SANDY, Utah—For everything the Colorado Rapids did well on Saturday, it was one mistake that led to their 1-0 defeat at the hands of rival Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The loss kept Colorado from earning their first road victory of the season and puts them behind RSL after the first game of the Rocky Mountain Cup. The Rapids have won both games at home this season over LA and Toronto, but after a solid first half, Colorado weren't able to replicate it in the second half on the road.
"You have four great chances and to not come away with something in that first half is tough," said Colorado head coach Pablo Mastroeni. "It’s tough when you give up a goal on a tough play like that when there's a couple of decisions that could be made to thwart that."
By the time Javier Morales subbed in for RSL, the game had changed enough from the first half that just a couple passes led to a few poor decisions and Joao Plata pounced on a gaffe in the back for the game-winner.
In the 72nd minute, Morales sent a bouncing ball in between both Colorado center backs. Axel Sjoberg tried to get it back to his keeper, but Zac MacMath had come up to get the ball. With a full head of steam, Plata rounded the defenders and ushered the ball into the goal.
"Before tonight they had only been scored on twice, so they have a defensive bite about their team that’s tough," said Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar. "Javi’s ball was perfectly placed. It forces decision making. It was a great run and a great ball and it forced them into tough decision making."
Making defenders face their goal is always a positive for the offense, and it was no different on Saturday. Colorado's first half melted away into a loss and the missed chances were still fresh after the game.
"At halftime, we thought we wanted to do the same thing," Colorado's Eric Miller said. "We lost our way a little bit."
Concluded Mastroeni: "It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I thought we did enough to win this game.”
