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Colorado Rapids travelled to Frisco, Texas to take on their old head coach in Oscar Pareja and FC Dallas and left Toyota Stadium 3-2 losers. The Rapids were paced by goals from Deshorn Brown and Jose Mari, but saw their defense let them down which inevitably led to the loss.
The Rapids started the same lineup as last sunday when they defeated Houston 3-0. With Clint Irwin, Chris Klute, Shane O'Neill, Drew Moor, Chris Klute , Jose Mari, Nick LaBrocca, Kamani Hill, Dillon Serna, Dillon Powers and Deshorn Brown, expectations were high. The Rapids started the match quite brightly and were able to move the ball with ease. The interplay with the midfield players and the forward line was much better tonight and the Rapids were able to push the ball forward out of the midfield and give proper service to their forwards. Brown was able to notch his fifth goal of the season in the first half from good service from Mari and Moor, but it was not enough as FC Dallas scored two deflected goals, which both arguably should have been stopped by Irwin. It is difficult to be too critical of Irwin, but he has to do better on those balls. The first half ended 2-1 to Dallas, with the Rapids carrying possession and looked the more positive team.
The second half saw the Rapids do their best to play the most awful defense possible as the they were shredded time and time again. Although the Rapids were able to level the score at 2-2 through a Mari goal, the Rapids were eviscerated in the second half which Dallas was able to capitalize in the 62nd minute. The Rapids paid for the atrocious marking and horrid defense and Dallas deserved to be in the lead at 3-2.
The defense was certainly one of the issues, but the Rapids struggled to control the midfield when the game mattered most. Anytime the Rapids attempted to move forward, they would invariably give the ball away to FC Dallas. After the Rapids gave up the lead, FC Dallas sat back and turtled the rest of the game and the Rapids were unable to find an answer. What started as a bright week for the Rapids, ended on a downer as the club goes into the World Cup break on a two game winless streak.