Monday, May 23, 2016

Rapids Get Three The Hard Way


It wasn't pretty but it was effective.  Bunkering down and withstanding a Seattle onslaught while scoring the only shot on target they had all night isn't the usual path to victory but for this team it worked.  A 1-0 win continues an 8 game unbeaten streak.

General Impressions:
  • That was a fairly ugly match for the Rapids.  Not much flow without Gashi or Pappa and Jones having an off night.
  • Gashi being gone was a surprise.  Apparently the Rapids let him leave early to join the Albanian team for the Euros but kept that card close to his vest.
  • On the flip side we found out after the game that Doyle will not leave to join Ireland until next Sunday, which means we get him for an extra game.
  • I'm a bit surprised Jones managed to get through the match without a red card.
  • MacMath had a really solid game.  There weren't that many shots to deal with but he made the right decisions at the right time and came up big in a couple of places.  Stoning Dempsey early was huge.
  • Glad to see Sjoberg finally score from a corner.  Considering the Rapids have been feeding the big Swede the ball on corners for over a year it finally paid off.
  • Solignac should have put the game out of reach, no idea how with that much space he managed to hit the post.
  • Doyle put in a good game, lots of hustle and hard work.  He just couldn't get enough space to be dangerous.
  • 8 game unbeaten streak now, which is one game short of the team record.
  • For the first time ever since I've been tracking it the Bodmer Line is now under 1 pt/game the rest of the way (.95 pts/game).  Since it was asked we need to play at 1.75 pts/game ther est of the way to reach the average points the Supporters Shield winner have had in the 34 game seasons.  I think that's optimistic right now.
  • After being winless in 11 attempts in Seattle the Rapids have now won their last two games there and three in a row overall against the Sounders.
  • Colorado doesn't have another road game until they're in LA on June 22nd.  Of course they only have 2 home games plus a home USOC game between now and then due to the Copa break.
  • The Rapids have the highest point total and the best pts/game in the league.  Not only that but even if the teams behind themwere to win their games in hand they wouldn't catch the Rapids.  By every metric we are currently the best team in the league.
Man of the Match: Marc Burch.  I went back and forth between MacMath and Burch b
ut in the end Burch had an assist, a saved goal off the line, and a couple of other important defensive breakups so he got the nod.

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