Rapids Make It Two For Two In Canada

3 points makes even this ugly game look beautiful.  A lousy pitch and both teams missing their most creative midfielders (Sanchez and Bradley) led to a lot of over the top balls and aimless passing.  The Rapids did a good job of adapting and finding a way to win, but neither team is going to look at this game as a particularly good showing.  Credit to Colorado for getting the job done even in less than ideal circumstances.

My strategic consideration was dealing with Michael Bradley.  Turns out we didn't have to as he didn't play but I think Pablo's lineup assumed he would.  4 ball-holding central midfielders was clearly designed to clog the middle and prevent Bradley (had he been there) from doing anything.

Other Observations:

• Great team play led up to the goal.  Piermayr found Serna with a great cross-field pass, Serna and Buddle both got two touches during the passing, and Powers followed his first heavy touch all the way to the end line to keep the play alive.
• Serna's assist was the first assist (or goal) in team history by a homegrown player.
• Brown starting on the bench, but he seemed to find some space when he came on with fresh legs.
• Though Serna's entry is really what turned the game.  He was dangerous from his first touch.
• Torres, on the other hand, was quiet.  He also appears to be carrying a few extra pounds, much like Buddle early last year.  Hopefully that's not the cause of his slow start.
• You would think that the number of poor fields we'er seeing in the league early this season (NY and Toronto for the Rapids, other league games) would cause the talk of a schedule switch to stop, but it won't.
• Powers had another good game.  Clearly the best player in either team's midfield.
• Its starting to look like we may have found our back line.  Klute (or Burch until he's healthy) - Moor - O'Neill - Piermayr have worked well together the last two games.
• 10 points in 5 games ties the Rapids best total after 5 games (2010).  A result this weekend would set a new record through 6 games.
• Of course in 2010 we lost our 6th game at San Jose, our opponents at home next Saturday...

Man of the Match: Edson Buddle.  In an ugly game where nobody really stood out, the scorer of the game winning goal deserves to be the MOTM.