Photo credit: Colorado Rapids
10-man Colorado held up for 70 minutes, but Tomáš Ostrák’s wonderstrike was the difference
Matt Wells wanted adversity. The Colorado Rapids delivered.
Rapids center back Rob Holding was shown a red card against St. Louis CITY for the second time this season on Saturday night before Tomáš Ostrák delivered a brilliant strike late in the game to help St. Louis beat Colorado, 1-0, at Energizer Park.
The result didn’t muddy Rapids coach Matt Wells’s belief in his team, which based on recent official and friendly outcomes is improving, especially defensively.
“Going down to 10 men yet again against St. Louis was far from ideal but I just said to the guys (there was) nothing but pride for what they’ve done tonight,” Wells said. “I thought the mentality, the spirit, the togetherness of the team and some of the defensive moments were outstanding. In the end, … It took a 25-yard shot at the angle to go post-and-in to beat us.
“I thought whilst it’s devastating to lose, I think the context of the game actually showed a side to the team that I’m very proud of.”
Still, Saturday night mirrored the reverse fixture, which St. Louis also won by the same scoreline at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park back in May. Holding was assessed a red in that game, too, although it was after St. Louis scored its goal.
On this occasion, Holding mishandled a back pass from Darren Yapi with a CITY attacker ready to pounce in the 12th minute. He very briefly held him back as the last defender on the play, and even though it was some 35 yards from the goal, the referee and VAR agreed that it was a denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
It took Ostrák another 71 minutes to finally break the Rapids’ wall with a wondergoal from the left side of the box. After a lofted switch, Tomas Totland headed it back to Ostrák, who rifled a shot to the far top-right corner way past Nico Hansen’s outstretched hand. Paxten Aaronson closed out as best he could, but didn’t get a touch to it. Earlier this season, he didn’t close out nearly enough on a Lawrence Ennali game-winning shot at the Houston Dynamo. Even though the result was the same, it’s a microcosm of progress for this Rapids team.
Rapids coach Matt Wells said Holding addressed the Rapids’ locker room after the match, but said the contents of the talk solely “belong in there.”
“He knows he’s a huge leader just given his career and how likable of a guy he is in the locker room. Nobody leaves the field and is angry at Rob at all. It’s not even a thought that occurs in our head,” Aaronson said, demystifying Holding’s team talk. “That could have happened to anybody, so it’s just about trying to help him in that moment. … He didn’t even have to apologize, but him apologizing gives everybody that extra little love for him.”
Colorado responded well in keeping the game scoreless for as long as it did. The team seldom looked dangerous offensively, save for a Rafael Navarro near-miss from distance, but absorbed pressure incredibly well.
At times, despite the red card and a few yellows, the Rapids were the more disciplined team. While fouling is normal down a man, St. Louis committed far too many while up a man when Colorado finally found some possession.
Miguel Navarro was the best of the bunch. Wells told media after the game he suffered an injury during training in the leadup to the match and didn’t expect to play many minutes against St. Louis, if any at all.
Instead, he was the first off the bench to replace winger Dante Sealy in the wake of Holding’s red. That sent Loïc Williams — who sported the arm band in his second match for the club — back to his preferred center back position and brought a natural left back onto the field.
He at one point suffered what appeared to be a dislocated finger and was stone-faced when the medical team addressed it. In addition to a pair of blocked shots, he racked up the team’s third-highest completed pass total (29), had the team’s only key pass and suffered a game-high six fouls.
“Miggy’s been excellent. … He was good in the first part of the season, but he’d gone to another level in all aspects through the last four or five weeks of training,” Wells said. “In an ideal world, probably wouldn’t really have wanted to throw him on tonight, certainly not for the chunk of minutes he ended up playing, but of course it was a must when Rob got sent off.”
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