Zzzzzzzzz....

Huh, what? Sorry, the Rapids play was so uninspired I fell asleep. The Rapids continued their pattern of following a solid win by laying an egg in the next game.

Once again we failed to do anything in the first half, being content to knock the ball over midfield with the hope that Casey or McManus could run onto it. This time around McManus decided that he had to get an early start on almost every ball, being flagged for offside at least 3-4 times in the first half. Casey managed to get onto one ball, but couldn't put the shot on net when faced with an onrushing Cannon in a 1v1 situation.

The second half was more of the first, but in the 62nd minute the Rapids defense decided to have a shared mental breakdown. Erpen was called for a stupid foul going up for a header with Johnson. to be fair to Erpen, the foul was pretty ticky-tack and both sides had been getting away with it all day, but there was still no reason to foul at that point. On the ensuing free kick Ihemelu decided that covering his man was overrated, which allowed Johnson to have a free header on goal. He put it right over Bouna's head, and somehow Bouna whiffed on the save. The only defender who didn't screw up in this sequence was Pablo, no wonder he wants to leave.

For once this season the Rapids didn't roll over and play dead until it was too late, continuing to look for the tying goal by going over the top of midfield. Of course, when the goal did come it was from the foot of Terry Cooke, one of the few times he got the ball in midfield and got a chance to put in a cross. Conor Casey got away with a shove to get some space and redirected it with a nic header, getting the Rapids level. At this pint the ref lost control of the game, giving out cards left and right, and Claivjo decided that a draw was good enough, burning off the end of stoppage time by pulling Casey for Burciaga.

Keys to the Game review:

• We have a chance for our first back to back wins this season, will the team out determined to grasp that opportunity, or will we sit back like we have after previous wins this season?
  Return to form by the Rapids, deciding that a draw was acceptable after almost losing.
• Hey, I don't have to complain about the first half performance this week. Can we keep up playing from the opening whistle?
  No, more of the same waste in the first half.
• What kind of shape is Christian Gomez in?
  Hopefully he's still recovering and hat's why he was subbed out for a defensive midfielder right after the Rapids went down by a goal, because the other option of that being strategy is to stupid to consider.
• Will Cummings or Casey, or maybe even Herculez, make a statement that they should be starting along side McManus?
  No, none of the strikers looked particularly good today.
• We're on the road, a place we don't play well. Can we shake off the jet lag and put a complete game together?Nope, another failure on the road.

Critical Matchup: Casey & McManus vs. San Jose defense - As expected, the Rapids offense was weak, but didn't manage to squeak through with one goal.

Fact of the Match: This is the first time this season that the Rapids have come from behind to get points.

Random Observations:

Erpen had a horrible game. Besides the stupid foul that led to the goal almost every pass was a long one over the top of the midfield that connected with a Rapids player maybe 10% of the time.

Colin Clark and Terry Cooke were playing more like wingbacks than outside midfielders. Even when Clavijo starts 6 offensive players he handcuffs them by forcing them to play as defenders.

Gomez who? He was completely invisible. I'd love to know what those people who say he makes the team better even when he doesn't show up on the scoresheet are seeing.

Week goalkeeping by Bouna on the goal, he has to do better.

The Rapids dropped 5 points to the expansion team this season. Had we gotten the job done and won both games as we should have, we'd be on top of the West with a 2 point lead and a game in hand.

McManus seemed frustrated out there, mainly at his teammates. Unfortunately he didn't play any better than them, so he has to look in the mirror before he can complain about the rest of the team.

At this pint I expect the Rapids to continue the up and down nature of the season and either just make or just miss the playoffs. The only way this changes is with a coaching change, but I don't see that coming.

Standings: Colorado moves up to 4th in the West with the draw, tied with Houston, and tied with KC and NY for 9th overall. They are only 3 points behind FSL on top of the West with a game in hand. They are tied with New England for the 3rd best offense and tied with Chivas for the 7th best defense.

Man of the Match: Terry Cooke - When he was able to get the ball in the offensive half, he managed to get some good crosses in.