By Jess Houwen // @jesshuh15
Wednesday, September 27: 2-0 Loss
This week has not been an easy one for the Colorado Rapids. Wednesday night’s loss combined with wins around the league has put the Rapids mathematically out of playoff contention. The tie between LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo means we are still in last place of our division, behind by two points now. Again, we are faced with needing the Galaxy to lose while we win in order to not come in dead last in the West. To top this off, the Rapids lost a center forward when Kevin Doyle retired on Thursday.
A win in Frisco would have meant that the Rapids still had the chance to challenge for the playoffs, however, FC Dallas had no intent of letting us off that easy. Like Saturday night, the Rapids again played in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Dallas’ 4-3-3. This match up saw the return of Bobby Burling and Dillon Serna to the starting lineup, and Stefan Aigner’s first start with the Rapids.
49′ – Just your routine TimHowardcrazysave.gif for this part of the match.
2-0 | #DALvCOL pic.twitter.com/cT9AYCv7wD
— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) September 28, 2017
The Rapids played half-hearted nearly the full game on Wednesday night as if they had already given up any hope of ending the season with a win or two. Maynor Figueroa (FCD) started the game off with a goal five minutes in after Eric Miller missed a clear opportunity to clear the ball out of the box. Not four minutes later, Miller was beat once again, this time by Roland Lamah (FCD) for the second and final goal of the game.
Bobby Burling drew the first yellow card of the game after channeling his inner hockey player and hip checking Lamah. Colorado got their first opportunity at putting the ball in the back of the net when Matt Hedges drew a card after getting tangled up with Dominique Badji. Two more yellow cards came for the Rapids before the end of the first half when Stefan Aigner mouthed off to the ref and Mohammed Saeid threw the ball at Javier Morales’ head.
The frustration was evident in the second half of the game as the Rapids missed multiple opportunities on goal and, as a result, could not put together a comeback. The Rapids saw a bit of pick up in speed and goal opportunities late in the game after substitutions were made. Marlon Hairston came in for Stefan Aigner and his first touch was an attempt on goal. After being warned about time wasting in the 38th minute, referee Ricardo Salazar finally issued a yellow card for time wasting to Jesse Gonzalez in the 83rd minute.
The Rapids need more central players.
At one point in Wednesday’s game, the entire midfield was left open while players were either at the top of the box or at the midfield line. Kevin Doyle was one solution to that problem and was known for closing down the middle during games. Sadly, he announced his retirement from soccer on Thursday following medical advice from his doctors due to concerns about the risk of permanent damage from further concussions. He had not been seen on the pitch since the second half of the September 2nd game against the Galaxy after getting his second concussion of the season.
Statement on my retirment pic.twitter.com/3dTXdk4EXU
— Kevin Doyle (@KevinDoyle1983) September 28, 2017
Doyle first came to Colorado from Crystal Palace in 2015 and had been a fixture on the Republic of Ireland national team since 2006. He finishes his 16 year career with 63 international caps, and the appreciation of Rapids fans everywhere.
Colorado next faces Montreal Impact at home on Saturday, September 30. Let’s go ‘Pids!
5’ – GOAL: Maynor Figueroa (FCD) 1-0 Dallas
8’ – GOAL: Roland Lamah (FCD) 2-0 Dallas
11’ – CARD: Bobby Burling (COL) – yellow
21’ – CARD: Matt Hedges (FCD) – yellow
44’ – CARD: Stefan Aigner (COL) – yellow
45’ – CARD: Mohammed Saeid (COL) – yellow
54’ – SUBSTITUTION: COL (1/3) – Marlon Hairston in for Stefan Aigner
63’ – SUBSTITUTION: COL (2/3) – Alan Gordon in for Dominique Badji
69’ – SUBSTITUTION: COL (3/3) – Shkelzen Gashi in for Mohammed Saeid
74’ – SUBSTITUTION: FCD (1/3) – Victor Ulloa in for Mauro Diaz
83’ – CARD: Jesse Gonzalez (FCD) – yellow
86’ – SUBSTITUTION: FCD (2/3) – Ryan Hollingshead in for Roland Lamah
89’ – SUBSTITUTION: FCD (3/3) – Luis González in for Javier Morales
Featured image courtesy: @ColoradoRapids
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