COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – With eleven games remaining, Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni continues to search for search for lineup solutions, with the Colorado Rapids in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
Prior to the three-game skid, the team was in the midst of a winning streak and the narrative was one of establishing consistency following a 3-1 win over rivals Real Salt Lake. That match marked the loss of Luis Solignac to a hamstring injury. The following week in Seattle, the team also lost Lucas Pittinari to a hamstring injury, which began a string of injuries which haven taken a toll on Colorado’s ideal starting 11.
“Injuries have taken a toll on the lineup. Losing guys like Solignac and Lucas adds pressure to the group,” Mastroeni explained. “With Luis out, it’s been about plugging players in where they might not be the most comfortable. There’s always considerations to re-adjust the setup and the balance this last couple of games has been tough. That being said, we’ve been leading in two of these games so that’s not all together the reason.”
Solignac did provide one of the attacking heads of Colorado’s “three-headed dragon”, and without him, the Rapids have struggled to replace his dynamism, opting for a serviceable yet raw talent in Charles Eloundou.
“What he did was act as the guy who could move the backline and find space behind the backline,” Mastroeni said of Solignac. “We’ve been playing in front of defenses a lot and making it very predictable. I think not having that threat has definitely been an issue for us. We’ll continue to re-assess that as we move forward.”
The assessment has also extended to the defense, where Mastroeni gave newcomers Maynor Figueroa and Sean St. Ledger the start against San Jose, just one week following their arrival at the transfer deadline.
“I wanted to get them in with the group as soon as possible. They were fit and healthy and were ready to go,” he said of the duo’s debut. “Bringing players in at the window, we want to make a push so the quicker we can integrate them into the group, the stronger the team will be. We’re at a point in the season where we’ve got to get as many results as we can.”
The lineup shuffle will assuredly continue this weekend when the Rapids travel to face Chicago, with Jared Watts (foot) added to the team’s string of injuries.
With just a handful of fixtures remaining however, the Rapids will take wins any way they may come in order to maintain any hope of crawling back into the Western Conference playoff race.
Said Mastroeni: “At this point, we’re not in a beauty contest anymore. Only the hungry man will critique a meal. The guy that’s starving will eat anything you give him.”
