Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas - Player ratings

I really hate missing home games.  There is something magical when you see Colorado Rapids play live that makes you think that everything is possible.  I was watching the Rapids vs FC Dallas match from afar (I was at a wedding in the Upper Midwest) and although there were periods of some decent soccer and improved defense, it was another loss for the Burgundy Boys and with just one match left, the hope of snapping this winless streak this season gets more remote.

Individual player ratings are a bit useless at this point, so I am going to focus on the four main areas of the field, goalkeeper, defense, midfield, and forwards.

Here is how I saw the match:

Goalkeeper (Clint Irwin)  7

Irwin did not have much to do overall in the match and gave up one goal (via a Penalty Kick) and made two saves.  He is the starter on this team and hopefully has cemented this going forward

Defense  (Marvell Wynne, Zat Knight, Jared Watts, Chris Klute)  5.5

Overall, the defense was better and FC Dallas generated more chances than the Rapids did, so the defense was called upon and was functional in that regard the bulk of the match.  However, Watts was sent off for receiving a second yellow card, and since his first was for dissent, it is a tough pill to swallow.  Klute's hand ball was questionable, but I understand why it was called.  A better performance from the back four.

Midfield (Dillon Powers, John Neeskens, Nick LaBrocca, Marlon Hairston, Davy Armstrong)  5.5

When I watched the replay of the match I have to say I was pretty stoked to see this lineup.  I thought this would bring some creativity and pace and the four lads who started should be able to control the midfield.  The stats would seem to confirm this: the Rapids had 57% possession of the ball and did well moving it around the middle part of the field.  BUT, the midfield had challenges moving the ball up to the final third which restricted the amount of chances on goal that the Rapids were able to generate.  And it was great to see Armstrong out there for his first minutes of the year.  I am not sure if he is in the plans for 2015, but I hope like heck that he gets a shot at it.

Forwards:  (Deshorn Brown, Vicente Sanchez, Gabriel Torres, Charles Eloundou)  4

One shot on goal and none by a forward on the day.  Enough said.