Field Level Media
31 May 2023, 08:55 GMT+10
The Colorado Rapids visit the Columbus Crew on Saturday and the internal tension among each club figures to be palpable after recent frustrating outcomes.
Neither the Rapids (2-7-6, 12 points) nor the Crew (5-6-3, 18 points) have delivered much success recently.
The Crew's 3-1 loss at Nashville SC on Sunday was their second straight and dropped them to 1-4-1 in the past six games.
"I think we're frustrated because we knew that maybe we deserve better, but it is not the time to be negative," Crew defender Mohamed Farsi said. "We still have 20 games going, so 60 points to go grab. We just have to stay positive and stay together."
Colorado has lost four straight following a 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati on Saturday. The Rapids are 1-4-3 in their past eight heading into their first game at Columbus since Sept. 22, 2018.
"The most important thing is not to point fingers at each other, to go into every training every day (with a) positive mindset to bring energy," Rapids defender Andreas Maxso said.
The problem for Colorado is a lack of scoring with 12 goals in 15 matches (0.80 per game) to rank 27th of 29 teams.
"It feels like every single thing goes against you," Colorado coach Robin Fraser said. "It feels like every deflection goes to them, more into our goal. When we get deflections, it goes out of bounds."
The Crew's 26 goals (1.86) are third-best in the league but a shaky defense has led to meltdowns, such as Nashville overcoming a 1-0 deficit with three unanswered scores, or Orlando City rallying from down two for a 2-2 tie on May 13.
"We get leads in games, play well in the first half and then we just haven't been able to close games out," Crew defender Philip Quinton said.
The situation could get worse because Columbus' Gustavo Vallecilla sustained an injury against Nashville that will keep him out several weeks, joining fellow injured center backs Josh Williams and Milos Degenek.
-- Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Orlando Echo news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Orlando Echo.
More InformationTRIPOLI, Libya: Italy and Libya resumed commercial flights for the first time in ten years on September 30, with flight ...
SAINT GEORGE, Maine: A fire destroyed several waterfront buildings in Maine on September 29, including an art gallery with several ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia - According to Asian diplomats and the Philippines' president, Southeast Asian leaders have decided that Myanmar will not ...
NEW LONDON, Connecticut: Video footage taken deep in the Pacific Ocean provided the first detailed view of three World War ...
CUSTER STATE PARK, South Dakota: As part of an annual effort to maintain the health of the species, which has ...
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan: Uzbek authorities said a powerful explosion on September 28 at a warehouse near Tashkent's airport killed one person ...
TALLAHASSEE, Florida: The Florida Lottery said this week that the second-largest lottery winner in U.S. history has come forward to ...
VICTORIA, Texas: This week, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton in Victoria, Texas, ruled that President Joe Biden did not have ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is investigating a JetBlue flight on Monday that experienced sudden ...
EL PASO, Texas: Over the weekend, Oscar Leeser, Mayor of El Paso, said that the surge in migrants crossing the ...
A long-shot candidate from Texas tried to have the former president barred from seeking re-election over stance on ?insurrection?The US ...
Washington, DC [US], October 3 (ANI): Republican candidate for 2024 US Presidential elections Nikki Haley claimed that she received a ...