Rapids “Quietly Confident” the Recipe for Success in Second Leg

By Brian Jennings

 

Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni said matter-of-factly that the gameplan for this weekend’s playoff match against LA will be simple for Colorado given the scenario needed for them to advance.  “For this week less is more as far as tactics-Clear head, clear mind, big heart, big stones, let’s go for it.”

A playoff loss never feels good, but the chance to reverse last weekend’s deficit could be a big part of just what the Rapids can count on at home Sunday afternoon against the Galaxy.  Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has become a genuine fortress this year for Colorado, something that Kevin Doyle says the Rapids have no choice but to be confident by citing “Our home record,” the affable striker told The Voice of C38 this week. 

 

“We’re quietly confident.  We know no one likes coming here.  If we can’t have confidence being unbeaten all season we’re never going to have it.  Our ability to keep clean sheets and our ability to keep tight at home, which we will need to do massively with the away goal rule, so important.”

“Nil-nil at halftime, even at 60 minutes, we won’t be panicking at that stage because a lot of our best stuff comes in the last half hour especially at home,” admits Doyle, who said it is equally important not to get too anxious and trust in what got them to where they are in the postseason.  “(Being down 1-0) Not to be suckerpunched, not to be sucked in to go all out trying to get that goal back because if they score it will be very difficult.  It sucks the wind out of the stadium, sucks the wind out of us so we just need to be patient, to play like we have played at home.”

Mastroeni singled out the team’s constant ability to rally around each other all year long as one of the reasons he likes the chances of his side at home.  “The belief that we’ve built as a group over the course of the season and people thinking we didn’t have a chance when the season started-All this stuff is the intangibles that make a team.”

“Everyone in that locker room believes that we have a great chance to win this game,” Pablo told The Voice of C38.  “It’s not because I tell them, or someone else says it, it’s because we’ve experienced people saying ‘No’ and we continually say ‘Yes’, and I think that type of mentality is worth its weight in gold.”