Previewing Houston Dynamo at Colorado Rapids with Burgundy Wave
(image via Colorado Rapids)
The Houston Dynamo are back on the road tomorrow to take on the Colorado Rapids. We talked to our friend Matt Pollard from Burgundy Wave get some insight on the Rapids ahead of tomorrow night’s match.
The Rapids currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference. What has gone wrong for Colorado this season that has found them in such poor form?
A lot of things have gone wrong. The two main issues have been the injuries and this team just not being good enough. The entire offense flowed through Diego Rubio last year. He was fantastic. Every other player regressed and was inconsistent. Rubio has played eight games this year and has been ruled out for this weekend. Jack Price went down in March with an Achilles Tendon and is out for the year. With Price, the Rapids get 1.49 PPG. Without, it's 0.91. Price is so critical to building out of the back, the shape of the midfield to protect the backline, and set pieces. They're the two most important players on this team. The other players who were big in 2021 when Colorado finished first in the Western Conference have regressed.
Conor Ronan has come over from Europe and been a standout for the Rapids. What makes him so good and what do the Dynamo need to try and do to slow him down?
Connor Ronan has saved this midfield from being terrible this year with Price out. He's a well-rounded box-to-box midfielder. He rarely loses the ball and is a good forward passer. He's been physical when needed and covers ground as well as anyone on the team. It's so disappointing we did not get to see him at the No. 8 with Price at the No. 6 this year. He's been workmanlike when having to imitate Price. Houston can control the midfield and limit Ronan by taking advantage of bad passes and exploiting space. Colorado is at their worst when they are poor on the ball, especially at home. Ben Olsen knows how to scheme up a line of confrontation. Force Ronan to move the ball, pounce on someone else's mistake, and get in transition. Keegan Rosenberry said after Wednesday's game that no Coco Carrasquilla is a relief. I always feel like he played well against the Pids.
Colorado has scored just 16 goals in 22 games this season. What is behind the stagnant offense and can new DP Rafael Navarro turn things around?
Poor execution in the final third. The Rapids are bigger Expected Goal merchants than the USMNT under Berhalter. Nobody's finishing right now. Michael Barrios is showing his age. Jonathan Lewis has been inconsistent and hurt. Cole Bassett has been Pole Bassett. Just look at his stoppage time header from Wednesday. Darren Yapi is missing sitters from inside the six-yard box. Kévin Cabral has two goals, both of which are tap-ins where the player who assisted him did most of the work. They're getting into decent areas. The final pass and final shot have not been there. Rafael Navarro checks all the boxes based on his YouTube highlights and metrics. He's a poacher, is fast for his size, and good in the air. The sooner he's here, settled, and scoring the better. Navarro will not be available for this weekend. The club's expecting him to be here before the Leagues Cup home game against Toluca.
With teams playing midweek matches this week, do you expect rotation or some different lineup decisions for Colorado coming off short rest?
Yes. Remember by the MLS Match Delay rules, the lineup was pretty much locked in for Wednesday's second half resumption against Portland. Andrew Gutman has to start at left back tomorrow. Should see Braian Galván play more as well. I'd like to see Calvin Harris at left wing over Cabral but we'll see. It should be a back four with Moïse Bombito back from Gold Cup.
How is the health of the roster and do you expect anyone to be unavailable Saturday?
Numbers wise, this is the healthiest the team's been in awhile. The game notes just confirmed Rubio is out. As we already knew, Alex Gersbach, Price, and Max Alves are out.
Predicted lineup for the match?
I think this is a 1-1 draw. Not sure which version of the Dynamo we're going to get after that 3-0 loss to the Loons. Colorado could easily control the first half, not score, concede first, then comeback to salvage a point.
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We want to thank Matt for his time and wish our friends in Colorado the best of luck tomorrow.
