Colorado Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni saw Tuesday night’s match with the Houston Dynamo as a prime opportunity to start bringing home hardware to the club. But after being eliminated in a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo, it will be back to the drawing board yet again.
Nevertheless, the second-year head coach remained steadfast in his optimism after a strong second half from Colorado saw Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis forced into four saves in the final 20 minutes.
“I think it was some of the better tactical play we’ve played all year. We created a lot of good opportunities, but again, it was being able to finish,” Mastroeni said. “I thought, overall, it was a solid performance. There were a couple moments that we could’ve done better with: obviously on the goal, and at the end of the 90 minutes, finding our result.”
With attacking options Charles Eloundou, Vicente Sanchez and Designated Player Kevin Doyle inserted into the starting lineup, the Rapids’ offense awoke from its lethargy, producing 20 total shots after posting just 15 in the two previous games combined.
It marked Doyle’s first full 90 in a Rapids uniform, and the Irishman almost equalized in the 60th minute, putting a shot just across the face of goal. But goals and finishing continue to go missing for Colorado, now scoreless in their last five road games.
“It’s going to take one moment of brilliance or just luck, really. It’s about bouncing off someone and going in, and at the moment, that’s not happening,” Mastroeni said of his team’s attack. “I think the most important thing is putting yourself in front of goal.”
The Rapids' immediate chance to build on that encouraging second half comes this weekend, hosting Vancouver (9pm ET, TSN in Canada, MLS LIVE in US).
“It’s just gut-wrenching to see a team play so well and put so much effort into a game and come away with zero," Mastroeni said. "It just seems like it’s been that way, and we’ve just got to find a way to break the spell and move forward. … Hopefully we can build off of this performance and find a result, a win, against Vancouver.”
