COMMERCE CITY, Colo.—Marlon Hairston did it all for the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night, tallying a goal and an assist in their 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Dickās Sporting Goods Park.
āI think [Marlon] is wanting to assume a lot of the responsibility that it takes to play at this level,ā said Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni. āHeās a guy that comes into work every day trying to improve his craft. Heās definitely a player that opposing coaches are talking about now when they talk about playing the Colorado Rapids.ā
The win not only kept Colorado undefeated at home this season, but placed the Rapids back in the win column following last weekās shocking 5-1 road loss to NYCFC last week.
āIt wasnāt a statement for anyone else other than the guys in the locker room,ā Mastroeni said. āEveryone has doubts when you get beat up that good, regardless of the sport. It was the best week of work that weāve had all year and the concentration today was fabulous. I thought it was our most professional performance all year.ā
Hairstonās goal in the 44th minute opened the scoring for Colorado, and marked the third consecutive home match in which the 22-year-old has found the back of the net.
āToday we came out with the mindset that we need to come out here and make up for the game that we had last weekend,ā Hairston said. āThe mindset was to leave it all on the field and keep it going here at home and thatās what we were able to do.ā
Colorado came out on the offensive in the first half, holding nearly 54 percent of the possession and out-shooting the Whitecaps with 13 shots (three on target) to Vancouverās two, including Hairstonās opening goal.
Hairston continued to spark Coloradoās offense in the second half, linking up with Dominique Badji in the 61st minute to give Colorado its second goal. Starting on the wing after the trade of Luis Solignac to Chicago earlier this week, Badjiās goal marked his first tally since Aprilās Snow Clasico 2 against the New York Red Bulls.
Coloradoās offense received additional reinforcement with the injection of Sebastien Le Toux in the 74th minute, making his debut in Burgundy following Thursday's trade.
āI think heās a player that comes in and gives 100 percent,ā Mastroeni said. āHe won some balls defensively and got into the box a few times, we just couldnāt find him. Heās a very good player and fits into the way we want to play.ā
With the win, Colorado moved back within three points of league-leading FC Dallas in the Supporterās Shield standings.
āWe knew what was at stake,ā Mastroeni said. āAnd we knew the implications of putting forth a poor performance and how devastating that could be to our campaign psychologically.ā