave Jackson a hug after and said, ‘Listen, man, seem to be harsh.'”

Chido and Sergi play nice?

Six months makes guys calm down I guess? Other than the elbow by Travis which didn’t seem malicious (careless, maybe reckless), it’s not like Colorado was out to get Palencia. No LAFC player got into it with Chido. There was a good shot of players talking before the PK. Chido was in with a few LAFC players and it didn’t seem worse than the usual trash talk given the game state. Palencia and Awaziem were not directly against each other very often during the match.

For whatever was said and alleged back in February, it didn’t define the result. Assuming Travis didn’t target Palencia, like when a pitcher beans the batter in baseball.

Bassett didn’t put much stock into the narrative: “Once the red card happened, we knew we were in for a different challenge. We weren’t too focused on them or what happened in the last. We put that behind us.”

Also it apparently was Hello Kitty Night for LAFC.

Photo Credit: Colorado Rapids

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.