Depleted and outsized, the Colorado Rapids’ chances at Leagues Cup knockouts now look slim to none.
The Rapids were unable to match Thursday’s comeback effort against Santos Laguna, dropping their second Leagues Cup phase one match to Club Tijuana, 2-1. With a match left and only four MLS spots to fight for to get to the knockout stage, a loss is likely detrimental.
Colorado took a major blow before the match even started, with star midfielder Djordje Mihailovic out due to undisclosed personal reasons — a decision made hours before the match. It was clear the Rapids missed the serial chance-creator, having not looked very goal-dangerous for the first half and much of the second.
Coach Chris Armas got savvy with his tactics in the 26-year-old’s absence, deploying forward Darren Yapi to pair with forward Rafael Navarro to play attacking midfielder by committee. With those two on the pitch together, you’ll typically see both up top as a striker duo, but instead hd rotated them playing one behind the other.
But when left back Sam Vines and rookie Alex Harris (who has played less than 10 MLS minutes) are the first offensive reinforcements off the bench, chasing a game becomes much harder.
Tijuana, who Rapids goalkeeper coach and set piece maestro Chris Sharpe called a “big group of boys” during the week, came in at an average height of nearly 6-foot-2 among its back four and two defensive midfielders. It made use of a huge size advantage to go up a goal in the first half.
Center back Jackson Porozo, 6-4, got on the end of a Tijuana corner kick with a towering header. It hit the post, but bounced right back to him, then the 39th-minute finish with the right foot was relatively straightforward.
Another rebound doubled Tijuana’s lead in the 72nd minute, when Zack Steffen made a great save on an initial shot, but Ramiro Árciga cleaned up the mess, which looked harder to miss than to score.
Porozo showed up again on the score sheet, but on the wrong end. A beamed cross from Rapids midfielder Oli Larraz glanced off of Porozo’s head and into the far-post side netting for an own goal in the 74th minute.
Tijuana goalkeeper José Rodriguez singlehandedly kept his team in front with two spectacular saves after the own goal.
The Rapids will close out phase one play with a road match against Cruz Azul in Carson, California on Thursday, Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. Cruz Azul was demolished in its first match against the Seattle Sounders, 7-0. But with a tighter race for the four Liga MX knockout spots, Cruz Azul may have more to play for than the Rapids come Thursday.