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The first two game week of the Colorado Rapids 2013 season saw a mixed bag of results as they dropped a 3-1 decision to Orlando City SC in the US Open Cup, but battled to a thrilling 2-2 draw to FC Dallas in MLS Cup play. The loss to Orlando City knocked the Rapids out of the Open Cup, but the draw with Dallas saw the Rapids extend their good run of form to 5-1-4 in their last 10 MLS matches.
Cue up the Ennio Morricone Music for The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Week 14 edition.
The Good: Atiba Harris against Dallas. I have not been the biggest supporter of Harris this season as I have felt that he has squandered chances on goal and in some cases these goals have cost the Rapids chances at wins. On Saturday night, he buried two goals that demonstrated his ability to finish. The first goal was a beautiful header off a long throw from Marvell Wynne that found its way to the back of the net and the second was from great service from Chris Klute. I am the first to admit that I have been highly critical of Harris, but it is nice to see that I am slowly being proved wrong.
The Bad: Concentration: It is tough to swallow when the Rapids cough up two 1-0 leads, even to the best team in the Western Conference. There is nothing to be ashamed of with the result as Dallas is a good team. That being said it is tough to take when the team gives up goals so quickly after scoring. The second goal should have been handled better by Drew Moor but the team as a whole seemed to lose their concentration a bit.
The Ugly: The US Open Cup exit. As this article is based on the entire week, there is no way that you can overlook the bad effort in Orlando. There were a number of missed opportunities in the match and bad plays. Without calling any one player out, it is easier to say that the Rapids end the 2013 US Open Cup season in disappointment. Hopefully the 2014 US Open Cup campaign will end better.
After a week that saw the Rapids get blown out in the US Open Cup and finish the week in an entertaining draw with the Western leaders, the Rapids currently occupy the fifth spot in the Western Conference with 20 points and a 5-4-5 record. With a bye week this week it will provide the healing Rapids a chance to continue to get healthy and prepare for the Earthquakes on June 15.