Colorado Rapids MatchDay: What Does Winning Ugly Mean and Does It Matter?

The mark of any good sports team is when you win when you are not at your best.  And for the Colorado Rapids last night, they were not at their best.  They took on a Sporting Kansas City team that was, for lack of a better term, desperate for a result.  Any result.

But was it as ugly as people say?  The match featured just four shots on goal, so yeah.  It was pretty ugly.  But the Rapids had 75% of them.  And then there was this

Dear Strikers - If you want @SjobergAxel 's top, just ask him after. Please. - The Guy who replaces the damn jerseys pic.twitter.com/EswSsH0WHF

— Brandy Lay (@Blay29) May 12, 2016

But I keep coming back to the fact that the Rapids have three matches in eight games and not every one is going to feature beautiful, free flowing soccer.  So what did Rapids Gaffer Pablo Mastroeni and Sporting coach Peter Vermes have to say about this one?  Here is Mastroeni:

On Sporting KC's performance in the first half...
I just think they came out with a little bit more fire in their belly. I think they were more aggressive, they won more second balls. They were competing a little better in the first half. I wouldn't say the whole first half, I'd say about the first 35 minutes. I think in the last ten we got control of the game a little bit, started getting some good balls flashed across the box and some good combination play with JJ [Jermaine Jones] and Sam [Cronin]. We created a couple of good chances late in the first half and I think in the second half, we came out with a better mentality.

On what was said at halftime...
We just talked about being quicker with the ball. When you're not getting a lot of the ball, when you finally receive it, you're really slow to get the ball off your feet, therefore people stop moving. So, in the second half we wanted to be bright with the ball, movement off the ball had to get better as well. I think if you move the ball quickly people will move.

These midweek games are a test of character, a test of mentality. You've got a team here that wants to keep winning. Today was a great performance in that it's not always going to come the way that you'd like, but this isn't a beauty contest - this is about winning, and they got the job done.

On the fullbacks Marc Burch and Mekeil Williams pushing up high...
I think it's what we've talked about since the beginning of the year where we want to get our outside backs higher in the attack being able to deliver good balls. I thought tonight it wasn't the sharpest from the delivery perspective, but again, when you put balls in the area, it makes things happen.

On Serna's performance tonight...
It's more than anything you could ask for. You want to mix it up a little bit, you want to put a guy on who comes into the game on a strong foot. Serna's got an eye for goal, he's always had a great eye for goal - he hits the target. We were getting on top of the game a little bit at that point and I just felt like we needed a bit of a boost. He came in and did more than what was asked for, which was going in and putting in a good performance.

And from Vermes:

On tonight's result...
Tough, tough result. I think we were in the game and I don't think anyone did anything and they certainly didn't do anything other than the one play. There was nothing else in the game. I thought we had more energy than they did for a majority of the game. I thought we were pretty good in the first half, we were the better team in the first half. We should've gotten out of here with a minimum of a point.

On still not packing despite the loss...
Absolutely. This is a long season and a lot can happen. I've seen stretches in this league and every team has gone through them. That's the way it goes and we'll find our way.

On what you think has caused this winless streak...
Other teams are scoring more goals than we are in games.

On Medranda's performance tonight...
He had a very good performance. He's actually come on really strong this year and it was good to see him again and play as he did. He's starting to get stronger as time goes on and he brings something different to the game, which is great to see. He's got a great future.

On missing Zusi and Feilhaber...
Those guys weren't on the field so there's really not much to talk about there. That's the way it goes, sometimes you've to play without players on the field and other guys have to step up. I thought our guys played very well and I don't look at is as we played poorly.

On Opara's second yellow...
It wasn't even close. It changed the game - like all cards do. If you're giving that, then you could've given yellows for so many different things in that game today. It's unfortunate but that's the way it goes.

On what could've swung your way in the second half...
Unfortunately, the second card changed the game for us because we brought in two fresh guys in the wing channels and we were going to try and step that up a little bit. At that point, we couldn't anymore because they brought in a fresh guy up top and I thought they were getting tired in the back, especially out wide and we were going to try and take advantage of that. Down a man is a big difference when you're chasing the game away from home.

So maybe the Rapids did win ugly.  Maybe it was not that ugly.  Maybe it wasn't the best they have ever played.  Maybe it was?  But you know what none of that matters.  Because it a league like MLS, every result--regardless of whether it is pretty or ugly matters.  These three points may mean the difference between making the playoffs or getting a first round bye.  So call me what you will...I'm OK with this one.

And I will take 7-2-2