Commerce City, CO– The Colorado Rapids (5-1-9, 13th place) are back after almost two months away due to the World Cup break. San Diego FC (4-5-6, 12th place) comes to town as both teams have struggled in the first half of the season. It is an interesting battle of tactics as both sides are built around retaining possession and playing out of the back. There has never been a more WPIOOTBGW possible game than this matchup. Did the break give Matt Wells more time to instill his game plan, or will the break have the Rapids rusty? Let’s take a look at the matchup.
When: Wednesday, July 22nd @ 7:30 p.m. MST
Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
TV/Streaming: Apple TV
Two Months Later: Loss to Dallas
If you can remember that far back, the Colorado Rapids lost their last game before the World Cup break. A 2-1 loss to FC Dallas that could only be described as a “thoroughly unenjoyable experience.” The Rapids dominated throughout the match, but two penalties conceded were enough for FC Dallas to take all three points.
The two penalties were hotly contested, as was much in this game. There is an argument that FC Dallas got away with a lot of time-wasting. There is an argument that the penalties were soft. But there can be no argument that it is disappointing to give up only 0.03 expected goals and still lose the game. FC Dallas played the game, and they played it well. Colorado was caught playing against the refs too much, not against the opponent.
Despite the loss and the frustration around it, Colorado did dominate the game. That is a positive. It is something that Matt Wells has been alluding to and building towards: being able to dominate games. They did so against Dallas, while they haven’t had the same luck in other games this season. It was also positive to see Paxten Aaronson back on the scoresheet, and Georgi Minoungou get amongst the goal contributions with an assist.
The Colorado Rapids have had two months to brew on this loss. It would have been so nice to be on the back of a win this whole break. Colorado couldn’t get it done. The response to this loss is two months late. Let’s see how much it carried through the break.
Lineup Predictions:
Hansen / Cannon, Holding, Herrington, Thompson / Ojediran, Atencio / Minoungou, Aaronson, Sealy / R. Navarro (c)
It’s a long list of names for a team coming off a two-month break. Billo Diop most likely wouldn’t get much, if any, playing time. Zack Steffen and Ted Ku-DiPietro are expected, as well as the suspended duo of Wayne Frederick and Miguel Navarro. Jackson Travis also makes the list, which is unexpected and a problem for Wells. There is no natural left back available for the Rapids. It will most likely be a partnership of Reggie Cannon and Kosi Thompson, with one of them on the less natural left side of the defense. Keegan Rosenberry might also have a say in this match.
Colorado has had a few moves within the club. Loïc Williams has joined the team after initially being signed in March. Williams will most likely take some time to get into the team. That opportunity might come through rotation or a transfer of Lucas Herrington that seems imminent. If he is coming in to replace Ian Murphy on the depth chart, we won’t be seeing Williams for a while.
Speaking of Ian Murphy, the center back has made the move to San Diego FC. In a year where it seems every game is against a former Rapid, San Diego had none. Someone had to make the trade. Seriously, however, Murphy never got his chance under Wells. He made one appearance, coming on late against Toronto FC. Colorado then conceded twice and lost. He wasn’t getting his chance, and a move was necessary. It’d be doubtful that he gets any minutes against the Rapids on Wednesday.
Connor Ronan was the other move. Ronan leaves Colorado after over three years of service, making the move to Scottish side Aberdeen. He was hampered by injuries throughout his time under Wells. It always seemed like he was the prime Wells midfielder. Ronan was exceptional at keeping possession, but was flawed at making that possession matter. He never really got minutes, and with the renaissance of Wayne Frederick, it made sense to let him leave for Europe.
San Diego FC, Somehow More Possessive
Since their inaugural season last year, San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas has instituted a possession-based game plan, similar to what we see from Wells Ball now. They are even more dedicated to possessing the ball. The chess game between Varas and Wells will be intriguing, and it will be interesting to see the battle of possession.
This style led San Diego to the promised land in year one, with the team securing the first seed in the West. This year, it has them down in 12th place. They have struggled with consistency throughout a full ninety minutes, unless it is red cards. They consistently got red cards to start the year, getting close to an MLS record. Between March 12th and May 12th, San Diego won zero times in ten matches. They have won once in their last 13 games. It will be a battle of two teams on the wrong side of the form charts.
San Diego didn’t change much from their first year to their second year. The sophomore slump has hit hard, however. Anders Dreyer is still a world-class player. The addition of Ahmed Pellegrino was very underrated. This is a good side struggling to find the success to match it. Both teams will be desperate to get the second half of the season started better than the first half ended. It’s not becoming do-or-die time for either side, but the time is quickly approaching.
Prediction: Colorado is able to get things going in the second half of the season and win this game 3-1.
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