Colorado put out a great defensive performance and a good second half on offense in a much needed rebound win over Charlotte. Honestly the first half was a bit of a snooze as neither team could get a good look at goal. The closest the Rapids got was a swerving long-range shot from Mihailovic right before half that was saved. After half though the home sider weathered a early flurry from the visitors and then stepped up the pressure with a pair of subs that changed the game.
In the 60th minute Larraz and Cabral were subbed off and replaced with Fernandez and Calvin Harris. From that point on Colorado had 15 of their 21 shots and 2.93 of their 3.15 of xG. For the first 15 minutes after the subs it looked like it was going to be one of those days where Charlotte managed to get in front of every good shot we produced but in the 78th minute Mihaiovic found the net. A Fernandez cross found Djordje in the middle of the box and DM put the ball far post out of the range of the keeper. We weren't done yet though as 3 minutes later Navarro was dragged down int he box and Djordje stepper up again to finish the penalty for a 2-0 lead and final score.
Fernandez and Harris certainly impacted the game but the bigger change when they came into the game was the resetting of the midfield. Bassett dropped back into Larraz's spot as the 8 and Mihailovic shifted into the 10 role. Not surprising, to me at least, there was an instant impact. Both players were more involved in the game and the ball flowed more smoothly through the midfield. I don't know why Armas wants to keep forcing the Mihailovic/Cabral winger combo but its clear it doesn't work. Against Vancouver Larraz and Cabral should start on the bench and Harris and Ferandez should start (or possibly KSB). Once Ku-DiPietro is healthy I expect him to challenge for one of the spots and then maybe Cabral can get another chance.
One other note, on the PK Malanda was given a yellow for a Denial Of An Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. It was a DOGSO and the rules did change a few years ago so most DOGSOs in the box were now yellow cards instead of red cards (the logic being that the PK returns the "obvious" goal scoring opportunity so a red on top of that was harsh). However the yellow card instead of a red card change had a requirement to it, that it was a yellow card if the DOGSO happened during an attempt to play the ball. Malanda made no attempt to play the ball, he wasn't even in range to play it, so by the rules that should have been a red card. However the week before a similar play happened and PRO upheld the giving of only a yellow card which I'm sure was on the mind of the center referee. For whatever reason yellow seems to be what PRO wants in this scenario.
This weekend the Rapids head north to a white-hot 'Caps team. it will be a good test of which Rapids are the real ones, the ones we saw against Portland or the ones we saw against Charlotte.
Man of the Match: Djordje Mihailovic. Obviously. He was named player of the week by the league.
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