FC Dallas will attempt to respond from what they consider an unfortunate defeat when they visit the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night in Commerce City, Colo.
Dallas (8-8-5, 29 points) lost 1-0 to D.C. United on Tuesday as they continued a run of games without leading scorer Jesus Ferreira, who is away on international duty.
Dallas conceded in the 73rd minute but had the majority of the second-half chances and saw Tsiki Ntsabeleng strike the goal frame in second-half stoppage time.
“Yeah, it was super unlucky,” Dallas midfielder Sebastian Lletget said. “I thought the boys put in a good shift. It was hot out there, but I thought we were pretty organized for the most part. We made a couple subs and a couple chances came from it.”
Dallas now heads to Colorado on the back end of consecutive away matches without scoring and three straight road losses overall. And their last two away goals have come in second-half stoppage time, one from Ferreira in a 2-1 loss at Kansas City and one from Nkosi Tafari to salvage a 1-1 draw at San Jose.
Meanwhile, Colorado (2-10-8, 14 points) owns a nine-match winless run, and its best performances were 0-0 draws in its last two home games against San Jose and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Four players are tied for the team scoring lead with only two goals apiece. And while last year’s leading scorer Diego Rubio (upper body) has been upgraded to questionable on the team availability report, he hasn’t played since mid-May.
But as the MLS secondary transfer window opened this week, the Rapids moved to acquire offensive-minded defender Andrew Gutman in a trade with Atlanta United.
Team GM Padraig Smith insists the last-place team is still eyeing a return to the postseason despite beginning the weekend 11 points beneath the playoff line in the Western Conference.
“Andrew is an attacking fullback in his prime and possesses the physical attributes and mentality that we are keen to bring into our group,” Smith said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming him to Colorado as we continue our push to get back in the playoff race.”
–Field Level Media