COMMERCE CITY — If the Colorado Rapids don’t get off to a good start, it usually does not end well.
That was the case again Wednesday night as the Seattle Sounders beat the Rapids 2-1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Even with an 80th minute Cole Bassett goal and flurry of offense, it took Colorado 65 minutes to get into the game. For the Sounders, Albert Rusnak’s 55th-minute header proved to be the difference, which followed Léo Chú’s first-half opening goal.
For interim head coach Chris Little, the result ultimately comes down to one thing: Earning the right to play into a game. Colorado (4-14-10, 22 points) remains bottom of the Western Conference.
“For me it’s a fundamental principle of the game: You earn the right to play by competing for first balls and winning second balls, all of the dirty work that goes unnoticed, and we lost too many of those tonight in the first half in particular,” Little said. “… The last 20 minutes things were different. You could see the energy and we put Seattle on the back foot. That will be paramount as we go to Portland, earning the right to play.”
Here are two other takeaways from the loss.
Bassett finds form
After a season of frustration, Bassett has finally broken through.
The Littleton native scored his second goal in as many games Wednesday night, and now has four goals on the season.
For Bassett, it’s now about flipping the script from a tactical point of view.
“Right now we’re not a possession-based team and want to try and hit teams on possession. For us as midfielders when we get a chance to keep the ball, we need to be the ones to dictate tempo and we haven’t done that enough in both games. In the second half, we’ve done that a bit more and it’s led to better chances.”
He now needs his teammates to not only find a way to dictate tempo, but be fearless in attack.
“You’ve gotta have confidence. The group’s been low on confidence with the way results have gone, but I think at this point in the season with where we are and Chris (Little) giving us confidence, I don’t think anybody should be shy or lacking too much of it,” Bassett said.
“I know that’s easy to say and not everybody has the confidence to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, but, to be fair, we’re playing quite free. It’s not as much tactical as it was before. We have to get back to the simple stuff to allow players to gain confidence again.”
Cole Bassett pulls one back for the @ColoradoRapids! pic.twitter.com/BLPyTAthO1
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 21, 2023
Díaz debuts
Costa Rican winger Luís Diaz made his debut Wednesday in an effort to change the game. He joined the club Sept. 7 off waivers. Bassett and Little remarked on the spark he’s brought to the club. Now, the Costa Rican is eager to prove he can earn a spot into 2024 and beyond.
Díaz remarked Wednesday at the mentality of the group despite the table.
“The mentality inside the locker room is very good and we have to keep it so we can go out and pick up more wins,” Díaz said through a team translator.
Colorado will travel to Portland for an 8:30 p.m. MST kickoff Saturday at Providence Park.
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