Thiago Martins dressed Wednesday night with his head and voice hanging low.
If the Brazilian had looked up, he would have seen nothing but shaking heads from a locker room of players who have run out of excuses to explain a recent tailspin.
The truth is, there isn’t much to look up for anymore for Colorado.
After getting outworked in a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas at Invesco Field at Mile High, the Rapids moved themselves closer to becoming playoff outcasts.
Of course, after Wednesday’s listless effort, one might question how badly the Rapids (9-10-5) want to extend their season.
“If you watch me play, I hope you don’t include me in that,” Martins said. “I promise, I may not be scoring tons of goals, but at least when I step on the field I play … 110 percent.”
Martins was the sole provider of hope for the sparse crowd of 4,328. He managed to stab a cross from Daniel Wasson off the left post in the 34th minute and then was cruelly denied by the crossbar on a header in the 48th minute.
By far the worst road team in Major League Soccer, Colorado was supposed to relish its final three home games, where the team has historically been one of the toughest MLS teams to beat. Especially Wednesday, with the Rapids hosting a Dallas squad that hadn’t won in more than a month and had failed to score in its past three games.
Instead, the Rapids faded shortly after the smoke cleared from the cannon perched over the South Stands. They had their fancy moments in midfield, but anything good happened too far from the Dallas goal to warrant concern as Colorado was shut out for the sixth time this season.
“This is one of the worst defeats, I feel, as a coach,” Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said.
Unlike goals, excuses are plentiful for the Rapids, who were playing their fourth game in 12 days and face rival Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Colorado played without midfielder Terry Cooke (knee) and was missing Pablo Mastroeni, Kyle Beckerman and Hunter Freeman for disciplinary reasons.
Central defender Mike Petke (hip) never re-emerged after halftime and said afterward – between limps – that he thought it was pretty bad.
The news got worse when Salt Lake finished off its 1-0 victory over Los Angeles, moving the second-year club into a tie with Colorado for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
FC Dallas (13-8-3) got goals from Ramon Nuñez in the 25th minute and put things out of reach with a strike from Richard Mulrooney in the 56th.
“They were missing a couple of important parts,” Hoops coach Colin Clarke said referring to Mastroeni and Beckerman. “You miss those two and it takes a lot of fight out of their team. I think that showed tonight.”
FC Dallas 1 1 – 2
Colorado 0 0 – 0
First half – FC Dallas, Nuñez (O’Brien, Ruiz), 25th minute.
Second half – FC Dallas, Mulrooney (Cooper, O’Brien), 56th.
Goalies – Salas, FCD; Cannon, Colo.
Yellow cards – Martins, Colorado, 28th minute; Moor, FCD, 35th; Nuñez, FCD, 54th; Rhine, FCD, 69th; Valakari, FCD, 84th. A – 4,328.
Standings, results, schedule13D
