Rapids Get An Advantage From The Refs In Win

Colorado played like the better team for 34 minutes when facing Dallas 11 on 11, then suddenly they were 11 on 9 and the game was essentially over.  In the 25th minute Daniel "Real Championship" Hernandez was given a yellow card for dissent after complaining to the ref for not calling a foul on the Rapids.  9 minutes later he went through Rivero without making contact with the ball and picked up his second yellow.  2 minutes after that Blas Perez went for a 50/50 ball but got Drew Moor with a cleat to the thigh instead of the ball and picked up a red card for the tackle.  Suddenly the Rapids were playing with a 2 man advantage for the rest of the game.

The only sour note to the first half was Omar Cummings turning his ankle and coming off in the 13th minute.  The turn looked pretty bad but he was able to walk under his own power to the locker room.  With a 10 day break now hopefully he'll have time to heal.

To start the second half Pareja inserted Conor Casey in place of Tyrone Marshall to turn up the pressure in Dallas.  It took a while but it worked.  In the 61st minute Mullan found space on the right side of Dallas' area and chipped the ball in front of net where Castrillon was unmarked to head it home.  Jaime's second goal in two games, both times giving the Rapids a 1-0 lead.  13 minutes later Colorado struck for a second time.  Once again Mullan got free on the right and this time he kept the ball on the ground to find Rivero around the penalty spot.  Martin had a criminal amount of time to turn, pick his corner, and slot it home to double the lead.  After that it was just a matter of running out the clock and claiming the 3 points.

My key to look for was the set play defense.  After the two red cards Dallas set plays weren't really an issue.

Other Observations:

• The red card on Hernandez was deserved.  While I don't know what was said to earn him the first yellow the second one was a strong yellow and anyone willing to do something that stupid sitting on a yellow probably earned his red.  The red on Perez however probably should have been a yellow.
• In the 3rd minute Jackson and Pickens got into it which finished with Pickens shoving Jackson with an elbow to the throat.  If that happened anywhere else on the field I think the ref would have called a foul and given a card, but he didn't want to give a PK that early.  Stupid move from Pickens.
• That said, well done by the whole team in not drawing a red card.  After two in two minutes I'm sure Geiger was looking for a reason to balance things out but the Rapids didn't give him an excuse.
• Its hard to judge Omar on 13 minutes of play, but the fact that he tried 3 passes to Cascio in the first 8 minutes and never got the ball to him was not boding well.
• Good to see two newcomers getting on the scoreboard.
• While it was good to break Dallas down for two goals Colorado showed a remarkable lack of creativity to do it.  There's only so many times you can watch a team cross the ball into a crowded box.  The team needs to mix it up more with some long-range shooting and taking players on.
• Time for a nice 10 days off after our hectic week.

Player Of The Game: Brian Mullan.  After a great run of games Mullan got on the scoresheet with two assists in this one.  A well-deserved honor not only for this match but for the last 3-4.