Friday was another tough matchup for the Rapids who came out of the gates flying but went down to nine men, due to two red cards, for a large part of the second half and couldn’t hold on to their lead. A late-game equalizer from Jonathan Lewis was a glimmer of hope but despite the disappointing result, the team is confident there will be no lingering issues with motivation come Wednesday, in the finale of the group stage of the tournament.
1. Morale Is High
Despite the dramatic loss on Friday, the team hasn’t skipped a beat mentally. If anything, they seem more ready and more confident in their ability to prove themselves in the next match.
“It’s a group that really believes in themselves, and I believe in them,” head coach Robin Fraser said. “What drives this team is that they know that they’re good, and they’re better than they’ve shown.”
While the team still does have a chance to advance in the tournament, it is contingent on Real Salt Lake beating Sporting Kansas City – which will take place on Wednesday morning. That means, going into the evening, the club will know whether or not they have the opportunity to advance in the tournament.
Regardless of that result, this match will count toward the regular season for Colorado, which makes the team's morale very important. These three points will end up being three points that matter to the regular season totals, and that can’t – and won’t - be overlooked.
2. Get Ready for Lineup Adjustments
Between the first match and the second match, Fraser made five changes to the Starting XI. Expect at least a couple more on Wednesday, as the team will be without Jack Price and Danny Wilson, due to the red cards they received against SKC.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of talented midfielders on this roster. Collen Warner, specifically, is a player who Fraser is familiar with through his time in Toronto, and who was signed right before this tournament in order to have security if the team had to play without Price. His veteran consistency is exactly what Fraser likes about him and could be a good option to solidify the midfield.
Kellyn Acosta is someone that is always critical to the Rapids success, and that will not be any different on Wednesday, regardless of who makes the starting lineup.
“Kellyn [Acosta] is an important piece because he’s critical on both ends of the field. With his work rate and his energy and just pure power and strength, he’s someone that’s a pivotal part of our attack, and, someone at the same time is a huge part of how we defend,” Fraser explained. “He doesn’t need to do anything extra. He doesn’t need to try and fill in and be Jack. He just needs to do his job. And the combination of players around the field will take care of what’s missing with Jack.”
3. Scoring is the Name of the Game
If RSL does beat SKC, then the Rapids will be responsible for making up the three-goal difference between them and Kansas City in order to have the opportunity to advance. And that’s just the bare minimum; the Rapids will really need to score as much as possible to be in a better spot to earn a wild card slot.
This means there's potential for an offensive talent like Braian Galván make his debut. Galavan’s skills have been at the forefront during training, and the fact that other teams in the league don’t have tape of his talents against MLS foes could prove to be a big attribute. A fresh, talented young player like Galván could help break the game open.
In addition, the club is one goal away from hitting their 1,000th goal in regular season MLS play. This major milestone is something to keep an eye on for Wednesday night.
