The Colorado Rapids dropped their second consecutive match on Saturday, a 2-1 home loss to Columbus in the teams’ only matchup this year. The game ultimately came down to some strong individual performances and the Rapids’ inability to finish when it mattered.
Following the match, head coach Pablo Mastroeni, defender and captain Drew Moor and midfielder Jared Watts spoke about the loss.
Here are the highlights…
Pablo Mastroeni: “On our goal, Bobby (Burling) put himself in a very dangerous position and it’s not easy to be in those positions. A couple of the crosses just ran through without someone committing to it in the back post. I think we played the game on our terms and we didn’t do enough to really seal the deal.”
Mastoreni: “I think we dictated a lot of the play in the first half and grew into the game as time went on. From a tactical perspective, we did everything we wanted to do but that sharpness in front of goal, that last pass just weren’t enough for us.”
Drew Moor: “It’s another game where we went into halftime 1-0 up and we let a very good player have his way in the second half… I don’t think either halves were very good. I think we allowed them too much space, especially in the midfield. They played extremely direct and looked for Kei Kamara a lot. It was just too easy for them to create those two goals.”
Jared Watts: “Once again, we were playing with the lead and didn’t get the result. It’s frustrating – everybody knows that and everybody feels that. It’s just not good enough from us and the desire was lacking in the second half. We let another game and points slip away. We have to learn from it because there’s still a lot to play.”
Mastroeni: “Jared (Watts) was fantastic for me. He is every coach’s dream – someone who really wants to become a better player. Today, he was very clean with the ball, broke up plays, and won some in the air. He was a best tonight. It would’ve been a completely different game without him tonight. It was a fantastic performance from a fantastic young man who has a great future in this game.”
Watts: “It’s hard to think about an individual performance right now because of the result. Obviously, it was a bit different (my) stepping into the midfield but at the end of the day I have to look at myself and say, ‘Did I do enough to help the team get a result?’’
Moor: “They have a lot of good players. Obviously Kei Kamara is the leading scorer and Ethan Finlay is a great player too, even though I thought we kept him down tonight. Any time you have Federico Higuain in the midfield and players like that running off, they are definitely going to be dangerous.”
Watts: “We knew and understood the type of dynamic players that they have going forward. Kamara is a good player – leading the league in goals for a reason. He’s dangerous moving off the ball, he also has Higuain underneath that connects and is the engine that everything goes through him.”
Moor: “(Clint Irwin) makes life easy knowing that he’s back there and we just have to worry about what’s in front. He comes up big numerous times per game, maybe too many times. We have a lot of confidence in him and in my opinion he is one of, if not the best goalkeeper in the league right now.”
