The Colorado Rapids got outclassed by the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night, with Seattle showing why it’s the best team in the MLS Western Conference in a 3-0 thrashing of the Rapids.
The Rapids showed fight in the second half, but it was never going to be enough to overcome the hole they dug for themselves.
Here are three takeaways from the road loss:
Dreadful start
After a poor turnover from Keegan Rosenberry, the Rapids conceded a goal in the first two minutes of the game and weren’t able to right the ship after that.
“The first goal, it’s very early on,” Jack Price said. “It’s a bit of a shock to everyone when you concede that early, but we’ve got to realize, we’ve got to quiet the crowd, keep the ball, just be professional. It’s an away game and you have to do your best to nullify their threats and we just gave them too much early on, maybe too much respect.”
In goalkeeper Clint Irwin’s first start of the season and first game action due to a William Yarbrough injury (knee), he never got a chance to settle in after allowing that goal.
From there, the Rapids conceded a goal 20 minutes later and another about 20 minutes after that, looking like a team that realized early on it couldn’t play at the Sounders’ level.
“Just play, just believe a little bit,” Price said. “Show no fear … but just be brave. Come to a place like here, we’re a very good team when we believe in each other and play good football. I feel we could have done a bit better in terms of, as you say, calming down.”
Phantom red card?
It had very little impact on the game, but there was some controversy around a red card given to Lucas Esteves in the second half.
The Sounders were already up 3-0 and it was a steep hill to climb whether the Rapids were playing with 10 or 11.
Esteves was shown a red card in the 61st minute — Colorado’s first of the season — and there are still people questioning if he even committed a foul.
It appeared Esteves was trying to pull a Maradona-like spin move. It worked and he went by João Paulo, but Paulo immediately grabbed his ankle and put his arm in the air, causing the referee to stop the game. The card came out soon thereafter. They checked it with the video assistant referee but did not go to the monitor.
Price called it a “shocking” call from the referee.
“I have to laugh, this red card that was given to Lucas tonight,” head coach Robin Fraser said. “I think if I say anything more I get fined. I would just say go back and look at it.”
The Professional Referee Organization made a statement to the pool reporter saying, “Esteves’ challenge was made with a straight leg, with his studs making contact above Jao Paulo’s ankle. He was sent off for serious foul play.”
Unless they have an angle we don’t have, there doesn’t appear to be any contact above the ankle.
It comes with serious consequences outside of Sunday as well: Esteves will be suspended for the next match unless MLS overturns the call.
The need for Will is real
There is a reason Yarbrough started every game for the Rapids up until Sunday. He has cemented himself as one of the top goalkeepers in MLS. Colorado needed Irwin to step up in Yarbrough’s absence. The defense didn’t help him out, but the drop-off was clear.
“Regardless of whether it was Clint or Will, we have to do a better job early on,” Price said. “… Clint’s been fantastic, we don’t put any blame on him at all — none whatsoever. We conceded three goals tonight and it’s not his fault.”
The Rapids lose that game no matter who is playing in net. But if Yarbrough made a few big saves early, it might have lit the fire the Rapids needed. Irwin is one of the best backups in the league, but he’s not Yarbrough.
Yarbrough is currently tied for the lead in MLS in clean sheets (11), with his 11th last week against Austin FC giving him the Rapids’ single-season club record.
“What you guys don’t know is the person that he is and the leader that he is and the character that he is in the locker room and how important he is to this team, aside from the zeros that we see on the scoreboard,” Fraser said about Yarbrough after the Austin game. “There’s so much more to him than what he gives this team than just what you see in terms of making saves, getting shutouts, that sort of thing.”
During his media availability Wednesday, Yarbrough said his knee was a little swollen but he was able to stay in that game. There has been no official diagnosis from the club.
