Crazy back and forth first half. It really seemed as there would be multiple games by both teams. Also, Wilson was playing on the edge. Lucky he didn't get a card. Barrios must be really frustrated. The one chance he had in the second half he should have taken first time. Once he took a touch he gave Mauer time to read it and close. Acosta really struggled 1v1 on the wing. He was beaten too frequently. Namli looked to be playing deep in the first half and at times had some solid long passes. Really didn't expect a 0-0 draw before the game or at the half. Hope Vines and Abubakar are out long. Acosta needs to get back to playing in the midfield
Great to see the Rapids in action again. Very fair result, but there were certainly chances for both sides that should have ended up in the back of the net. Barrios very close to scoring against his former team. I thought overall we were the better team and it felt like a goal was coming, especially midway through the first half. I thought Acosta filled in admirably at left back, particularly going forward, even if his 1v1 defending was shaky a couple times. I thought Price was moving up too far into attack at times and left our defenders exposed to counterattacks. Namli's dribbling skills and combinations with Shinyashiki were nice. There were one or two times I felt Shinyashiki could have taken a shot from distance, but opted to keep dribbling. Rubio did a few good things, great pass to Barrios, but also disappeared much of the time. Bassett was just okay. Trusty decent, but poor positioning and reactions occasionally. Wilson very lucky not to get a card and nearly gave up a PK, plus had several passes go to the other team. Yarbrough was great. Rosenberry solid. Price was mostly good, could have earned a yellow for sure early on. Barrios was most dangerous attacking player in the game. Subs: Lewis was decent, but I was expecting more of a spark and he just didn't get enough attacking opportunities. Benezet seemed good, I like that he had a hard shot from long range. Overall, I think a tie is a fair result- it was a very even game, although I feel we were the better team.
Love seeing our supporters on the road! 👏 #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/YbGUpQp5VV— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) April 18, 2021
Was at the DC United game "watching" the MLS Soccer app but watched the extended highlights online this morning. Can't believe Barrios didn't score at least one goal and the Rapids looked okay given the make shift backline. As always, road points are always good!
Disappointed not to come away for 3 pts but overall I think it’s a fair result. I will always take a point on the road against a good opponent. I like that we are going to push numbers high and possession is at the forefront of everything we’re trying to accomplish but it has to be meaningful possession. It has to be that forward possession that sees us move into the attacking third of the pitch. When we do, we create chance but we always need to finish those chances on a regular basis. I am afraid, and we saw it last night at times, that space in-between Price and the back line is going to get exploited. Price’s positioning in the key to everything. He has to be a yo-yo player - not too far forward but not too far back. It’s a tough job. Overall, a decent match and something we can build on.
I'm giving the defense and the positioning between them and price a bit of a break in this game, given that we were missing two starters and one of them was replaced by a guy who wanted to be everywhere except the LB position.
A point is nice, but I honestly don't think we played particularly well. Barrios notwithstanding, the lack of quality player acquisitions during the off-season is going to cause us a lot of problems with just a couple of injuries in key positions. We saw some of that last night. Our midfield didn't seem to have a good handle on things most of the game, and it felt like Dallas was bossing the center of the park most of the time. Its asking a lot of our backline when the midfield can't break up plays before the opponent gets deep into our half. I also noticed Namli and Rubio tracking back a long way to retrieve the ball. That tells me we were on the backfoot a lot. I don't know if part of that has to do with Acosta playing at LB or not. I thought it was an extremely poor decision to play him there last year, and its still a terrible idea. Acosta was constantly caught out of position, and the only real difference from last year is Minnesota has a good attack while Dallas has a mediocre one. Acosta is not a passable left back, and he really should never be playing there. The fact we really have no plan at LB without Vines is inviting disaster. I'd also bet we could've had a smash-and-grab goal somewhere if we had a clinical striker. Our fitness clearly wasn't there either, but some of that is to be expected in the first game. Dallas' off-ball movement pretty much stopped by the 80th minute, which means they were out of gas. What we should be doing in that kind of situation is pressing hard, but by the point they had clearly decided on playing for the draw.
Toughness on display. 💪 🎥 Cinematic recap from our first away match of the season. pic.twitter.com/AIztBZtV3o— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) April 18, 2021
Yarbrough and the squad starting 2021 off with a clean sheet. 👏 Full highlights and reaction from last night's match at FC Dallas:— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) April 18, 2021
Some positions are more vulnerable than others. Vines has developed into a very, very important piece of the Rapids' team. Not too many players in MLS could adequately replace him. And with the choice by Fraser to use Acosta in his place it pulled one of the key pieces of the midfield out of an important role. As for finishing, that could be an issue this season. I felt that was a difference last night. Boy is Barrios going to be frustrated when he looks at the video. The question is will this be an ongoing issue or occasional problem. The Rapids' should have scored more than once given what they created. As @JasonMa stated elsewhere, for the Rapids to be successful they need the sum to be better than the parts. That means not many players can be off on a particular night. Regardless, I would feel more confident if Pádraig had a #9 lined up who was a reliable scorer for the summer transfer window.
Expected goals last night were .8 for the Rapids, .9 for Dallas, reinforcing the idea it was a fairly even game.