Things looked bright when Omar Cummings pounded a mishandled ball from Chivas goalie Zach Thornton into the back of the net. However it was a shaky performance from the back four that let Colorado down.

Chivas’ Paulo Nagamura came into the game with only 4 career goals, but upped that by 50% by the end of the night. His pair of goals exposed weaknesses in the Rapids’ defense. In the 54th minute, he was given far too much space and hit a beautiful ball to the bottom corner that gave Pickens no chance. In the 59th minute, Kimura attempted to head the ball clear, but it turned into a perfect setup for Nagamura that even Kljestan couldn’t have bettered.

In the category of encouraging signs: Conor Casey was lively and active, and with a bit more luck might’ve netted a pair himself. Pickens made a brilliant stop on Kljestan right before the break, and can’t be faulted for either of the goals.

It’s only one game, but it isn’t going to get any easier for the traditionally slow starting Rapids, as the Denver Post pointed out

…Colorado suffered its 10th loss in 14 Major League Soccer openers and faces a difficult start to the season, with three of the next four games — all but Saturday’s home opener against Kansas City — on the road.

Between now and the Wizards this Saturday at DSG Park in their home opener, I’m sure Gary Smith will be working on the Rapid’s defensive clearances. Goal production was an achilles heel last year, I would also like to see Casey and Cummings find a way to turn chances into goal scoring (yesterday’s goal was a gift).

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Major League Soccer (MLS), Rapids News and Analysis Chivas USA, Colorado, Denver, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Kansas City Wizards, Major League Soccer, Omar Cummings, Sacha Kljestan