The Colorado Rapids will look for their first home win this season when they face the Houston Dynamo on Saturday in a Western Conference match in Commerce City, Colo.
The Rapids (1-1-2, 5 points) return home after a 1-1 draw in Seattle on March 16, with Kevin Cabral sending home the rebound of a Djordje Mihailovic shot from just outside the penalty area in the 87th minute to provide the equalizer.
“When I talked to the team after, you can see this frustration because we want to get all three points, which is a good thing, right?” Colorado coach Chris Armas said after the Seattle game. “We’re a hungry team. They believe they can win these games. (The game in Seattle) is a draw that just feels a little bit strange because we want those three points.”
The Rapids have responded well after a season-opening loss in Portland by producing four of their five points on the road, including a 2-1 win at Real Salt Lake on March 9.
Houston (1-1-1, 4 points) travels to the Denver suburbs after picking up its first win of the season, a 1-0 victory at home over Portland on March 16.
Ibrahim Aliyu scored the game’s lone goal in the 43rd minute and Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark turned away four shots on goal, including some hectic late-match stretches that included five minutes of stoppage time. Aliyu, a 22-year-old forward, has goals in back-to-back MLS matches for Houston.
“I can pinpoint some of the results that haven’t gone our way up to this point when we just didn’t make these little plays that matter in the box, whether it’s blocking a shot or helping out to your teammate,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said after the win over Portland. “It was just a really good effort from everybody. We ain’t perfect. We got a lot of work to do.”
The Rapids own a 15-11-13 lead in the all-time series with Houston. The Dynamo took four points from Colorado last season, winning 5-1 at home and drawing on the road.
–Field Level Media
