New arrivals, Doyle and Solignac, set to lift goal-shy Rapids?
by Richard Fleming, Colorado Rapids play-by-play announcer
Colorado Rapids do not score many goals. Then again, they do not concede too many, either.
Having failed to score in their opening four games of 2015 – the first three outings were all goalless draws – Pablo Mastroeni’s team burst to life with a 4-0 thumping of FC Dallas in Texas.
Since then, they have netted just one goal in each of their six games, a run which began with a 3-1 home loss to Seattle Sounders FC on April 18.
They are unbeaten in the previous five games (1-0-4), and have yet to lose on the road this season (1-0-4).
Goalkeeper Clint Irwin recorded his fifth shutout of the season last Saturday in the controversial 1-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The match marked the MLS debut for two new signings, Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle and 24-year-old Argentine Luis Solignac. Both are strikers, and it is hoped that their arrival will help cure the team’s ills in front of goal.
Solignac was due to make his debut at Sporting Kansas City on May 16, only for Mother Nature to intervene and force the postponement of that fixture. The front man arrived from Nueva Chicago of the Argentine top flight, but he also has experience of playing in Portugal, Finland and Sweden. He is both quick and strong. He also has a bit of an edge to his game; something the Rapids have lacked up top since the departure of Conor Casey.
Kevin Doyle, meanwhile, made a decision to move to MLS after visiting Colorado in February. He also picked the brains of his international strike partner, Robbie Keane, who is enjoying life at LA Galaxy. Doyle signed for the Rapids in March, but only joined them on conclusion of the Championship season in England, and after his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers failed to make the playoffs. He arrived on May 16, had his first training session on May 19 and played the last 27 minutes against Vancouver – for his MLS bow – on May 23.
Doyle struggled for playing time at Wolves this past season, and also when loaned to Crystal Palace. The club’s new Designated Player, therefore, arrives physically fresh, if not razor sharp for match conditions. The 31-year-old former Premier League forward has already said that – in a 4-2-3-1 formation – he will be happy playing in the middle of the three as much as the lone marksman up top.
What Mastroeni now has is options in all areas of the park. The record of 2-2-7 is only good enough for 13 points, and last place in the Western Conference, but you get a sense that this side now has a balance to it that was missing previously. The club’s young talent of Shane O’Neill, Dillon Serna, Jared Watts and Marlon Hairston are having to wait their turn, as the battle-hardened veterans such as James Riley, Michael Harrington, Bobby Burling and Sam Cronin are preferred.
Hairston is sidelined with a hamstring injury at the moment. Colorado is also having to get by without Marcelo Sarvas (knee) and Nick LaBrocca (concussion). The problem for Mastroeni during last season’s 14 game winless streak was the lack of choice. The new ‘problem’ he has this term is he has too many options.
Defensively sound, most of the time, and with the ability to mix matters in midfield, the persistent problem in 2015 for this Rapids outfit has undoubtedly been the struggle to put the finishing touch to
the many scoring chances to go their way.
The Rapids argue that they finally got the rub of the green in Saturday’s victory – their first at home in 12 attempts. It should also be noted that their two wins this season have come against the top two teams in the Western Conference, which suggests they should not be taken lightly.
After Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Sporting KC, it is unlikely Seattle will.
