NFLBy: Keith Richards
In front of a sold-out crowd of 17,795 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this past Saturday, the Colorado Rapids defeated the LA Galaxy 2-0. Not since beating the Seattle Sounders 1-0 back in May have the Rapids shown as much consistency as they did Saturday. It was the consistency that Coach Robin Fraser spoke of just a couple of days earlier. Also, it’s the consistency he had high praise for after the match. So let’s look at the keys to the Rapids’ consistent performance.
Arguably, the most consistent performance came from Colorado’s back line (and defense). The team won 58.1% of the duels, had 20 tackles, and completed 82.8% of its passes. Specifically, the defenders completed 81.8% of their passes. So, while the back line not only prevented the attack of LA often, they also moved the ball to the midfielders to initiate the counterattack. Danny Wilson was especially effective on Saturday in that regard.
While Wilson’s 83.9% passing accuracy was efficient, two of his three tackles set the tone for the match. The most important one came in the 17th minute. The Galaxy looked dangerous on the attack when Danny came up with a solid sliding tackle to end this attack. This was significant because, after a phenomenal save by William Yarbrough in the 19th minute, Diego Rubio would open up the scoring in the 20th to give Colorado the 1-0 lead.
After the match, I asked Coach Robin Fraser about the importance of that tackle by Danny Wilson. Robin said, “Massive. Danny’s challenges early were massive. And this is, like I said, they’re a good team. They’re a really, really good team. And they’re going to find opportunities, but what I really liked was our ability to cover each other tonight. If one player made a mistake, somebody else covered it.”
Lalas Abubakar and Keegan Rosenberry had strong performances as well. Lalas led the team with five tackles, and Keegan led the back line with a 95% passing accuracy. As mentioned above, the consistency and efficiency of the back line contributed to a massive effort by the midfield. None were more dangerous in the midfield than the deadly combination of Diego Rubio and Jonathan Lewis.
Rubio’s goal in the 20th minute was a direct result of the consistency and efficiency of the Colorado counterattack, which was relentless all match. On this occasion, a ball was placed over the top to a streaking Lewis down the left side. After settling himself, Jonathan was able to find Diego at the top of the box. Using a light touch, Rubio buried the ball into the left corner of the net.
Fraser was asked about Diego’s transition to midfield after the match and his ability to do so. Coach Robin said, “What it says is he’s really good, to be honest. He has a really good attacking mind, and he sees a lot of things. He’s making decisions before he gets the ball, and that’s when a player is in really, really good form and confident.” The other half of that combination, Jonathan Lewis, has been just dangerous.
Lewis was so dangerous against the Galaxy Saturday that he earned a spot on the MLS Team of the Week. In addition to getting the assist on both goals, Jonathan created two chances and had a passing accuracy of 93.8%. Though they did not connect every time, Rubio and Lewis kept the Galaxy backline busy with their counterattack efforts. Diego would place a ball over the top to Lewis every chance he got. It was that consistency that led to another strong performance by Gyasi Zardes.
In the 75th minute, off a beautiful backheel from Jonathan Lewis, Gyasi would score his second open play goal in two matches. Over the last two games, the Rapids finally have consistency in finding Zardes on the attack. After the match, I asked Zardes how he feels he’s adjusted to the team and how the team has adjusted to him.
Gyasi said, “You know, I’ve been trying to utilize every single training session to get to know the guys that are up top with me, you know. I know we’ve been switching out some personnel but, you know, they’re really starting to understand the runs I’m making or when I get the ball, you know, when they play me, they’re running off me and I’m trying to connect with them. Sometimes it takes time and I think things are starting to click, you know, I’m so happy that I’m starting to get on the same page with Jay Lou.”
A direct result of Zardes’ growing chemistry with Lewis was the 75th minute goal. After a giveaway by LA, Jonathan knew where Gyasi would be and where he wanted to place the ball. The end result was magic. The question now is whether the consistency of Gyasi’s attack will continue. Robin Fraser certainly believes it will, which he never doubted would come to fruition.
The surprise of the match came when it was announced that Ralph Priso would be in the starting lineup. Priso, the recent acquisition from Toronto FC, was strong in his Rapids debut. Only playing in one half, Ralph had 23 touches, was 11-13 in passes, won three fouls (one of which resulted in a yellow card), and won all six duels he was a part of. For Priso, though, that was not enough.
Asked about his performance, Ralph said, “I think those numbers sound good, but I don’t think I was that good today. I think I can be a lot better.” Regarding Priso’s performance, Coach Fraser said, “I had a little bit of angst coming into the game thinking, worrying that I’d put him in a position to fail. Because he hasn’t trained with the team, he’s not used to the altitude, but we were thin. We needed a midfielder to come in. As we talked about last week, I know Ralph. I know what his education is, like, I know how he sees the game based on where he’s been.”
Robin also said, “Toronto’s Academy was very, very good and detailed in how the youth players, the younger players were expected to play. So, I felt confident that we could put him in…and was hoping that I didn’t set him up to fail. I thought he did really well. He’s really responsible. He’s very good on the ball. Very good feet. He’s quick, he’s athletic, and I thought he gave a really good performance considering the lack of preparation.”
With no word on when Jack Price will return, Priso’s service will likely be needed again moving forward. Colorado hopes the consistency in the last two matches will continue when they face the Sounders on Saturday. With 14 matches remaining, the Rapids are five spots and three points out of the playoffs. As the defending Western Conference regular season champs, it would not be a good look to miss this campaign’s playoffs.
Nuts and Bolts Sport will continue to follow the Rapids season, as well as the DC United and Minnesota United FC. Don’t miss out!
