Colorado Rapids hold off FC Dallas to 'deliver' for home supporters | OneFootball

Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas was delighted that his side could "deliver" in front of the team's supporters at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in their 2-1 victory over FC Dallas.

It's been a rough couple of seasons for the Rapids supporters who saw their beloved club finish outside of the playoff picture in 2022 and 2023. The poor back-to-back seasons included a 14th-placed finish in the Western Conference last term with just 27 points and five games, but things are starting to trend upwards for the new-look Rapids.

With the likes of Djordje Mihailovic, Sam Vines and Zack Steffen joining over the summer and the emergence of Rafael Navarro, who has four goals in nine appearances, Colorado have looked a completely different side thus far in 2024.

The Rapids are riding a four-game unbeaten streak that includes three wins out of their last four games played against LAFC, San Jose Earthquakes and Dallas. An own goal from Dallas' Sebastien Ibeagha and a second-half strike from Calvin Harris were enough to see off Petar Musa's 87th-minute striker for the hosts.

"Look, I said it last week, winning games is never easy as we saw tonight," said Armas. "We had to suffer a little for the last bit of the game, but the wins feel good for the guys. It validates the work that we're all putting in. We have a really nice group here and I love that they get to reap the rewards of a lot of hard work. So a really, really good win for the team, nice to see the boys creep up in the standings a bit.

"I love that we can deliver for the fans. You know, I think for a large part of the night we gave the fans something to be proud of. We played some good football for good stretches and suffered to seal the victory. So, a really important win, especially at home, and we'll enjoy it for a day or so and then get back to work."

As the Rapids have 15 points on the season from nine games played, they've already surpassed over half of their points collected from the entire 34-game 2023 campaign. Armas fully believes that Colorado's recent results are no fluke and that the team is steadily improving.

"These results aren't accidental, we've earned it, and we’ve put ourselves in the spots to win games and even the draws that we've had we've earned. So yeah, 15 points and we have fought for every single one of them and we'll continue to do it. I told them I'm really proud of them," he said.

"Again, tonight for me, the first half and the start of the second half, let's call it the first 60 minutes, was really, really good. In possession, out of possession, controlling counter attacks, good structure, creating chances, scoring some goals and not giving up much. Then we had to suffer a little bit but 15 points I think it's a good start to the year."

The Rapids will aim to win their third straight game when they square off against FC Cincinnati on the road at TQL Stadium this Saturday.