Rapids Steal A Point From the Revs

Much like the British stealing supplies at Fort Oswego (see game preview) the British-led Rapids stole a point from the Revolution in Foxboro on Saturday. An already beat up Colorado side got bad news when Jamie Smith couldn't start, causing the Rapids to set their XI without 5 regular starters and 2 regular backups, which forced them to play 2 more starters out of position. Things got worse in the 20th minute when Caleb Folan pulled up lame and had to be replaced by Andre Akpan.

There were a total of 3 shots on goal the whole game, so as you can expect there isn't much to talk about. New England also hit the crossbar twice, once on a header that was difficult to get on target and one on a point blank cross/shot that Feilhaber probably should have put in but did well to get as close as he did. Colorado had one good shot from Akpan, right after he entered the game that forced Reis to dive and force over the bar. Other than that the Rapids did absolutely nothing in the attack.

My key to the game was Feilhaber vs. Mastroeni. The team as a whole, more than Pablo alone, did a good job keeping Benny out of this game. His crossbar hit was the only real attack he was involved with.

Stat of the Game: This is the first time since Oct 12th, 2008 that neither Cummings or Casey appeared in a league match for the Rapids. That was also the last time one of them wasn't in the starting lineup until earlier this season.

Other Observations:

• With the missing players and then losing Folan mid-game getting a draw is a good result. I can't blame the Rapids for playing it safe.
• At this point we're down to our 5th and 6th strikers as our only healthy attackers. Let's hope Casey is ready to come back for the DC game next week as expected.
• Kimura gets the Man of the Week award. He wasn't the Man of the Math in either game, but he was the best player in both games combined. He was asked to play right mid against the Revs and did it well for a defender out of position.
• Please, no more Chris Marlowe on play-by-play. His mis-identification of players and general delivery was a big step down. Marc Stout is View From the Couch's pbp man of choice, but Mike Haynes has come along well and is significantly better than Marlowe.
• Palguta struggled again, but the Revs struggled to take advantage. Hopefully Wallace is ready to come back or Nyassi is available and we can shift Koz to the back line.
• Pablo and Ginger Ninja did a good job keeping anything from coming through the middle. They weren't really able to contribute to the attack though.
• Getting 4 points on a 4-day, 2-time zone, 2-game road trip is a great result given our injury situation.
• If it weren't for the loss to Seattle at home we'd be right on the "Win at home, draw on the road" ideal pace.

Player of the Game: Matt Pickens. A significant improvement from the Wednesday game. His save on Joseph's header is save of the week material, and he sacrificed his body to protect the draw in stoppage time.