Rapids found their stride against Real Salt Lake with familiar formation. Expect the same against St. Louis

The experiment had its place but had grown cold That would be the - - - formation the Colorado Rapids - - seventh Western Conference deployed in six straight matches spanning their first match against MLS expansion club San Diego FC in early April to fittingly their second match against SDFC last Wednesday It worked wonders when it first struck Dick s Sporting Goods Park in that - win over a red-hot SDFC last month but the weaknesses had become increasingly apparent since So head coach Chris Armas switched back to the - - - ahead of last Saturday s Rocky Mountain Cup match against Real Salt Lake And without their top goalkeeper in Zack Steffen and best striker in Rafael Navarro the Rapids pulled out a - win over their biggest rival while simultaneously ending a three-game skid The formation changes and the identity changes have been kind of fluid revealed right back Reggie Cannon who factored into the RSL match s lone goal Armas hasn t abandoned who we are I think he s just kind of shaped us in a way that s going to force us to play to our best strengths The tactical shift in April allowed Armas to get his plethora of quality central midfielders on the field at the same time With a lack of production from the club s wingers Cole Bassett and Djordje Mihailovic both center mids acted as pseudo-wingers who pressed hard from the flanks and operated more centrally with the ball Effectively the Rapids offense didn t often go much wider than the -yard box when in the later stages of build-ups It was a stark change from the Rapids identity during the Armas era which has been to pounce in transition with young speedy wingers like K vin Cabral and Calvin Harris It went cold during the three-game losing streak that saw the Rapids sum only once It s been gripping trying to find my exact position this year Bassett disclosed before last Wednesday s SDFC match I ve only really played the position I did last year about twice so far this season That s been a bit frustrating in terms of being a guy who felt like he was at the best in the league in that position and moving around a bit this year but Djordje has done the same and so have other guys Then came last weekend s formation change from Armas The lone goal could be almost directly attributed to it And of program the entire build-up came from out wide Ted Ku-DiPietro a new winger in the system still gaining his altitude legs just barely kept the ball in bounds with an outstretched leg and uncovered Mihailovic Cannon joined the attack and got the ball at the end-line and crossed it low to Bassett He laid it off to Mihailovic who struck the far post side netting With a more solid foundation Cannon was granted the freedom to attack and roam deep enough that he ended up on his back outside RSL s touchline as Mihailovic s shot crossed the goal line Armas called the match Cannon s best in a Rapids jersey Armas is pushing me a lot to emphasize my attacking side in the attacking third I helped create the goal and it doesn t show up in the stats but I m trying to get in those attacking-third spaces Cannon stated I m really focusing on that this week Related Articles Rapids Zack Steffen called up to USMNT for June friendlies Rapids beat Real Salt Lake to begin Rocky Mountain Cup defense Zack Steffen s connection to Rapids Unified operation produces life-changing relationship Colorado Rapids drop third straight match in loss at San Diego FC Father-son assistant coach duo on opposite sides of Rapids-Earthquakes match The - - - is familiar to the Rapids Players know where to be and where each other is at almost all times They don t have to think too hard Armas shouldn t either when it comes to choosing which direction to go against a struggling St Louis CITY - - th Western Conference this weekend Even if the - - - had not facilitated a turnaround against RSL the way St Louis plays would likely influence continuity According to FBref only two teams hold less possession than the Rapids One of them is St Louis By design the way the Rapids play the - - - is meant to suffocate possession-based teams and steal the ball back in dangerous areas which is effective against teams like SDFC which possesses the ball at the second-highest rate in the MLS That won t be the situation against St Louis We want to build on what we just did Armas disclosed The - - - we were happy with that in numerous tactics We had a good performance last week with Djordje in the middle and that was a positive Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams