Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas - The good, The bad, The ugly

Colorado Rapids traveled to Frisco, Texas this past Saturday to play FC Dallas in the first of two consecutive games on the road (and four of five away from Colorado).  The Rapids had high hopes for the match, but those came quickly crashing down and the match was effectively over after 12 minutes in which the Rapids gave up two cheap goals and could never fully recover.

The run of form that the Rapids has been a shock to the system and see the team drop from a solid playoff position to the outside looking in.  The club is now 2-4-2 in their last eight matches, and although the playoffs are still possible, the Burgundy Boys are not making it easy on themselves.

Here is The Good, The Bad, The Ugly--Colorado Rapids, Round 22

The Good: Well, I Guess There Is This

Gabriel Torres did net another goal from the Rapids (a late game PK) bringing his tally to two goals on the year.  In a match where things did not go the way of the good guys, at least Torres got another goal.

The Bad:  Defense?  What Defense?

I had a debate earlier in the year about who is more at fault for some of the goals that are allowed.   Is it Clint Irwin not properly handling the ball or is it a leaky defense that seems out of their depth at times.  Honestly, I could see the argument for both, but I have to say the back four has primarily responsible for the goals let in.  They have absolutely let Irwin down, and although this is a team game (you win and lose as a team), the Rapids back four has been terrible.  They have been shredded by FC Dallas (twice), the Philadelphia Union (who struggle offensively) and New England Revolution (who had lost eight in row before playing the Rapids).  Yes, Irwin could do better on some of the shots, but if his defense was better and more aware of what is going on and where the opposing team was, the Rapids would be in better shape.  You can blame Irwin if you want, but Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne, Marc Burch, Chris Klute, Thomas Piermayr, and Shane O'Neill have to be better if this team wants to compete.

The Ugly: The Curious Case Of The Rapids Offense

Up until the late game PK by Torres, the Rapids had gone 281 minutes without a goal.  This has become an uncomfortable theme for the team and is ultimately the biggest problem facing the team.  Because the Rapids cannot score with any consistency or regularity, the defense has to be perfect.  You could see it after they let in the early Hoops goal that the team looked dejected.  They just looked defeated.  And if you can't score goals, it makes it very hard to win football matches.

The Rapids are in the toughest stretch of their season currently and need to find a way to climb out of this funk or their season is going to go further down hill.  The good thing is that they still have time.  The bad thing is other Western Conference teams are playing much better than our Rapids are.  It is gut check time for the Lads and they need to look in the mirror and see what team they want to be going forward.