Do Or Die Time

Well, here we are.  6 games left, one win in the last 6 games, and the easiest opponent left in town tomorrow night.  If we can't get 3 points against Minnesota, the next to last team in the West, at home then we might as well clean out the lockers this week as there's no reason to think any other wins, or a playoff spot, will be coming in the last three weeks.  Kickoff against the Loons is the normal 7:30 tomorrow night, and its going to be cool and wet for the first time in quite a while.

Player Availability:

OUT: GK Zack Steffen (shoulder), M Ali Fadal (torso), M Youssef Maziz (leg)

QUESTIONABLE: D Reggie Cannon (leg), M Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder)

Josh Atencio is still on yellow card watch too

Gotta roll out the best XI (or the best we can) tomorrow.  Thompson seems the more likely replacement for Cannon than Rosenberry but either one would probably work.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Whittaker and Aaronson.  Minnesota is bad and its now or never.  The Rapids get the job done but its not convincing.  Pretty typical riding the playoff line finish to the season for us.

Rapids Fail To Finish, Again

From my Friday preview:

1-1 draw, goal by Phillip.  This even feels a bit optimistic given our recent play and how good San Jose is, but I think the home field advantage is enough to get us a point.  I can't see a win though. 

(I did however claim we were playing Montreal and not Minnesota on Wednesday, my bad)

And that's exactly what happened.  Colorado got a 27th minute goal from Donovan Phillip but couldn't hold the lead again.  1.07 xG, 2 big chances, surprisingly 10 shots on target but when they only generate a bit over 1 expected goal you can tell they weren't great chances.  There's only so many ways I can write the same game review.  Our offense does not create enough quality chances to win in this league.  Especially if we can't put up a shut out on the other end.

Phillip, obviously, had a good night with the goal.  His third in three games and he scored for St. Lucia during the international break.  Aaronson and Frederick looked good too.  But we didn't get much out of Farchi or Whittaker.  And Atencio managed to not get a card but didn't add much to the offense.  The book is out on the Rapids, we can't beat a low block from the run of play.  Until we figure that out the offense is going to look the same every week (not good).

A concerning note from the subs.  Minoungou came on in the 58th and was taken off in the 83rd after Wells was visibly frustrated with his effort.  That's a bad sign for somebody we spent $2M on 6 months ago.  Especially since he was replaced by Sadiq getting his first minutes in burgundy, somebody who will be gunning for his spot.

Also Wells got another yellow card on the sideline.  Hard to complain about our lack if discipline when the head coach leads with that kind of example.

As I said on Friday though, this game was gravy.  One point against a good San Jose side is actually decent, we are just at the desperation stage of the season.  The big games are Wednesday against Minnesota and Saturday in Portland.  4 points mininum, really need 6 to be comfortable.

Man of the Match: Donovan Phillip.  I almost went with Frederick here but how can you not award a kid who's scored 3 in 3?

The Final Push

Ok, that was the final break before the end of the regular season.  The Rapids have 3 games this coming week, get 7 days off, have 3 games that following week, have 7 days off, and finish ion Dallas.  7 games, 28 days, and we need probably 9 points in those games.  The good news is that 4 of the 7 are home.  The bad news is that 5 of the 7 are against the top 8 teams in the league.  It starts tomorrow with one of two games against the Earthquakes, this one at home in Commerce City.  With 3 games this wee we need a minimum of 4 points if we think we have any shot at a playoff spot.

Player Availability:

OUT: GK Zack Steffen (shoulder), M Ali Fadal (torso), M Youssef Maziz (leg)

QUESTIONABLE: M Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder)

Maziz was apparently close to being back and then reinjured the leg so they're being cautious now.  At least it doesn't sound season-ending.  Also Josh Atencio is on yellow card watch, again.  Ibrahim Sadiq has his visa and is available for selection as well.

I was tempted to throw Sadiq into the starting lineup but I can't see Wells picking him over Phillip was has been playing very well.  We could see Atencio instead of Ojediran but that would be a mistake IMO.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Phillip.  This even feels a bit optimistic given our recent play and how good San Jose is, but I think the home field advantage is enough to get us a point.  I can't see a win though.  In the playoff hunt though the critical games are Wednesday night against Montreal and next weekend in Portland.  This is a nice to have.

Embarrassing

For the second week in a row the Rapids had a 2 goal lead in the second half.  And for the second week in a row they failed to win (what is known as a 'blown tire' in BigSoccer lingo).  This week was worse, they managed a point out of Seattle but they rolled over and played dead to the Galaxy allowing them to take all 3 points.  This started with an own goal by Cannon (though in his defense he wasn't making a horrible play, and I still don't know how it wasn't offside in the prior ball) and then an all-time howler from Hansen gave LA the equalizer.  After that you felt it was just a matter of time and sure enough the Galaxy caught Colorado apparently unprepared on a corner kick for the winner.

Once again we saw this team unable to overcome any adversity.  As soon as things started going wrong they went really wrong.  Its the same cascading failure mentality we've see all season.  The fact that Wells hasn't been able to fix it yet is a real question mark about his coaching abilities.  You have to figure he's not going to solve it in the remaining 7 games this season.

Colorado is 8th on PPG with a surging Galaxy right behind them.  We've got San Jose at home in two weeks, then the rest of that week is Minnesota at home and Portland on the road.  7 points in that week is an absolute must.  That puts us at 43, just a couple points off the Bodmer Line of 44-45.  The last four games of the season are a home game against the best team in the West, on the road to the third best team, home to the fifth best team in the East, and on the road to the second best in the West.  There's a very good chance there are 0 wins in that group.  The rest of the West sucks so much that we can hold on to 9th with our fingernails, but if we lose in Portland we're probably missing the playoffs.

Man of the Match: Donovan Phillip.  Got the game going on the right foot with a 5th minute goal off a perfectly timed run.  His second straight game where he's scored and he's starting to look comfortable in the league.  Not bad for a third round pick.  Also today the Rapids confirmed what we thought about his St. Lucia callup as they announced he'll be joining the team for the rest of the window.

Depleted Rapids Head To The Coast

Colorado is out in LA tonight to face the Galaxy, but a number of their first teamers are scattered across the world on international duty.  Farkhi is with Israel, Frederick is with Trinidad & Tobago, Minoungou is with Burkina Faso, and at least one report has Phillip with St. Lucia though the Rapids have not confirmed that.  Combined with the injuries its going to take some work from Wells to get a result in this one.  Kickoff from Carson is 8:30pm tonight.

Player Availability:

OUT: GK Zach Steffen (shoulder), M Wayne Frederick (Trinidad & Tobago), M Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder), M Youssef Maziz (leg), M Georgi Minoungou (Burkina Faso), F Mamadou Billo Diop (knee), F Sayed Abu Farkhi (Israel)

QUESTIONABLE: Donovan Phillip (St. Lucia)

Earlier this week The Voice St. Lucia had an article about the national team and the Nations League games where they listed Donovan Phillip as part of the team this window.  But Phillip was not in the gameday lineup for their 2-0 loss to Barbados last night.  That leads me to think that the Rapids worked out an arrangement with St. Lucia to keep Phillip for tonight's game and then release him, but we'll see when the Rapids gameday roster drops.

That's an ugly front 6.  The only other option really is Alex Harris but I don't think that's going to be an improvement.  I do not expect a shootout tonight.

Prediction: 0-0 draw.  The Galaxy are a worse team than us in all aspects except player availability.  But we have our full defense so I don't see either team scoring in this one.  It might be pretty ugly in the attacking half for the Rapids though.