COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Colorado Rapids hosted Toronto FC on Saturday night. It was Robin Fraser’s 50th match in charge of the Rapids, having left his position as an assistant coach with Toronto.
Frustrated Colorado Rapids Draw Toronto FC 0-0
Both teams came out in a 3-5-2 setup. The Reds came out in a defensive posture and where very organized at the back. Colorado did well to get the ball into dangerous area, but had trouble creating shooting opportunities.
Toronto relied on Yeferson Soteldo and Patrick Mullins to create chances on the counter. Soteldo had the first good chance at goal for the visitors. In the 11th minute, Mark-Anthony Kaye was turned over at midfield. The attacker dribbled forward and squeezed a shot past Danny Wilson, but it was a routine save.
Colorado’s best first half look came a minute later. Andre Shinyashiki delivered a weighted ball to the back post. Michael Barrios rose up for the header but the ball landed on top of the net.
The second half resembled the first. Colorado had the majority of the ball and a volume of chances in the final third. Colorado wanted a penalty in the opening minutes as Barrios and substitute Omar Gonzalez went down in the box before a cross got to them.
Keegan Rosenberry got more involved in the attack service wise in the second half. In the 66th minute, he nearly found Barrios for a tap in inside the six yard box, but Eric Zavaleta made a great play to cut out the cross. The teams traded half chances in the final 20 minutes as the game fizzled to a scoreless draw. Substitute Diego Rubio possibly had the best look with an open header in stoppage time, but he couldn’t get high enough to knock the ball down and on goal.
Clutch intervention! pic.twitter.com/aetxjK0EwS
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) September 26, 2021
Three Key Takeaways:
The streak of draws continues: Colorado’s now drawn four straight games, three of which have been at home. They’ve arguably been the better team in all four. No one has been clinical in front of goal.
Resolute Reds defense: Toronto came to Colorado to get a result and they got a point. It wasn’t pretty but they played to the opponents weaknesses. Putting nine men behind the ball, they defended as a team and deserved the clean sheet.
Injuries and players on the mend: Chris Mavinga exited in the first half with what appeared to be a right calf injury. Younes Namli and Diego Rubio came off the bench for the second straight game off injury and looked better.
Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken, Last Word on Soccer.
