COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Vancouver Whitecaps paid a visit to Colorado Rapids on Sunday night. Colorado were coming off disappointing back-to-back draws. The Caps had just suffered their first defeat under interim manager Vanni Sartini.
Colorado Rapids Draw Whitecaps in Third Straight tie
Both teams came out a fluid 3-4-3. The Caps were the more conservative of the two as the road team. They sat deep and looked to play through Ryan Gauld and Déiber Caicedo. Colorado played out of the back at times, focusing on service to the wingbacks Lucas Esteves and Braian Galván.
Michael Barrios nearly opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Off a turnover just outside the box, he was played through on goal. With just goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to beat, he shot the ball off the crossbar.
After several corner opportunities, Colorado scored in the 28th minute. Jack Price found Danny Wilson surrounded by defenders on the corner kick. The Scotsman made easy work of the header.
Wilson however would make the mistake to make it 1-1. In the 41st minute, his passed was intercepted by Caicedo in a bad area. Caicedo dribbled forward and found Brian White on a diagonal run. White beat William Yarbrough, shooting the ball off the crossbar. It bounced off the grass and into the top of the net.
The half ended 1-1 with Ranko Veselinović missing a header from a good spot on a set piece.
The second half started with both teams almost scoring off a defensive corner. First Vancouver burst out through Caicedo to Gauld, but Galván made a defensive run to block it. Then off the ensuing Whitecaps corner, Lucas Esteves got the ball in space. He dribbled forward but couldn’t connect with Jonathan Lewis.
The game got messy in the final 30 minutes with both teams going for it. Lucas Cavallini subbed on for the visitors while Younes Namli and Diego Rubio came in for the home team. All three created chances, facilitating the offense.
Cavallini had the best look for Vancouver. In the 80th minute, he drifted off the shoulder of Keegan Rosenberry for a header that went right to Yarbrough. Four minutes later, Andre Shinyashiki, Namli, and Esteves all had looks as back-to-back rebounds fell to players in wearing burgundy.
In the final seconds, Namli floated a ball to Acosta right in front of the keeper, but his shot went right to Crépeau. The match ended 1-1.
Three Key Takeaways:
An unsuccessful week: Rapids draw Whitecaps to make it three straight ties. They were the better team against the Galaxy and in this game. They were up a man against Portland. This is failed eight days for Robin Fraser’s side.
New coach bump: Vancouver’s looked better against Sartini. They’ve won three, drawn one, lost one. They’ve got a clear tactical identity. Still not sure they’ll make up ground to get in the playoffs, but it’s getting there.
Returning players: Namli and Rubio returned to the team, subbing in in the second half. Namli hadn’t played since ankle surgery in June. Rubio had missed several weeks with a muscle injury.
Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken, Last Word on Soccer.
