Saturday night would have been a good time for the Rapids to begin their political careers.
On the field they were full of bold, impressive ideas against the Houston Dynamo, but were noticeably absent when it came time to follow through.
And when left to face the media after their 1-0 Major League Soccer loss at Invesco Field at Mile High, some of the Rapids could answer only with smiles and shrugs while urging patience and perspective.
“No worries,” said midfielder Kyle Beckerman, wearing a Bob Marley T-shirt. “Nothing to worry about. We’ve got 28 more games. We’ve started out a lot worse than this before.”
Although that may not sound encouraging for a team known for starting seasons poorly, Saturday’s defeat revealed flashes of a promising future. Or at least the potential for one when some of the new additions start to mesh.
Once they shook off some of their bye-week rust, the Rapids (1-2-1) were active on the flanks, moved with quick possession and generated a handful of dangerous crosses into the Dynamo 18-yard box. But the cutting edge, the burst of creativity and the lethal finish were always a step away.
“We were unlucky in some instances and in some instances just not good enough,” said attacking midfielder Clint Mathis, who returned to the starting lineup since being injured in Colorado’s 5-2 defeat at Houston on April 2. “As long as we keep creating chances, it’s eventually going to come our way sometime.”
Brian Ching scored the lone goal when he poked home a loose ball in the 16th minute after goalie Joe Cannon had saved the initial header.
The sight of Ching scoring brought back a wealth of bad memories for the Rapids. The Hawaiian scored four goals against Colorado in their last meeting while prolonging Colorado’s habit this season of giving up the first goal.
The Dynamo (3-2) picked up its first win away from home this season while snapping the Rapids’ 10-game home unbeaten streak.
Striker Nicolas Hernandez left the most chances wanting for the Rapids. The Argentine blasted a 15-yard shot well over the crossbar in the 36th minute, just missed several crosses and had his best chance pushed wide by goalie Pat Onstad in the 68th.
Jovan Kirovski’s goal streak ended at three games as his best chance – a free kick from 25 yards – banged off the left post in the 75th minute.
“The two weeks off helped us to get healthy but they didn’t help us with the rhythm of the game,” Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said.
Houston 1 0 – 1
Colorado 0 0 – 0
First half – Ching (unassisted), 16th minute.
Second half – None.
Goalies – Houston (Onstad); Colorado (Cannon).
Yellow cards – Petke, C, 37th minute; Moreno, H, 66th; Waibel, H, 72nd; Onstad, H, 80th.
Red card – Moreno, H, 86th minute.
A – 7,225.
