Played a good second half. Not enough quality on the pitch to get a victory. Their goalie was MOM. Barrios was the Rapids best player.
Think Max had a heck of a game tonight. Kid was everywhere doing everything. Very Bassett-esque out there if I’m being honest. Give him some time. He reads the game really wel and gets into good positions. His first touch is HEAVIER than lead often, but it’s clear he’s got talent if he can speed up his game and clean up his touches. Barrios is earning super sub status. Rubio, man he’s stepped up his game this year for sure. Gallese proved tonight why he’s nicknamed “The Octopus” otherwise the Rapids win it in multi goal fashion. Unfortunate to come out with just a draw. The much better team on the field out there tonight.
Max did have a good game. Deserves to find a spot and find a rhythm on the field. He pushes and looks for openings. Unfortunately, I think this is who we are this year: tie at home, lose on the road. Hallmark of an average team.
Man.... draws just aren't good enough at this point. 1st half has to match the 2nd half. What could have been tonight was wasted on a shit 1st half. Once Barrios and Rubio entered, it was a different match. Everyone came alive. They completely changed the game. That goal was beautiful. I had a bird's eye view of that dime of a diagonal from Rubio. Incredible touch and pass by Barrios and a sweet little finish by Zardes. Couldn't have drawn that up any better. Big Pedro saved OC's ass - big time - in the 2nd half. World class saves. I concur on Max. I looked up and the dude was everywhere. He played that Price role to near perfection. He just has to push the tempo a little more and clean up the touches for my liking. There was so much crap to digest in that terrible 1st half, I'll skip all the complaints. But I'll mention two things that drove me nuts. One from a Rapids standpoint. One from a referee standpoint. First, we fouled OC at least 7 times in our defensive half, when were forcing the attacker backwards towards his own goal. Needless fouls over and over. Just pressure and force the attacker to drop the ball further, move your lines up, and chances are likely OC would cough up the ball and now you're closer to OC's goal. Second, that ref was sucking wind. I don't like to body shame anyone but he looked a little chunky / out of shape and was often 30 yards behind the play. It wasn't a high paced game. His positioning was awful and led to some questionable calls. That card to Lalas was a great example. No way that was a foul, let alone a card. It was great recovery. The ref didn't make any detrimental calls per se, I just hate when they are lazy and don't position themselves correctly.
I watched on TV so that perhaps isn't a fair view, but I wasn't as high on Max as others seem to be. His impressive moments all seem to come at the BEGINNING of a play, often when the ball is still in our own end. His skills abandon him in the final third every single time. At least, that's what I saw in this game, but perhaps I'm being unfair. I really hope he turns into the prospect that Padraig is hoping for. I think that Jack Price brings leadership to the field that just can't be done from the bench. My hunch is that a lot of that annoyed body language and rolling of eyes by our players when passes don't connect goes away if Price is out there.
Agree completely. I wasn't as impressed with max as others. I was watching on TV (from Orlando, oddly enough) and it seemed like he didn't pass very well. A number were pretty far off or not made. Really missed Price in that regard.
Good post. I agree that I didn't think Max was all that impressive. He strikes me as a Mehdi Ballouchy...occasional flashes of good play that never have any meaningful impact on a game. Our midfield is clearly much worse without Price, but I think we all already knew that based on how we play with/without him. I do also think we were noticeably worse in midfield with MAK gone, in spite of his meh form this year. I actually though we played very poorly for most of the game up until Barrios and Rubio were subbed on. This team is a complete mess and Padraig needs to actually do his job and bring in some guys that can contribute immediately.
My hope with Max is that he's 21 years old and been here for 6 months. Ballouchy was 24 when he got here and had already been in the league for a a year and a half. What Ballouchy never grew out of Max can..
Can we all take a moment to appreciate this ball from Rubio? 🗣HEYYYYYYYYYYYY GYASI @gyasinho slips one past the keeper to keep us in the game 🙌#COLvORL pic.twitter.com/NsG3beJzTn— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 14, 2022 I know Zardes gets the credit for the difficult finish, and Barrios for the catch, burst of speed, and release. But man. What a switch of play. He put that on an absolute platter for Barrios. Received the ball, one look, and pings it right to Barrios’ foot in space.
I agree. Last night Max turned Orlando players several times, burned other players on a quick step, and had several key tackles (including a back tracking run at the top of the box to poke away what was setting up to be a dangerous shot from Orlando) He’s got a lot of rough edges for sure. Yes his final pass needs work (same with pretty much most of the Rapids roster at this point). Yes he can get caught up in the idea of playing hero ball. But he played his best game in burgundy last night. I was intentionally watching him quite a bit and I think he’s not used to the lack of space in MLS. Something most anyone that age with only 6 months here would struggle with. If you go back and watch those YouTube highlights of him playing in the Brazilian youth league, he got a lot more space to operate - which allows for much heavier touches, and is much more forgiving for passes that don’t quite hit the mark. In MLS, most teams not named ‘Colorado Rapids’ like to defend physically aggressive and close down space quickly - hence why most internationals struggle adjusting to the league, and also probably why Max looked better against Los Cremas than he has against most MLS teams. I don’t think he’s ready to be a starter week in and week out - but I see him more as a Galvan potential than a Ballouchy. Galvan’s first year, I’d like to remind us that we all complained about his heavy first touches and trying to dribble into 3 guys instead of passing and maintaining possession…. Is Max unpolished? Yes. But I believe he’s got a lot more upside than we give him credit for (even with his struggling form).
Totally agree. In stadium I thought "what a great ball" from Rubio. I think he played well and had a lot fight. Barrios the super sub, I also agree is great. Rapids were improved in the 2nd half before he subbed on; but got much better once he was on. Zardes was unlucky not to get a 2nd goad, he was victim of 2 great saves. Agree Max was good, and I thought Lewis was decent too, even in the 1st half. We missed Price organization ability. It had been over a month since I had been to game. Nice evening, good crowd for a midweek, so enjoyable to be at match. Unfortunately we needed a win, not a tie. We are below the line.
Funny how we see things. On the goal, I immediately praised Barrios for his first touch. Rubio put it there, but Barrios stuck the landing. I primarily thought this because the Rapids are known for bad touches. (My gosh, if Lewis had good touches, who could stop him?). 10 times a game I’ll say, “Bad touch.” But for one play, we had three excellent efforts. What a pleasure to see. And if we keep watching, we may see another one next year.
The set up 😍 The finish 🤩#Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/lYzValEeLm— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 14, 2022