The Big Picture
Michael Barrios scored a stoppage-time goal in a second consecutive match as the Colorado Rapids (1-3-5, 8 pts) extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 1-1 home draw against Western Conference leaders St. Louis CITY SC (6-2-1, 19 pts) at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park.
Notable:
- Tonight’s result extended the Rapids’ current unbeaten run to five matches, marking their longest such stretch since a 12-game undefeated streak from Aug. 2021 to Sept. 2021.
- F Diego Rubio delivered his 24th assist as a member of the Rapids on Barrios’ goal, surpassing Marcelo Balboa for eighth-most in club history.
- Barrios’ goal tonight marked his 12th in Burgundy, all of which have come in the second half of matches. Of the 91 players currently with double-digit goals since the beginning of 2021, Barrios is the only one to have scored all his goals in one half.
- M Ralph Priso recorded his first MLS assist on Barrios’ goal.
- D Lalas Abubakar recorded his 100th start as a member of the Rapids tonight.
- St. Louis CITY SC goalkeeper Roman Bürki produced a career-high 12 saves, which are the most by a goalkeeper in an individual game this season.
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH ROBIN FRASER
On the match:
“I thought we played really well. Created a number of chances, unfortunate not to score one, and goals change games, for sure. Had we scored one of our early chances, maybe it's a little bit different, but credit to St. Louis. Their transition is lethal. They're extremely committed when they transition forward and they were able to score a good goal. But I was really proud, again, of the group, of the fact that we just kept digging in, kept fighting, kept going and found an equalizer. Disappointed not to get three points out of it, but I'm really proud of the team performance.”
On the confidence and resiliency of the team against a good team in St. Louis CITY SC:
“I think getting a draw against a really good St. Louis team is a little infuriating for the team because they felt like they created enough chances to win. I think we are—I've been saying this for a number of weeks—I feel like we are improving. We're more solid defensively. We are more threatening offensively. I know at the end of the day, this is a results-oriented business and people look at the record and go, 'What's wrong with Colorado?' After this performance tonight, I'm more convinced than ever that it's coming. This group of guys has been, I use the word resilient. I think they've been on the front foot. They've worked extremely hard. They've created a number of chances over the last several games, and unfortunate not to score, but also the responsibility’s on them as well to finish some of these opportunities. But I'm really proud of the performance tonight. I'm really proud of what we've done in the last five weeks and it makes me feel like this group of guys that I speak so glowingly about week to week are very close to breaking through. I thought this was a really, really good performance tonight.”
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER CONNOR RONAN
On the match:
“I think positive about the performance, but disappointed with the result just from the fact that we had so many chances in the first half. I think that we should have come in at halftime at least two goals up, go into the second half we have something to defend and then I think we should win the game. When you're playing against a team that has that kind of quality up front, that quality on the counterattack, they're always going to be dangerous. You know, we had a lapse of concentration and they punished us. Even after that, you know, that resiliency that we talked about and that mentality in the dressing room is huge. You know the proof has been there the past few weeks that we keep going until the final whistle. The fitness is obviously there, and yeah, like I said, just disappointed with the draw more than anything and probably should have got the win.”
On whether the results against LAFC and St. Louis CITY SC give the team confidence:
“Yeah, definitely. We believe that as a squad, and you know, the gaffer kind of instills that confidence in to us. He's always telling us that we need to believe that, and I think we do, and I think you can see that on the pitch. At the minute, it’s just really fine margins between being in the top half and being a really good team and being where we are. You know, we are on a five-game unbeaten run, but it is not the best unbeaten run whenever we're picking up a lot of draws. I think if we can just turn some of them draws into wins, we'll be in a much, much better position."
