Rapids is ashamed of their loss in the MLS Cup play-off against LA Galaxy

The Colorado Rapids did well to make it to halftime just one goal behind the LA Galaxy in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday night.

The first ten minutes of the second half made it clear that this Rapids team, out of gas and impactful players, has encountered an MLS Cup contender in impeccable form. The result: a deflating 5-0 loss on the road home to Colorado for Game 2.

“The message (to the team) is clear: these games are coming. They are a good team and we found out again: (Galaxy) is a good team,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “We knew we were ready, but the message is clear: no matter how many goals you lose tonight, the next game is the most important at the moment.

“You have to go home, there are 18,000 fans waiting for us on Friday evening and we are going to figure this out. I am the type of coach and person who will look at it carefully and find the solution to help us with that.”

The only goal of the first half came on the Galaxy’s only corner kick. Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljic got his head on Riqui Puig’s high cross and beat Reggie Cannon vertically to get to it. The shot looked straight, but crept past Zack Steffen’s diving hands to the left.

Then things got ugly. In the 52nd minute, Galaxy left-back John Nelson received a pass from right-back Miki Yamane in a dangerous position, which he touched and buried in the top right of the opposite corner past Steffen. Less than two minutes later, Joveljic returned Puig’s favor in the first half with an assist to the Spanish midfielder, making it 3-0.

Joveljic secured his brace in the 75th minute and Puig earned one himself with the finishing touch in the 87th minute.

Rapids defender and captain Keegan Rosenberry attributed the result to his team coming up against a host of great players with Puig pulling the strings, evidenced by his three-goal contributions on the night.

He said the Galaxy didn’t necessarily do anything different from the first two games of the season – both defeats in which the Rapids conceded three goals – but that they simply did more of it with the intensity of the play-offs.

“Special players, good, talented boys. We weren’t able to limit them well enough, especially Puig,” Rosenberry said. “Our job is to try to force him off the ball and not give him time on the ball. He is a guy who is going to look for the ball and go to different places that are unorthodox and difficult to follow.

“He’s a good player and they have a lot of that. We didn’t do that well enough tonight and they punished us for that.”

The Rapids ruled out star midfielder Djordje Mihailovic with an ankle injury in the week leading up to the game, but expected star Homegrown Cole Bassett to make a return after a month-long quad injury. On Friday the club said Bassett was ready to go, but he suffered a setback and was deemed unmatch fit ahead of Saturday’s match.