“We’re Definitely Building Something Good Here”: Rapids Confident in Attacking Efforts, Creating Intentionality up Top

March 13, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Colorado Rapids News Release

Despite the result on Saturday at PayPal Park, Robin Fraser is not discouraged by the effort and promise his team shows in the attacking third so far in 2023.

The chances for the Rapids were there against San Jose, as Colorado took six shots and created chances off of set pieces in the box. All six attempts were taken by different Rapids players, showing off the versatility of the team in the attack.

“Zero complaints about the work ethic and the effort tonight,” said Fraser. “It was absolutely fantastic. I thought even the attackers defended well from the front. One thing that we need to be sharper at in the attacking is really turn half chances into real chances.”

While the Rapids’ 5-4-1 defensively-minded approach and Yarbrough’s three saves stifled the Earthquakes throughout the game, Espinoza’s 78th-minute strike that deflected off the crossbar and inside the goal line was enough to earn the home side three points.

“Right as we’re getting ready to make some attacking changes, they scored the goal. Fantastic strike. So in the end, it’s disappointing because I felt like we probably did enough on the day to at least get a point,” said Fraser.

“But at the end of the day if you’re not firing on all cylinders all over the field…that’s the way this league is, there are no easy games and you need to be on it for 90 minutes. And I thought we had some very good moments and we had some not so great moments and in the end that ended up costing us.”

Sam Nicholson entered the game shortly halftime and immediately contributed to the attack, nearly assisting Darren Yapi in the 39th minute before firing off a shot of his own early into the second half.

The winger is confident in the Rapids’ ability to be bolder in the box and get the attack in the dangerous shape he knows it can achieve.

“We’re playing some good football,” he said after the clash with San Jose. “You see this quite a lot, not just in this league, but in many leagues. People have slow starts and it’s just we’re just waiting for something to click. We’re definitely building something good here.”

“You can tell whether we’re playing football or just having that final cutting edge. And I think that’s on all of us to be honest, and especially the forward players, I think we probably just need to be a bit more direct, play with a bit more risk in the final third, which we do have this sort of freedom to do.”

Yapi leads the attacking…