So close, yet so far away.
The Colorado Rapids kicked off their 2024 season home opener with a thrilling 1-1 draw against Nashville SC. An own goal from Nashville’s Shaq Moore opened up the scoring for the Colorado Rapids, however a 90th minute penalty kick from Teal Bunbury of Nashville SC equalized the game in the dying moments.
Although the Colorado Rapids held the ball for most of the match and had more chances on goal, the missed chances came back to haunt the team as they couldn’t extend their lead before the Nashville equalizer.
The Colorado Rapids will travel to Real Salt Lake on Match Day 3 for the first edition of this Rocky Mountain Cup of the season.
The Game Against Nashville
Formation and Starting XI
The Colorado Rapids made no changes to their starting XI that faced off against the Portland Timbers on week 1 following the road defeat 4-1. Three players made their debut at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park, goalkeeper Zack Steffen, midfielders Djordje Mihailovic and Omir Fernandez.
Coach Armas did not make many changes in the original structure of the formation, sticking with the 4-2-3-1 formation that saw the Rapids shift to two in the back and our full backs hug the end lines to provide crosses and an extra man in the attack. In goal, getting his first start at DSGP, Zack Steffen. A game he did not have to do much, his defense stepped up and Zack expects this to be the standard going forward.
https://twitter.com/RiccardoCLW/status/1764388359093236058
The defense consisted again of both Moise Bombito and Andreas Maxso playing in the back. Both players played well in the back, being able to maintain a high line for our offense to win the ball high up the pitch, as well as command the air when crosses were being put in. Once again, both Sam Vines and Captain Keegan Rosenberry were in the full backs position and did a good job hugging the sidelines and providing service and an extra man in the attack at times.
The double pivot of both Connor Ronan and Oliver Larraz started again, being able to break down play, play some intricate passes to the wingers, and switch the ball to try and catch opposition on the back foot. Oliver Larraz got a full ninety minutes and spoke with us about his general thoughts on the game,
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Cole Bassett and Calvin Harris occupied the winger position and both were looking dangerous being able to cut inside and shoot, provide crosses, and even crash in the box to get a shot off. Up top Rafael Navarro gets the nod to lead the line, although he did not provide for the Rapids that night.
The Colorado Rapids made three substitutions this game:
Omir Fernandez came on in the 64th minute for Calvin Harris
Darren Yapi came on in the 72nd minute for Rafael Navarro
Jonathan Lewis came on in the 86th minute for Cole Bassett
Game Highlights
(Rapids substitutions mentioned above)
1’ - Kickoff
15’ - Zack Steffen comes up huge and makes a great save from a shot outside the box
38’ - Rapids supporters lift TIFO remembering in remembrance of a lifelong Colorado Rapids supporter
45’ - Halftime. Both teams go into the half 0-0
46’ - GOAL RAPIDS - Calvin Harris volleys a cross in but Shaq Moore (NSH) scores an owl goal by headering it into his own net
74’ - Yellow card has been issued to Darren Yapi after a harsh slide tackle
82’ - A huge chance for the Rapids to go up 2-0 and Omir Fernandez almost gets his first goal in Burgundy
83’ - Another big chance missed by the Rapids as a ball travels hard and fast in the Nashville six yard box but nobody gets a touch on it
89’ - A handball in the box on Jonathan Lewis is under review by VAR
90’ - VAR gives the penalty for Nashville
90’ - Teal Bunbury slots the penalty away
FT - Full time at DSGP and it is 1-1. Both teams walk away with a draw
Photo by: Brian Martagon De La Rosa (ASN) - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/11_brian_mdlr/?hl=en
When we spoke with Djordje Mihailovic post game, he shared with us: “The goals will come, I'm not worried about that.”
The Colorado Rapids held the ball for most of the match and were able to create more chances than their opposition. However, this game is not played based on xG but actual goals. Towards the end of the match, there were a couple of missed chances for the Rapids to seal the game and walk away with all three points but they were unable to do so.
Nashville played with a low block defense and gave the Rapids most of the ball and invited them a lot in their half. This saw the Rapids fullbacks getting higher up the pitch and providing service and an extra man. The Rapids were unable to break the low block defense and at times it seemed impossible to find the feet of forward Rafael Navarro. Navarro only managed to get a shot off once in the 25th minute and that was off target.
Rapids have yet to find a win against Nashville SC in their head to head record. The record now sits at zero Rapids wins, one draw, and four Nashville wins. The Rapids rank 11th in all of MLS for goals scored per match, sitting at 1. Connor Ronan leads the team with the most assists with 1 and Calvin Harris leads the team in goals with 1 despite being involved in the Nashville goal as well.
What’s Ahead for the Colorado Rapids
The Rapids are still looking for their first win of the season under Head Coach Chris Armas and they travel to Utah to face off against rivals Real Salt Lake in the first edition of the Rocky Mountain Cup this season.
Real Salt Lake currently sits in 4th in the Western Conference of MLS and has played three games managing to win one, draw, one and lose one while tallying four goals and three against. Real Salt Lake does have the edge on the Rapids having not lost in their last seven meetings, winning five and drawing two. Their star striker Christian Arango leads the league in most big chances created this season with four.
The Colorado Rapids are looking for their first win of the season and Real Salt Lake is looking to continue their 2024 MLS campaign on a positive note by defeating their rivals.
The game will be played on March 9th, kick off set for 7.30 pm MT at America First Field.
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