Rose is back

From her ankle boo-boo

The rain fell down

And Gotham did, too.

The return of star midfielder Rose Lavelle, meant to spark Gotham FC during a patchy run of league form, instead provided just a silver lining during a 2-1 home loss to the Kansas City Current on a gray and rainy early Saturday afternoon.

It was the first appearance for Lavelle — the fan favorite who had been sidelined from Gotham (3W-3D-5L) and the U.S. women’s national team following offseason ankle surgery — since last Dec. 3.

“It’s always tough to be out for a while and have to watch your team from the sideline,” Lavelle said. “But I think it’s such a fun group to watch, so I was chomping at the bit to get back out there with them.”

The cheers for Lavelle started in the 31st minute when she rose from the substitutes bench to begin warming up beyond the goal line.

At halftime, she shared a hug with Liberty counterpart Breanna Stewart, who joined an announced crowd of 10,399 at what’s now known as Sports Illustrated Stadium for the team’s annual Pride match.

Lavelle entered in the 74th minute to a sustained round of applause, and wasted little time getting on the ball and showcasing her trademark saucy dribbling.

Minutes later, she sent a left-footed shot just wide of the top corner.

“She’s just such a different player from everybody else you see,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said. “We all have a feeling that something special can happen, and for us, to have her back on the pitch is something really, really special.”

Lavelle also applied the pressure that led to a Current own goal deep into second-half stoppage time.

“Every day she comes in, and she’s there before us and stays after us, working to get her ankle back to full health,” Gotham’s Nealy Martin said. “So this was really awesome to see her out there. We’re excited for the talent she brings to the team, but also the leader and the teammate she’s been off the field.”

The day of mixed emotions ended with the ceremonial presentation of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, the inaugural regional club title Gotham won on May 24, further underscoring where the team is caught at the moment.

There’s another trophy to be proud of and show off, affirming the club’s ambitions to be relevant on an international level.

At the same time, there’s the reality of the standings: Last year’s NWSL semifinalists finished the afternoon in ninth place, outside of playoff position, and faced the prospect of sinking as low as 12th (out of 14) by the end of the weekend.

They are winless in their past four NWSL matches (0W-1D-3L), a stretch dating back six weeks to an April 26 victory over the Washington Spirit.

They have scored just 13 goals in 11 games, despite a wealth of attacking options, and have a goal differential of +1.

“We do have a lot of work to do. I think we have the tools to get back towards the top of the table or back in playoff contention,” Lavelle said. “I think we have the group to do it. … We’ll be back.”

Kansas City (9W-0D-2L) are the best team in the league, and quickly showed why, scoring twice inside of 11 minutes — the first off a bad giveaway by Emily Sonnett.

Gotham twice appeared to have pulled one back early in the second half, only for both goals to be disallowed, including one on a dubious offside call. Amorós repeatedly took issue with the officiating after the game — “It has to be better,” he concluded — and may be hearing from the league office.

“We wanted to celebrate with three points that I think we deserved today and actually probably won,” Amorós said.