Rapids Burned by the Fire 2-1

The Rapids showed up to play last night, right around the 80th minute. Unfortunately they were already down 2-0 at that point and ran out of time as they tried to snatch a point from the jaws of defeat.

The first half was a snore fest, with only on real chance that McManus shot right at the keeper, and another shot that Clark worked hard to get and put just over the corner of the goal. Bouna had some adventures on the other end, but nothing serious and the teams went to half scoreless.

In the second half the Rapids looked like the Rapids of old, namely 2007, as they seemed to be playing for the 0-0 draw. That only lasted until the 53rd minute as John Thorrington (No, I didn't realize he was still in the league either) was left unmarked to race into the box and put away a loose ball. There were 3 Fire attackers in the box, and not a single one of them was marked. The play started with Erpen sliding wildly to stop a pass, and missing completely.

The Rapids went into a shell at that point, with only McManus pressing hard up front. Finally about the 80th minute the team started attacking to get the tying goal, but John Thorrington would reappear in the 84th minute. The play started (stop me if you've heard this before) with Erpen sliding wildly to stop a pass, and missing completely. This once again left Fire attackers unmarked in the box and Bouna could only flail at Thorrington's shot as it went by him for the 2-0 lead.

Two minutes later Gomez lined up a free kick outside of the box, but mis-hit it badly. So badly that it got past the Fire defenders and McManus was able to redirect it on net for his first goal as a Rapid, and giving the Rapids a spark of life. What followed was 8 minutes of the best attacking pressure the Rapids have shown this season, with a couple of solid chances on net, but no result. The final kick of the game was a corner in the Rapids attacking end that Bouna Time! got his head on, but directed it over the net. The ensuing goal kick resulted in the full time whistle, and the Rapids went down to their 3rd defeat in 4 games.

As always, lets review my Keys to the Game:

• How do we bounce back? Last week was an embarrassing loss at home. Is this the start of another slide to mediocrity for the Rapids, or does the quality team was saw in the first couple games return?
  We didn't bounce so much as thud. For the first 80 minutes we looked like a slightly better version of the team that played San Jose. Chicago is a much better team that San Jose though, so the slight improvement we showed wasn't enough.
• How does Clavijo react to the loss? Historically its been an excuse for him to play musical chairs with the starting 11, but this season he's shown a patience that I wasn't aware he had
  3 changes to the starting 11, 1 forced by injury and 2 tactical changes. Pablo was a solid improvement in midfield, as good as DiRaimondo has been playing I think he's lost his starting spot when he gets healthy McManus was more dangerous than Cummings, and was able to create his own chances more than Cummings is. Gray for Kimura was a wash.
• Where is Christian Gomez? So far the trade has been a bust for the Rapids. One PK goal and 0 assists is not what we paid our DP slot for. Its time for Gomez to step up
  Quiet again this week. He got an assist on the goal, but that was more luck than anything. The trade is looking like a loser at this point.
• Dealing with the injuries. We're going to have 1 or 2 changes in the lineup due to the injuries to DiRaimondo and LaBrocca. You would think we would improve by adding Pablo to the starting 11, but it doesn't always work that way
  Only one injury change, and Pablo improved the lineup.
• The possession game. Last week we had no ability to keep possession in the midfield, which led to long balls over the top to our lone striker. The two d-mids have to link up with Gomez and the wingers better.
  We actually did a better job possessing the ball this week, until the attacking third. There's a lack of patience on this team, eventually somebody decides to blast the ball forward and we lose it.

Critical Matchup: Mastroeni vs. Blanco - I'll give the defense credit, as bad as they were ball-watching on the goals, they kept Blanco from having a major impact on the game. Of course, nobody expected John Thorrington to resurrect his career last night.

Fact of the Match: The Rapids have scored 2 goals in their last 3 games, after scoring 6 in their first two games.

Random Observations:

Use the wings! Like Cooke last week, time and time again Clark was open on the left and people just missed it.

Pablo is still Pablo. After a series of questionable fouls against Colorado Pablo was tracking a Fire player moving away from goal and you could see the foul coming 5 seconds before it happened.

Erpen is a disaster at the moment. The last 3 goals we've given up have come through him. I'm not overly fond of Keel either, so once Petke is healthy we may be forced to go to a Petke - Pablo central defensive tandem.

The Rapids defense is bad. We were fooled by the poor tactical choices of Ruud Gullit in LA game and the injuries in the NE game, but if it weren't for Bouna we would have given 4-5 goals up last night, again.

Normally a 2-1 scoreline in Chicago wouldn't be that bad, but on the heels of the 2-0 loss to San Jose and with Dc coming to town next week we're standing on the edge of a cliff, and I think we're about to fall off.

Christian Gomez needs to start earning his status as our unofficial DP player. Yeah, this is a copy from last week, still applies though.

I give the 4-5-1 one more game. If we don't see some improvements in the attack next game, it might be time for a formation change.

McManus earned a starting spot last night. Gray did not.

Gomes linked up better with the attacking players. It wasn't long after he came in that the Rapids attack started clicking. He's pushing for his own starting spot.

Man of the Match: Tom McManus. Scored the goal, was the only attacker to be consistanly dangerous and pressing the attack, and he's Scottish, so he can't be crap. ;)

Rapids to Fight Fire in Chicago

The Rapids are back on the road tomorrow, in the Windy City to face the Fire at 6:30pm MDT on HDNet. If you don't get HDNet Class VI will be gathering at the British Bulldog in downtown Denver to watch the game.

Here's the injury report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L knee); DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); DOUBTFUL: MF John DiRaimondo (L ankle); QUESTIONABLE: MF Nick LaBrocca (nose); PROBABLE: DF Ugo Ihemelu (R hip)

Today's Denver Post has an article about some of the changes we'll see this weekend. Given though, my lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Gray - Keel - Erpen - Burciaga Jr.
Mastroeni - Gomes
Cooke - C. Gomez - Clark
McManus

The article talks about Gray and McManus getting the start. Starting Gray is apparently a tactical decision due to his height, while no explanation is given for McManus over Cummings. The way Cummings has played in the last couple of games I think its time to give somebody else a chance. Pablo is ready to start and will be in for the injured DiRaimondo, while I'm guessing that Gomes will start if LaBrocca can't go.

Critical Matchup: Mastroeni vs. Blanco

This is an easy one to figure out. Blanco might be the best striker in the league, while a healthy Pablo is one of the best d-mids. If the Rapids can shut Blanco down and force the Fire to find other options they'll be reduced to hoping Chad Barret can hit the broad side of the barn, which he proved last week is questionable at best. If we have to rely on Erpen or Keel to stop Blanco, it will be a long day for the Rapids.

Keys To Look For:

• How do we bounce back? Last week was an embarrassing loss at home. Is this the start of another slide to mediocrity for the Rapids, or does the quality team was saw in the first couple games return?


• How does Clavijo react to the loss? Historically its been an excuse for him to play musical chairs with the starting 11, but this season he's shown a patience that I wasn't aware he had.


• Where is Christian Gomez? So far the trade has been a bust for the Rapids. One PK goal and 0 assists is not what we paid our DP slot for. Its time for Gomez to step up


• Dealing with the injuries. We're going to have 1 or 2 changes in the lineup due to the injuries to DiRaimondo and LaBrocca. You would think we would improve by adding Pablo to the starting 11, but it doesn't always work that way


• The possession game. Last week we had no ability to keep possession in the midfield, which led to long balls over the top to our lone striker. The two d-mids have to link up with Gomez and the wingers better.

Prediction: 1-1 The Rapids are still questionable on the road, and are playing one of the better teams in MLS. I'd be surprised if we got the win, and I won't be shocked if we lose. Still I think our defense can prevent the Fire from going crazy, and I think Gomez might start asserting his influence on the team.

Weekend Roundup 4/19-4/20

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The good news is that the West looks pretty bad so far, so even laying an egg against the E-Quakes we only dropped to second, and we're tied with Toronto for 6th overall in the league. We're tied for the 2nd best offense in the league still.

Queen of the South - The Doonhamers, fresh off of upsetting Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final, hosted promtion-hopefuls Dundee. Dundee needed a win and a loss by Hamiltion to stay alive i nthe promotion chase, while Queens are playing out the string and determining their best lineup for the Scottish Cup final. Apparently the compeition for a spot in the starting lineup for the final was enough motivation for QoS to control the game. 8 minutes in they had a goal waved off my a phantom foul call, and at the half hour mark they took a 1-0 lead. That combined with the news that Hamilton was up 2 goals and a man seemed to take the fire out of Dundee, and the teams settled on the 1-0 scoreline.

The win clinches 4th place for Queens, their best finish since returning to the 1st division, and their best point total as well. They are mathimatically still alive for 3rd place, but it would take some odd results to get it. Queens goes on the road to face Dunfermline in the season finale next week, then has a month off before the Scottish Cup final.

On Sunday the other Scottish Cup semi-final between Rangers and St. Johnstone went to extra time with no score, and to PK's tied 1-1 before Rangers won the PK shootout 4-3. This result means that, regardless of the outcome of the Scottish Cup final, Queen of the South will play in the UEFA Cup next season!

Blackburn Rovers - Rovers hosted league leaders Manchester United at Ewood Park. A win would keep their slight European hopes alive, and they came out determined to get it. Roque Santa Cruz scored in the 21st minute, but it took Big Bad Brad Friedel to keep United off the board. Alas, he couldn't hold out against the Red Devil's strike force forever, and 2 minutes from full time Carlos Tevez got on the end of a redirected corner kick and put it away to claim a point for the probable league champs.

The single point leaves Blackburn in 9th place with 3 games to play. They are 6 points back of Aston Villa in the Intertoto Cup spot, and they will lose the tiebreaker with them. They will be eliminated from European contention with a loss or Aston Villa win in any of the last 3 matches. The point does guarentee that they will finish in the top half of the table.

Tenerife - For the third straight wee a goal in the dying minutes of the match cost Tenerife points. This time CDT went down at Xerez, giving up agoal midway through the first half, only to tie it midway through the second. It appeared that Tenerife would escape with a point, only to conceed the winning goal 1 minute into stoppage time.

The loss leaves Tenerife in 8th place with 8 games to play, 8 points from a promotion spot. The good news is that a number of the teams ahead of CDT have to come to Santa Cruz before the end of the season, which gives CDt a chance to catch up.

Ebbsfleet United - The 'Fleet hosted relegation-threatened Altrincham, and the visitors did not enjoy the hospitality. Ebbsfleet scored on both sides of the break, and then coasted to the easy 2-0 win.

Ebbsfleet has 2 league games remaining, before the FA Trophy final at Wembley. The best they can finish is 7th, which is outside the promotion playoff spaces. They can drop to the bottom half of the table, barely, by finishing as low as 13th.

Rapids Shaken by the Earthquakes

Yeah, the Rapids laid an egg last night, apparently most of the team forgot that the match actually counted for something.

The Rapids started the same 11 for the 4th straight game, a record for the Clavijo-led Rapids. You would think that keeping the same 11 together would lead to the same soccer being played, but the players disproved that theory pretty quickly. From the start the Quakes were the hungrier team, while most of the Rapids looked like they were just going through the motions. Late in the first half I commented "Lets just get to halftime scoreless, and maybe we can fix something in the locker room." That didn't happen as Ronnie O'Brien, possibly their best offensive threat, was left wide open on the left side and followed up a rebound from an impressive Bouna Time! save of his own shot to put San Jose ahead 1-0 right before half, and score the first goal of the season for the Quakes.

The second half started out with some lineup changes, one forced by injury and one forced by the poor play of the first half. DiRaimondo took a nasty twist on his ankle just as the half ended, and Rafel Gomes got his first extended playing time in his place. Koske Kimura had a less than impressive first half (though not nearly as bad as his counterpart on the left side, Burciaga) and was replaced by Herculez Gomez as the team switched from the 4-5-1 to a 3-5-2. Unfortunately this didn't improve things, as the team continued to play lifeless uninspired soccer, with no ability to possess the ball or create dangerous chances. San Jose eventually made them pay as once again the left side was wide open and Kei Kamara was able to slip past Erpen and slot one past an onrushing Bouna. It was all over but the crying at that point. McManus had a couple of good attempts late in the game, but with no result, and the Rapids were left wondering what the h@!! happened.

Let's look back at my Keys to the Game to see how we did:

• We can't overlook this game. Its easy to think that we should handle an expansion team at home, but its that mentality that leads to the underdog pulling off the upset
  I hate to say I told you so, but. Its obvious that most of the team didn't show up to play. We don't know if it was because they thought it would be a cakewalk or they just didn't care, but the underdog did get the upset.
• If we play our game and get a lead, it will be a chance for some of the veterans to come in off the bench and make their case for playing time. How do the likes of Herculez, Gomes, and Pablo do?
  We didn't play our game, and we didn't get a lead. Still Gomes and Herculez got some time, and while Gomes looked OK, it was hard to see anyone stand out in that mess of a game. Hard to give Gomez much credit as we ended scoreless, and at least one occasion he and Christian Gomez were having aheated discussion while waiting for a goal kick to be taken.
• The last Rapids player to score against the Earthquakes was Jean-Phillipe Peguero, who was just signed by the Earthquakes this week. Will he be available to bolster a weak offense?
  Wasn't available, wasn't needed.
• Small list this week. Really this is a game where if we keep our focus and make our home a fortress we should win. I don't think San Jose can win this game, we can only lose it
  And that's exactly what we did. We came out flat, never developed our game, and gave the game to the Earthquakes. Full credit to them for taking advantage of our lackluster play, but if the team that played against LA or KC (or maybe even New England) showed up, there's no way the Quakes would have gotten the 3 points.

Critical Matchup: Rapids offense vs. San Jose defense - Well all that stuff about our defense holding them so the important thing was our ability to score seemed to be wrong. I guess the critical matchup was their offense vs. our defense. Needless to say, they won the matchup on both sides.

Fact of the Match: The Rapids were shut out for the first time this season.

Random Observations:

Only 4 players showed up to play, Bouna Time!, LaBrocca, Cookie, and McManus. Everyone else apparently took the night off.

I think the 'Cummings as lone striker' experiment is over. He can't create enough for himself while upfront, and now he's pushing too hard to make something happen. I think McManus should get the start up top against Chicago next week.

Burciaga had a horrible game. I would have taken him off at half instead of Kimura but Clavijo probably figured, rightly, that Burciaga's offense would be more helpful than Kimura's.

On San Jose's first goal Burciaga screwed up twice. First he was out of position and let O'Brien go unmarked into the box. The he scrambled to get back and lunged to try to stop the shot, completely missing. This left him on the ground and out of the play when Bouna made the stop and gave O'Brien a free run at the rebound, which he put away.

On the second goal Erpen got beat like a drum. Kamara went all the way around him and still beat him to the ball, leaving Bouna no chance as he tried to scramble out and cut down the angle.

Christian Gomez needs to start earning his status as our unofficial DP player. He looked like Kirovski had put on his jersey last night. He was invisible for most of the night in a match where our midfield needed desperate help linking up with our attacking players.

Terry Cooke spent most of the second half alone on the wing, with nobody noticing that he was unmarked. Had we been able to work the ball over to him more we would have had a better chance. Cookie was riding people pretty well in his role as captain.

I had the score right, just the wrong team. ;)

Man of the Match: Bouna, again. He wasn't at fault for either goal, and without a couple of big saves it would have been 4 or 5 to 0. LaBrocca was named MotM at the game, and he played well, but didn't really stand out.

Rapids Try To Ride Out the First Visit of Earthquakes 3.0

The Rapids come home tomorrow to face the Clash/Earthquakes/1860/Dynamo at 7:30pm MDT on FOX Soccer Channel. Here's the injury and discipline report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L knee), DF Ugo Ihemelu (R hip), DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); PROBABLE: MF Pablo Mastroeni (R quadriceps); MF Christian Gomez (R quadriceps)


My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Kimura - Keel - Erpen - Burciaga Jr.
DiRaimondo - LaBrocca
Cooke - C. Gomez - Clark
Cummings

I'm sure that now that I've predicted no changes for the first time this season, Clavijo will trot out a 3-4-3 or something like that. If Gomez is unable to go I wouldn't be surprised to see Kirovski be given the role of attacking midfielder, even though he's shown no aptitude for it.

Critical Matchup: Rapids offense vs. San Jose defense

I realize that the critical matchup is a bit generic this week, but its hard to pinpoint a strength of the winless Earthquakes. Assuming Clavijo makes no changes in the back, I don't think that a team that held the Revs and the Galaxy scoreless will have to worry much about an expansion team that has yet to score a goal going off on them. However the San Jose defense is the closest thing they have to a strength, so our ability to get forward and keep pressure on them is key. We should be able to get a shutout, so 1 goal is all we need, but every team gets lucky and we shouldn't sit back after getting a goal. At home we should be able to attack all night.

Keys To Look For:

• We can't overlook this game. Its easy to think that we should handle an expansion team at home, but its that mentality that leads to the underdog pulling off the upset


• If we play our game and get a lead, it will be a chance for some of the veterans to come in off the bench and make their case for playing time. How do the likes of Herculez, Gomes, and Pablo do?


• The last Rapids player to score against the Earthquakes was Jean-Phillipe Peguero, who was just signed by the Earthquakes this week. Will he be available to bolster a weak offense?


• Small list this week. Really this is a game where if we keep our focus and make our home a fortress we should win. I don't think San Jose can win this game, we can only lose it.

Prediction: 2-0 win, Home game, expansion team, our great defense against their weak offense. Anything less than 3 points would be a failure.

Captain Cooke

From the recent write-up on MLSnet with an interview of Cookie:

I know I have to raise my game. In some games you can go missing a little bit in my position but now I know I have to be involved vocally and be more of a leader when I have the armband

Do we have our own Captain Cook(e) now?

Weekend Roundup 4/12-4/13

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. With only FSL and Dallas also getting wins in the West Colorado retains its lead in the West, 1 point ahead of Dallas. Colorado is third overall in MLS behind KC and Chicago by a point, though KC has played one more game than the Rapids. The Rapids are tied with Chivas for the best offense in the league, and tied for 3rd behind Chicago and NY (who has played one less game) for best defense.

Queen of the South - Queen of the South went to Hampden Park to face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Semi-Finals, and walked away with the biggest upset of the year in the competition, defeating Aberdeen 4-3. This is perhaps the biggest result in Queen of the South history, putting them into the Scottish Cup Final for the first time ever. Their only other appearance in the semi-finals was in 1950 where they forced Rangers to a replay before crashing out.

The Doonhamers came into the match with nothing to lose, as Aberdeen were heavy favorites. Queens started off on the right foot, as Steve Tosh put the Dumfries men up 1-0 midway through the first half. About 15 minutes later Aberdden equalized but Queens continued to have the better run of play. Stephen Dobbie, Queens top scorer, limped off before half and things weren't looking good for Queens as the teams went to the locker room tied 1-1, but nobody expected what was coming.

3 minutes after half Paul Burns put Queens back out front, and the game was on. 4 minutes later Aberdeen evened the score at 2 apiece, only to see Queens retake the lead 5 minutes later on Sean O'Conner's strike. That lead lasted all of 2 minutes before Aberdeen returned the favor, leveling the score 3-3. That lasted for 1 minute as John Stewart found the back of the net for what would be the game-winning goal, giving QoS the lead once and for all, 4-3. In the space of 12 minutes Queens took the lead 3 times, and Aberdeen responded twice.

After that madness it was time for the Doonhamers to hold on for dear life, and they did just that, with Aberdeen hitting the crossbar and post in quick succession. After 4 minutes of stoppage time it was all over, and Queens were in their first final! Not only that, but should Rangers beat St. Johnstone in the other semi-final this coming Sunday, Queen of the South will be guaranteed the Scottish Cup UEFA Cup spot next season, as Rangers have already clinched a Champions League spot. If St. Johnstone win, then it will be two first division clubs fighting for the oldest Cup in the world. Until then they have 3 league matches left, to determine the 4th-6th positions in the First Division between QoS, Dunfermline, and Partick. Then its a month of training before the Scottish Cup final on May 24th.

I'm getting a copy of this game (hopefully) and will have another writeup once I get a chance to view it.

Blackburn Rovers - As one team sees Europe on the horizon, another sees it fading away. Blackburn Fell to 3 goals in the second half, before getting a consolation goal late on the road at Anfield. Liverpool was too much for the Blackburn defense to handle, and bad ball handling led to the first two goals as Blackburn gave possession away cheaply and paid for it. At that point the game was over, but both teams manged to put one on the scoreboard late. With the loss Blackburn slipped to 9th in the table with 4 games remaining, 4 points behind Villa for the 7th spot, the spot with the first priority on the Intertoto Cup slot since Portsmouth (in 6th) has already passed.

Tenerife - For the second straight week a controversial decision by the referee cost Tenerife 2 vital points. This week they faced Elche at home, a team only 3 points ahead of them in the promotion race. Tenerife opened the scoring late i nthe first half, and even though they had a man set off in the second they seemed like they would hold on for the win. Then in the 84th minute a penalty was called on the CDT keeper, when replays showed no evidence of a foul. Eleche converted the penalty, stealing a point and costing Tenerife 2. In response to this and how Las Palmas scored after stoppage time was supposed to be complete last week, Tenerife has lodged an official protest. At this point Tenerife is 5 points out of the promotion spot and in 7th place, with 9 matches to play. Had they won the last two games instead of drawn them they would be in 5th place, 1 point from a promotion spot.

Ebbsfleet United - Ebbsfleet's match against Droylsden was postponed due to a waterlogged Droylsden pitch.

Rapids Supress the Revolution 1-0

The Rapids ran out the same starting 11 for the third time. This might be a record in the Clavijo era. ;) No complaints though, as this 11 seems to be getting the job done. They certainly kept the Revs in check last night, with a good enough performance on the road to get the 3 points.

Both teams played a 5 man midfield to start and that. combined with the pouring rain, lead to a lack of rhythm from both teams in the first half. Late in the half New England began to assert their dominance and control the flow of the game, but the Rapids defense was up to the task and the best chance of the half for either side was Christian Gomez's shot from inside the 6 yard box with Revs keeper Matt Reis already on the ground. Unfortunately Jay Heaps was in place to clear it off the line and the teams went to the locker room scoreless.

The second half started out with a major change for the Rapids, as Christian Gomez's night was done. He was seen rubbing his knee before the half so presumably he picked up a knock. New signing Tam McManus replaced him and the Rapids switched to their 4-4-2 "empty bucket" formation they used last year, with similar results. They played like a better version of their 2007 selves, defending, defending, defending and hoping to win 1-0 on a counter-attack goal, and that's exactly what they did. Khano Smith committed a stupid foul outside the box, Burciaga stepped up, floated the free kick in, and LaBrocca got a head on it and slotted inside the far post. After that it was just a matter of playing strong defense until the final whistle.

Let's look back at my Keys to the Game to see how we did:

• How tired are the Revs after their midweek game?
The Revs didn't appear to "want" this game as much as the Rapids. I don't know if it was the weather or the fatigue but the Rapids looked like the hungrier team

• New England has the worst injury situation in the league right now. Combined with the midweek game the Rapids should be able to out-hustle them.
This was absolutely the case. Our defense harried them whenever they had the ball. Our offense may not have been as impressive, especially after Gomez came off, but we hustled all night.

• Can Gomez draw enough defensive interest to free up the rest of our attack?
This one didn't happen. Obviously his injury kept him from being as effective, but even early in the game our offense was pretty non-existent.

• New England's two Gambian signings, Mansally and Nyassi, are their most dangerous weapons right now. Mansally will probably start upfront and draw Erpen's attention, while Nyassi will be on the right side of midfield. How well can we defend them?
Nyassi only played for a half, due to fatigue, while Mansally wasn't as dangerous as he had been rumored to be. I think our defense did a good job keeping them contained.

• Burciaga Jr's speed vs. Nyassi's speed. I expect to see these two racing up and don the sideline all night.
Again, Nyassi wasn't really a threat, so kudos have to go to Burciaga for containing him while still being involved in what attack that we had.

• Our players returning from injury. Gomes and Gomez have gotten some playing time so far, will they see more this week? And if Pablo doesn't start, when does he get into the game?
Well Pablo was a late scratch from the roster, and Gomes didn't see any time. I think this was largely because of the injury to Gomez and the fact that Kimura was teetering on the edge of a second yellow forcing Clavijo to make other substitutions. That and the continued outstanding play of LaBrocca and DiRaimondo.

• Does Tam McManus get any time?
That's a yes, as he came in for Christian Gomez after halftime. I can't say that he particularly stood out, but then again out focus was on defense last night, not on offense.

Critical Matchup: Christian Gomez vs. Shalrie Joseph - Well I have to say that Joseph and the Revs got the best of this matchup. Possibly Gomez was more injured early on that we realize, but I never felt like our offense got on track at any point in the game, and Gomez missing a golden chance inside the 6 with the keeper on the ground didn't help. Hopefully its a minor injury and he'll be back in the starting 11 next week.

Fact of the Match: The Rapids have 7 goals this season, tied for most in MLS, from 7 different players

Random Observations:

This is one of those cases where "good teams win ugly". It wasn't a pretty match, but we played well enough to get the win.

The Rapids have now scored more goals this season from set pieces or the resulting play off a set piece than from the run of play. Its been a long time since that's been the case.

Cummings did well to help set up the free kick that led to the goal. Even with his up and down play he's been involved in at least 4 of the goals this season. He seems to make things happen for others, but I'm not convinced he can make things happen for himself.

Cooke and Clark were pretty quiet this game. Cooke did a good job tracking back on defense though.

3 points on the road. Let me say that again, 3 points on the road. As bad as we may have played you can't complain about the result.

Looking at our first 3 games, I think we would have been happy to have a win and 2 draws. Two wins and a loss is better than expected.

This is the first time this season I predicted the correct result. Don't use my line to bet with apparently. ;)

Man of the Match: Bouna Time! Anytime you're outshot 19 to 4 (9 to 1 on shots on goal) and you get a win, a lot of credit has to go to the keeper. Bouna came up huge a couple of times. Honorable mention goes to LaBrocca, who was a monster in midfield and got the winning goal.

Rapids Attempt to Quell the Revolution

The Rapids are in New England tomorrow at 5:30pm MDT on Altitude-2 Here's the injury and discipline report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L knee), DF Ugo Ihemelu (R hip), DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin)

SUSPENDED - Ciaran O'Brien


My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Kimura - Keel - Erpen - Burciaga Jr.
Diraimondo - Pablo
Cooke - C. Gomez - Clark
Cummings

According to a report in today's Denver Post Kimura has won the starting right back job. I'm not sure what that means for Ihemelu, maybe he's competing with Erpen for the CB job next to Petke. The defensive midfield is still a toss up. When fully healthy Gomes and Pablo are the nominal starters and both got some playing time last week. At the same time, LaBrocca and DiRaimondo have done a good job this season, and should probably be rewarded for that. I don't see how you can keep a player of the caliber of Pablo out of the lineup though, and I think DiRaimondo has been slightly better than LaBrocca, so I gave those two the starting nod. I haven't been 100% right yet though, so we'll see what lineup Clavijo sends out there.

Critical Matchup: Christian Gomez vs. Shalrie Joseph

This is where we start to find out if the move to get Gomez was worth it. Joseph is one of the best, if not THE best, defensive midfielders in MLS. His duty in this game is going to be shut down Gomez and force the Rapids to work through the wings to get any offense going. Gomez has to do more than just draw Joseph's attention. He either has to beat Joseph and continue to be dangerous, or force New England's back line to step up and help Joseph shut him down, in order to free up space for Cookie, Clark, and Cummings. If Joseph can shut down Gomez 1v1 then New England's back four will out number our other offensive threats. If Gomez can get free and/or draw other defenders that will give out attacking trip the space they need to work.

Keys To Look For:

• How tired are the Revs after their midweek game?
• New England has the worst injury situation in the league right now. Combined with the midweek game the Rapids should be able to out-hustle them.
• Can Gomez draw enough defensive interest to free up the rest of our attack?
• New England's two Gambian signings, Mansally and Nyassi, are their most dangerous weapons right now. Mansally will probably start upfront and draw Erpen's attention, while Nyassi will be on the right side of midfield. How well can we defend them?
• Burciaga Jr's speed vs. Nyassi's speed. I expect to see these two racing up and don the sideline all night.
• Our players returning from injury. Gomes and Gomez have gotten some playing time so far, will they see more this week? And if Pablo doesn't start, when does he get into the game?
• Does Tam McManus get any time?

Prediction: 2-1 win, New England is hurting, and played in KC in midweek. Short of going to San Jose, Toronto, or FSL, this may be the best chance the Rapids have this season to get 3 points on the road.

Tam In, Gargan Out

The long rumored Tam McManus signing is finally complete. McManus will give the Rapids 3 pure forwards, with Casey and Cummings. Scott Campbell was waived today to make room for McManus, which wasn't a big surprise since he was waived once and the brought back when Casey and Petke were placed on IR.

Dan Gargan was also waived, with is a bigger surprise. Gargan had played well enough last year to keep his position on the roster in my opinion, but I guess the early play of Kimura along with the acquisition of Tim Ward in the offseason were enough to make him expendable. The really odd thing about this move is that it was unnecessary until May 10th, as the Rapids were only at 28 non-IR players, which is the limit.

The new breakdown by position is:
GK: 2 + a MLS Pool keeper that trains with the team
Def: 9
Mid: 15 (counting Kirovski, Herculez, and Peterson as mids)
Fwd: 3

UPDATE - After looking at the roster in more detail it turns out that Campbell was a development player, while Gargan was a senior rostered player. The Rapids were at their max of 18 senior players (20 if you count Casey and Petke who are on IR until May 10th) before signing Tam, so a senior player had to go.

So it was Campbell who was unnecessarily let go, as the Rapids now only have 9 of their allowed 10 development players. Given that this is his second waiver in about a month, I assume things weren't working out either for him or the team.

This also means that once Petke and Casey come off IR, 2 players from the senior roster will have to be waived. My guess is that it will be Gray and Harvey that are let go, but Ballouchy has to be concerned.

Q&A With the Revs

I've been approached by the Revs fans on BigSoccer to do a Q&A before the game on Saturday. I'm cross-posting the results here, and I'll link to wherever the Revs fans post them.

1. A spectacular first outing for the Rapids followed by a very odd game in KC. I didn't realize how tiny KC's field was until our last game. Was that the reason for the letdown, or were expectations way too high after beating LA 4-0?

A: I don't think the expectations among the Rapids fanbase were that high. We knew it was going to be a tough game and generally we would have been happy with a draw. It seems that outside of the Rapids fanbase everyone saw the 4-0 scoreline against the LA Beckhams and assumed that the Rapids were very good, not realizing that the Galaxy were really, really bad that night. The field in KC is small, but its actually bigger than the field they played on in Arrowhead.

What happened is that the young Rapids committed a couple of stupid fouls that led to some good set pieces. The encouraging thing is that we kept our heads up after getting down 2-0 and came back to draw the game. If it weren't for a bit of a lucky bounce we might have gotten out of there with a draw. This was a huge change from last year's team where if we got down at any point, especially on the road, the game was probably over.

2. What's the general consensus among Colorado supporters in regards to Christian Gomez? You guys gave up a lot to get him, was he the missing piece?

A: You've hit on the key issue in the Rapids fanbase right now, outside of your favorite ex-Revs coach. There's a split between those who think that the Rapids would have never used the DP, so getting at least Gomez for it was a great move, and those who think that regardless of the likelihood of the Rapids getting a DP, using it to get Gomez was too high a price. I'm in that latter group.

I think this game is going to be a good test for him and the Rapids. This is the first time since the trade that he's going up against a top quality defensive player, Shalrie Joseph. He's going to have to prove he was worth the cost by not letting Joseph alone stop him. If he can draw an additional defender to free up our other offensive weapons, or get free from Joseph enough to be a weapon then things will be looking up. If Joseph shuts him down by himself then there will be some questions about his value.

3. Did you know that Sainey Nyassi, the young Gambian on the Revs, has a step-over move to his right? I ask you this because it didn't look like the Kansas City defenders had even watched him on television prior to the match on Wednesday night. In all seriousness, what scares you (if anything) about the depleted Revolution roster?

A: No, but then I haven't seen him play yet. I'm going to assume that the Colorado coaches have. ;)

I think the speed of the Gambians, along with their relative "newness" to MLS is what concerns me most. Burciaga likes to get up into the attack, which will leave hole in the back that the Revs can exploit. That, combined with their relative unknowns, makes a very dangerous opportunity for the Revs. You also have the underdog "backs against the wall" mentality of a team that's as hurt as the Revs are. I think a key for the Rapids will be getting an early goal to try to put New England out of it early.

4. It's assumed that Gomez will be setting up the bulk of the goals this year. Who on the Rapids will be scoring the most?

A: Good question. ;) That was the biggest question mark of the offseason. The Rapids made a move to get Gomez, but our big problem last year wasn't the set-up, it was the finish. We made no move to get a striker, and we only have two pure strikers on the team, Conor Casey and Omar Cummings. Cummings has been getting the early starts while Casey is rehabbing from knee surgery. He's been dangerous, but his first touch is occasionally lacking and he and Gomez haven't quite gelled. I think you'll see a rotation of Casey, Cummings, and Herculez Gomez up top as Clavijo figures out which one works the best with our midfield attacking trio of Clark, C. Gomez, and Cookie.

5. A lot of MLS fans in Rhode Island are wondering what the heck happened to Nico Colaluca. What did happen to Nico Colaluca?

A lot of Rapids fans are wondering the same thing. Until recently I've been a long-distance Rapids fan and I haven't seen the reserves play, so I don't know where his game is at right now. A large problem is that if the Rapids have an area of strength, its in he midfield. Between Gomez, Cookie, Clark, Mastroeni, and Gomes we have a solid starting 5, so there's not a lot of room for him to get into the starting 11.

6. Prediction for the game?

A: 2-1 Rapids, though I wouldn't be at all shocked if we ended up getting a draw. With New England travelling to KC and back in midweek, while the Rapids were resting and with the Revs injuries I think this is one of the few times that 3 points is available to the Rapids on the road. If we don't manage to get at least a point its going to be a lost opportunity and it will be an indication that the Rapids road woes have not been solved.

Weekend Roundup 4/5-4/6

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup is here. The rest of the Western Conference had an off week, with only LA and Chivas getting wins, so Colorado is 2nd in the conference, a point behind Chivas and 4th overall in the leauge. Colorado also has the best offense so far this season.

Queen of the South - Queens faced bottom dwellers Stirling Albion, but their mids were clearly on next week's Scottish Cup match against Aberdeen. After a few initial attacks the game settled down to a foul-fest with occasional chances at goal, but neither side capitalized. The scorelss draw sent Stirling Albion into the Second Division, unless the mess at Gretna keeps anyone from being relegated this year. Now all eyes look to Hampden for the Scottisch Cup semi-final on Saturday.

Blackburn Rovers - You remember what I said last week about Rovers having a route to Europe if nothing changed? Well Blackburn did their best to upset the apple cart by only getting a draw at home vs. Spurs. The team came out flat and gave up a goal in the first 10 minutes, forcing them to play from behind. It took them another 14 minutes to threaten, and then on the half hour mark Morten Gamst Pederson leveled the scoreline. Blackburn controlled play for the rest of the half, but nothing came of it. The second half was dominated by Totteham, but the Blackburn defense held firm to salvage a point from a game that should have resulted in 3. Aston Villa has now passed Blackburn for the open Intertoto Cup spot, and Blackburn is a point behind with 5 to play.

Tenerife - It was derby day in the Canary Islands, as Tenerife travelled to Gran Canaria to face their rivals, Las Palmas. A record croud watched the two teams battle to a 0-0 draw until late in the match when Sicilia scored what looked like the winning goal in the 88th minute. Las Palamas was playing with 10 after Samuel had been sent off i nthe first half. 5 minutes of stoppage time were shown, came, and went, before Las Palmas scored in the 7th minute of stoppage time to steal a point from their rivals. No movement in the table this week, and Tenerife is still 6 points out of a promotion spot, now with 10 to play.

Ebbsfleet United - Ebbsfleet has had two games since the last update. Over the weekend they faced Woking at home, and battled to a 1-1 draw. Today they faced league leaders Aldershot Town at home with a large travelling contingent as all Aldershot needed was a win to clinch the Conferecne championship. The Fleet wasn't having any of that on their home ground though and battled Aldershot to a 2-2 draw. The champaign was put on ice and sent back to Aldershot with their dissapointed fans.

Unfortunately the two draws has all but eliminated any chance Ebbsfleet had at the promotion playoffs, so at this point, safe from relegation, its just a matter of playing out the string of games and staying healthy for the FA Trophy final in May.

Seattle Sounders FC

Just announced, my hometown team has a name, Seattle Sounders FC. A much better choice thanthe other options, Seattle FC, Seattle Alliance, or Seattle Republic. I'm not sold on the logo, but it is uniquely Seattle.

The Rapids will always be my first team, but don't be surprised if you see me posting about the Sounders. As my hometown team they'll always be one of my favorites, and their front office gets it, unlike ours...

Wizards Use Late Magic to Defeat the Rapids

Same lineup, different result this week. Clavijo ran the same starting 11 out there as he did against LA, and in the first half it seemed like a similar result, no real offensive pressure from the Wizards, while the Rapids had a few chances, unfortunately this week they didn't convert any of them.

The second half was the complete opposite of the first, end to end action and 5 goals, with the Rapids ending up on the wrong side of the score, losing 3-2.

Let's look back at my Keys to the Game to see how we did:

• Have the Rapids solved their road woes?
That would be a no. However the Rapids did fight back from 2 goals down to tie the game, and even after giving up what turned out to be the winning goal, still continued to fight to try to tie it again. That's more than we saw last year in similar situations.

• Ruud Gullit and the Galaxy let the Rapids have the wings on a large field at The Dick. With a smaller field and smarter coach, can Cooke and Clark get free?
  
Cooke and Clark were still involved in the offense, but Onalfo learned from Gullet's mistake and kept them contained. Clark got an assist on Burciaga's goal, but was not as dangerous as last week.
• I don't think we can expect a shutout again, so how does the team respond after giving up a goal?
Full credit to the team on this one. I assumed, from past experience, that it was over at 2-0 but the Rapids never got their heads down and kept pounding away.
• Burciaga Jr. He's coming back to the team that traded him and he's going to want to prove it was a mistake. As much as he wants to get involved in the attack though, he has to remain disciplined.
Well Burciaga did show his old team that they gave up on something, scoring the Rapids first goal. KC's first two goals were set up by fouls in his area of defense however, though not by him.
• Bouna Time! took some hard hits last week. I love his lack of fear, but eventually he won't get up from one of those, and with our backup GK out we can't afford to lose him.
Bouna had a less rough game from the physical aspect, but on the second goal the ball actually hit him in the chest and got by him for the score. Keepers can't make that type of mistake.
• How well is the integration of Christian Gomez going?
Gomez is still having some issues, particularly with Cummings. They aren't on the same page yet, though the ball movement between Cooke, Gomez, and Clark was better this week.

Critical Matchup: Claudio Lopez. vs. Erpen and Pablo - For the second straight week Clavijo fooled me with the starting lineup. This was actually Claudio Lopez vs. Erpen and LaBroacca. They did a great job, Lopez was never really a factor in this match.

Fact of the Match: Our new Brazilian, Rafael Gomes, got his first playing time as a Rapid.

Random Observations:

• Two stupid fouls outside the box led to two easy headers for Jimmy Conrad. This is the downside of the youth movement, sometimes they just lose their heads, like Erpen kicking a ball at the back of a Wizard's player.
• Cummings was not good today. He seemed to give up on balls he should have been able to get to, and he was never where the attacking trio of Clark, Gomez, and Cookie thought he would be. I think he's a great threat off the bench, but he still has some learning to do.
• Even though we lost, we have to consider the positives in the match. We still started half our second stringers, we went down 2-0 and battled back to 2-2 on the road, and the Wizards look to be one of the better teams in the league thus year. I don't like the term "moral victory" but there are a number of positives to take out of this match.
• Unlike last week, I didn't see many issues with the officiating. The Wizards fans disagree however.
• Great job by Class VI/C-Firm for being audible on the broadcast.
• Not such a great job by the Altitude announcer. Its going to be a long season on TV listening to their new guy. Bring back Marc Stout!
  

Man of the Match:Tough call for me on this one, as I didn't think anyone particularly stood out. I think I'll have to go with John DiRaimondo. Any time a defensive midfielder gets a goal he would have to be in the running.

Rapids Attempt To Continue Magic Against Wizards

The Rapids are in Kansas City tomorrow at 3pm MDT on Altitude. Here's the injury and discipline report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L knee), DF Ugo Ihemelu (R hip), DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); PROBABLE: MF Mehdi Ballouchy (L hamstring), FW Jovan Kirovski (R hamstring); MF Nico Colaluca (L groin)

SUSPENDED - Ciaran O'Brien - Through April 12th

My lineup prediction:

Bouna Time!
Kimura - Keel - Erpen - Burciaga Jr.
LaBrocca - Pablo
Cooke - C. Gomez - Clark
Cummings

I could see Gargan in for Kimura, but I assume that after the job Kimura did keeping PrimaDonnavan quite last week that he's earned another start. The defensive midfield is a bit of a toss up. When fully healthy Gomes and Pablo are the starters. Neither of them are on the injury report, but Pablo got some game time last week and Gomes didn't. I'm predicting Pablo is now ready to start but Gomes isn't 90 minute ready yet. I tossed a coin between LaBrocca and DiRaimondo for the open spot, they both played well against LA.

Critical Matchup: Claudio Lopez. vs. Erpen and Pablo

KC lost Eddie Johnson and until right before the start of the seson it appeared that they had no replacement for him. Without a strong strike force KC wasn't a major threat. The signing of Lopez as a DP vaulted KC up into the ranks of a contender, but with so much invested in him he has to produce. Pablo is one of the best destroyers in MLS, and assuming he plays I think he'll be assigned to shadow Lopez and deny him the ball. Erpen, being the more experienced fo the two center backs, will have to keep an eye on Lopez as well.

Keys To Look For:

• Have the Rapids solved their road woes?
• Ruud Gullit and the Galaxy let the Rapids have the wings on a large field at The Dick. With a smaller field and smarter coach, can Cooke and Clark get free?
• I don't think we can expect a shutout again, so how does the team respond after giving up a goal?
• Burciaga Jr. He's coming back to the team that traded him and he's going to want to prove it was a mistake. As much as he wants to get involved i nthe attack though, he has to remain disciplined.
• Bouna Time! took some hard hits last week. I love his lack of fear, but eventually he won't get up from one of those, and with our backup GK out we can't afford to lose him.
• How well is the integration of Christian Gomez going?

Prediction: 1-1 draw, Kansas City is a better team than LA, and we're on the road. A point would be a solid step for the Rapids, a win would be a pretty big upset.

Rapids Salary Info - August Update

The MLS Players Union has released it list of 2008 salaries. Its not quite up to date, as it doesn't include the last minute signings right before the season started, but its got most of the players.

The Rapids 2008 team salary based on these numbers is just over 2.6 million, which puts them 5th in the league behind LA, Chicago, DC, and RBNY. Those 4 teams have DP's, which raises their 2008 salaries considerably. The 5th team with a DP, Kansas City, signed their's after the list was put together so the DP salary is not included. You'll notice that 2.6 million is higher than the rumored cap of around 2.3 million. This is because Generation Adidas players and other dev players aren't counted agains the cap.

Here's the list of the Colorado salaries. The first number is their base salary, the second number is their guarenteed salary for 2008.

Ballouchy Mehdi M $ 75,000.00 $ 93,000.00
Burciaga Jose D $ 80,000.00 $ 82,500.00
Burpo Preston GK $ 55,116.18 $ 55,116.18
Casey Conor F $ 190,008.00 $ 190,008.00
Clark Colin F $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
Colaluca Nico M $ 70,000.00 $ 103,000.00
Cooke Terry M $ 167,500.00 $ 172,500.00
Coundoul Bouna GK $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
Cummings Omar F $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
Dalby Greg M $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
DiRaimondo John M $ 17,700.00 $ 17,700.00
Erpen Facundo D $ 125,000.00 $ 125,000.00
Gibbs Cory D $ 96,000.00 $ 103,000.00

Gomez Christian M $ 385,000.00 $ 430,000.00
Gomez Hercules F $ 51,817.50 $ 51,817.50
Grazier Brian M $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
Harvey Jordan D $ 17,700.00 $ 17,700.00
Hughes Justin GK $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
Ihemelu Ugo D $ 60,500.00 $ 60,500.00
Keel Stephen D $ 33,000.00 $ 33,000.00
Kimura Kosuke M $ 17,700.00 $ 17,700.00
LaBrocca Nick M $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00
Mastroeni Pablo M-D $ 300,000.00 $ 318,000.00
McManus Tom F $ 134,400.00 $ 140,462.50
O'Brien Ciaran M $ 45,000.00 $ 78,750.00
Peterson Jacob F $ 75,000.00 $ 93,750.00
Petke Mike D $ 133,000.00 $ 133,000.00
Ward Tim D $ 44,620.00 $ 54,620.00
Zambrano Cesar M $ 12,900.00 $ 12,900.00

As you can see there are some interesting numbers in that list. Christian Gomez is the 8th highest paid player in MLS, Pablo Mastroeni is the 15th highest paid player. LaBroacca isn't listed, but I would assume he is paid similarly to the other reserves, in the 33K region. Colaluca managed to parlay that Generation Adidas contract into a big payday, making more than first game starters Keel, Clark, and Bouna Time! put together. Kirovski is overpaid given his contribution, while Bouna Time! might be the most underpaid player in MLS.

Our starting 11 last week will make about 925K + LaBroacca in base salary this year. For comparison's sake Landon Donovan alone will make 900K by himself. That 4-0 win looks even better in that light.

Weekend Roundup 3/29-3/30

OK, after a couple of weeks off Weekend Roundup is back. Here's a rundown of last week's games and an update of where each team stands in their competitions.

Colorado Rapids - My game wrapup can be found elsewhere in the blog but the 4-0 win put the Rapids in 1st place in the Western Conference, and in the lead for the Supporter's Shiled. So what if its only 1 game, you have to take the victories where you can find them. ;)

Queen of the South - Torrential rain and blowing winds greeted Queens in this home fixture, and it appears that the weather got the best of both sides. Noether team managed to put together a goal, and both seemed happy to just get out of the lousy conditions as fast as possible. In the end a scoreless draw was a good representation of the soccer on display.

The draw was followed with a 1-0 loss to Livingston on Tuesday night. A questionable non-call on Livingston's goal ended the game in some controversy as a Livingston player was standing on the goal line as the winning goal was scored but did not take part in the play. He was considered to be passively offside and the goal was awarded.

The good news from the Morton result is that the draw ensured Queens survival in division 1, as with only 4 games to play Morton can no longer catch the Doonhamers. Queens sits in 4th place, 7 points back of St. Johnstone who is the only team they can still catch. Partick Thistle and Dumferline are only 3 points back though, and Thistle has a game in hand against the probable relegation-bound Stirling Albion. QoS hosts Aberdeen in the Scottisch Cup semi-final a week from Saturday.

Blackburn Rovers - A drab first half and a colorful but futile second half at the Madejski Stadium resulted in a share of the points in the battle between two American keepers. There were no significant opportunities in the first half, while the second half had end-toend action that resulted in nothing but a red card for Reading's Marek Matejovksy and a man advantage for Blackburn in the last 20 minutes. They were unable to capitalize and left 2 points for the taking on the field.

Blackburn sit 7th in the table with 6 games to play. They are 7 points back of Everton for the last guarenteed spot in Europe, however Portsmough in 6th have declared that tthey will not be applying for the Intertoto Cup, so that route to Europe is open for Blackburn should the table stay the same. Aston Villa and MAchester City are each just one point behind Blackburn however.

Tenerife - This week brings a new link, I have found out that Tenerife fan and Armada Sur member Colin Kirby does an English match report on his blog. The updated Tenerife score on the right side will now link there.

Tenerife went into this weekend's match against cellar dwellers Poli Ejido with every expectation of an easy 3 points. After giving up a goal midway through the second half though it took 2 goals from Nino in two minutes to pull out the victory. For a team hoping to make a promotion push, this was much harder than it should have been.

Tenerife move up to 7th place with the victory, with 11 games to play. They are 6 points pack of Sporting Gijon in 3rd place, the final poromotion spot. Next week is the HUGE game againt their Canaray Island rivals, Las Palmas in Las Palmas. Las Palmas is in 15th place, so it should be another easy 3 points, but with rivalry games you never know.

Ebbsfleet United - Ebbsfleet travelled to York City for this week's matchup and faced a game in the driving rain. determined to make quick work of it the Fleet scored in the 8th minute on a Stacy Long free kcik that deflected off a York defender, fooling the keeper. After that it was a long 80 minutes od defending in the rain, but the clean sheet was successful and Ebbsfleet travelled home with 3 points.

Ebbsfleet is in 11th place with only 8 matches to play. They are 12 points out of 5th place, the last playoff spot. While still possible, it doesn't look like promotion is in the cards for Ebbsfleet this season. All eyes now look towards Wembley, where Ebbsfleet will face Torquay United in the final on May 10th.

Time Change for Wizards Match

The Rapids Front Office has just announced that the time of the Rapids game has changed from 6pm MDT to 3pm MDT. The game will now be available on Altitude instead of Altitude-2.

The Best English Winger in MLS

Cookie was MLS's David Beckham before David Beckham ;)