On Wednesday night, the Colorado Rapids (3-12-10, 19 points) lost 3-0 against Minnesota United FC (9-8-8, 35 points) away from home as they failed to recover from three goals in the first half. Plenty of people made the most of that by keeping up with the Iowa sports betting promos by ClutchBet before the start of the game.
Since joining the Rapids during the Secondary Transfer Window, Sidnei Tavares and Rafael Navarro made their second straight starts for the team. The second of three Rocky Mountain Cup matches between Colorado and Real Salt Lake will take place on Saturday, September 2.
The Big Picture
Wednesday night’s 3-0 triumph over the Colorado Rapids was made possible by Emanuel Reynoso, who scored twice in the opening 28 minutes.
In the 18th minute, after being called for a foul on Colorado’s Ralph Priso, Reynoso gave Minnesota United (9-8-8) the game’s first and only lead. Ten minutes later, for a 2-0 advantage, Reynoso scored his sixth goal of the year without any help.
Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s ball was intercepted by Teemu Pukki, who scored on it in the 43rd minute, making the score 3-0 at the interval. In his sixth game since joining the league, Pukki scored his second goal in his fifth start.
With his final five saves, Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair recorded his team’s eighth clean sheet of the year. In his fifth start of the year, Colorado (3-12-10)’s Marko Ilic turned away four shots.
On the Road
At the game’s start, both sides combined for 26 goals in the overall series, which was 7-7-2.
In its previous 21 regular-season home games, Minnesota United has a record of 8-3-10. In eight of the draws, the scores were even.
In their last 17 games across all competitions, the Rapids have a 1-12-4 record. Eleven of the losses (out of 12) were shutouts. During the slump, Colorado has only scored nine goals. 15 of Colorado’s 25 games this season have ended in blanks. When D.C. United was blanked 15 times in its first 24 games of 2010, it set a league record.
Colorado will face Real Salt Lake on Saturday while still on the road. On Saturday, Minnesota United will travel to play the San Jose Earthquakes.
Declarations from Colorado Rapids Head Coach Robin Fraser
During the match, head coach Robin Fraser declared: “Another disappointed feeling coming out of this game, mostly because in the first half, we had some good moments, but our mistakes buried us early. And to come out in the second half, we, again, showed quite a bit of resolve.
And probably the biggest message to the team is the mentality in the second half, as I said last week against LAFC. It needs to be there from the beginning. And in a season that’s gone the way this one has gone, we certainly look at bright spots as potential for the next game.
Certainly, what we saw tonight, the work out of [Rapids midfielder] Sidnei [Tavares], the work out of [Rapids forward] Rafa [Navarro]. It’s good to get [Rapids midfielder] Cole [Bassett] back, and because of the work of some of those guys, the front guys, it just became more predictable for us in the second half. So, as disappointing as it is, we feel there are positives we can take from it.”
The Highlights
- Cole Bassett made his first outing since July 31 following his injury comeback.
- Steven Beitashour made his 40th appearance of the regular season while playing for the Rapids, his 10th appearance of the year and 287th overall.
- G.K. Marko Ili made his fifth regular season start while playing for the Rapids.
