Rapids Coug It In Spectacular Fashion

Couging It - Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (or a draw in this case)

Saturday night Colorado stormed out to a first half 2-0 lead and built that to a 3 goal lead by the 55th minute.  Then the wheels came off.  For the first time in the team's history they surrendered a 3 goal lead and the Revs came all the way back to claim a point (the first 3-goal comeback in their history too).  The Rapids brought their game but left their soccer IQ in Colorado.

Despite the early score line this game was all Revolution.  They dominated play and chances. but the defense was up to the task.  Overall New England had as many shots on target as Colorado had total shots.  Despite that it was the visitors that were able to convert.  First a rebound from a Ted KDP shot (after a nice spin move by Navarro to get the ball into a dangerous position) fell to Harris on the near post and he rifled it into the top of the net.  Then it was Navarro's turn to do the work, taking a through ball from Yapi and beating 4 defenders to slot it in the far post.

At halftime the Burgundy Boys had to feel pretty good about the 2 goal led and came out to add to it.  In the 55th minute KDP too a Yapi pass and finished a long shot to make it a 3 goal lead and presumably wrap the game up.  

Then everyone seemed to turn off and coast.  The collapse started with a Sam Vines own goal.  Calvin Harris played a hot ball out of the back that Atencio wasn't able to handle.  Awaziem tried to cover the unexpected rebound but the Revs got a cross in.  Despite that Vines had good position on his man but his attempt to play it put it into the back of the net.  Meanwhile Harris stood and watched the disaster his iffy pass caused.

Even that was survivable until the last 5 minutes of the game.  Sam Bassett brought Gil down in the box giving up a PK.  It was a soft PK but you can't give the ref an opportunity to make that call.  NE finished the spot kick and had faith and momentum to drive for the equalizer.  Which they got 3 minutes into stoppage time.  Oli got beat on the left and had no support from Cannon, which allowed a dree cross into the area.  A crashing header that Murphy was unable to defend stanched the point for the Revs.

There were lots of reasons for the collapse but more than anything it seemed like the Rapids stopped thinking.  Awaziem was hurt, was off the field, came back on to stop play so he could get treatment, and then was told he had to sit out for a couple of minutes.  Harris took too long to get off the field when he was subbed out so the Rapids played a man down until the next stoppage.  Cannon picked up an unnecessary yellow card late which means he'll miss the 4th of July match due to accumulation.  A whole lot of low soccer IQ moments.  Add to that no attack after KDP's goal (there was one shot from outside the box by Navarro two minutes after we went up 3-0, the last shot by a Rapid) and New England had free run to make their comeback.

Obviously if you had said the Rapids would take their longest road trip of the year without Steffen, Mihailovic, and Bassett and get a point you'd take it, but there's no way to see this as anything other than 2 points fumbled away.  With only one "easy" game in July we may turn out to regret these lost points very quickly.

Man of the Match: Nico Hansen.  He gave up 3 but then they're an own goal, a PK, and a solid header there's not much you can do.  He probably saved another 3 at least on his own.

4th Of July Appetizer Against The Revs

 

Minute Man National Historic Park

Colorado makes their longest trip of the season to face the Revolution in Foxborough tomorrow night.  New England is coming off a 3-2 home loss to Nashville while the the Rapids are hoping to repeat their success from the Galaxy game.  The Revs are in the same position in the East as the Pids are in the West, right between 1.3-1.4 PPG, but NE is much more streaky.  They've had streaks of 4 wins, 3 losses, and 4 draws this season and they're currently on a 2 game losing streak.  The visitors try to make that 3 starting at 5:30pm MT.

Availability Report:

OUT: GK Zack Steffen (knee), M Ali Fadal (knee), M Wayne Frederick (hip), M Alex Harris (ankle), M Djordje Mihailovic (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE: M Cole Bassett (ankle)

Yeah, Djordje picked up an ankle knock sometime sin the last 48 hours.  Not great.  Based on what happened against Orlando I wouldn't risk Bassett coming back too soon, especially on the turf.  We'll have to do it without either of them.

I think we see largely the same lineup from Wednesday except we'll move to the 4-2-2-2 with Mihailovic out.  Yapi goes back on top and the rest fit in the same place.

Prediction: 0-0 draw.  Two teams that struggle with offense on short rest playing on turf.  This won't be pretty but Colorado will get the minimum point they need.

Rapids Get Much Needed Three Points

The night started with a 2-hour rain delay (that this writer did not wait around for).  It ended with a 2-goal win for the home side in a game where nothing else was acceptable.  In between the Rapids controlled the first half and then were able to back off in the second when the Galaxy showed no teeth.

For the first 20 minutes LA had the best looks but couldn't turn them into anything.  A dangerous shot early went right over the crossbar and as Hansen leaped to cover it he slammed himself into the post.  For a minute it seemed like we might have a Beuadry sighting but he bounced back for the eventual shutout.  After that opening period though the first half was all Rapids, including two goals in 4 minutes.  Vines had a great chance to put us up early only to see his shot be pretty easily saved, but he turned around on the next attack and fed a perfect cross to Mihailovic (who, somehow, I left out of my starting XI prediction) to head home for the lead.  Then is was Navarro and Ku-DiPietro playing a nice 1-2 to set up Harris for the second goal.

After that the game kind of settled into a bunch of nothing.  Djordje had a chance right before half from a tight turning angle that he should have taken another beat on, instead he sent it out for a throw-in from inside the 6-yard box.  Harris hit the post right after half.  LA never looked really dangerous and the couple of times they did get a look at goal Hansen was up for the challenge.

There were some good things to see in this one.  Vines being more of his traditional 'Vines back' is a positive sign.  We really need him to bounce back to that.  Calvin Harris just staked a claim to start next to Ku-DiPietro, who himself had a strong outing.  And the Rapids took care of business against a team they should be beating without too much drama.

Its not all celebratory though.  Navarro again didn't get a goal (though he had two pulled out due to offside).  He's approaching Kevin Doyle territory, in that he's clearly a quality striker but the team can't figure out how to use him to score goals.  Also we shouldn't get too excited that we've turned a corner.  As far as quality of opponent the Galaxy go in the same bin as St. Louis and FSL.

But you can only play who's on the schedule and Colorado did what they needed to do.  If they can put another good outing together against New England on the road Saturday we might have something going.

Man of the Match: Calvin Harris.  There were actually a number of candidates, Hansen, Vines, and Djordje were all considered.  In the end though I decided to go with Harris for being a bit of a surprise and almost getting a second.

Absolute Must Win Tomorrow

 

Amache National Historic Site - Seemed relevant

After a 10 day break the Rapids return with 3 must win games in a row, none more so than tomorrow night.  The LA Galaxy is in town and they're awful.  Wooden spoon leaders with one win on the season (against FSL) and a -21 goal differential.  They have gone the last two undefeated and 5 of their 8 points in the last 5 games, but that doesn't change the fact that a loss, or even a draw, to this historically bad team would be terminal for our season.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 7:30 and at least at the moment it appears the storms should have rolled through by kickoff.

Availability Report:

OUT: GK Zack Steffen (knee), M Cole Bassett (ankle), M Ali Fadal (knee), M Wayne Frederick (red card suspension), M Alex Harris (ankle)

Obviously the first two on the list are the most impactful.  We knew Steffen would be out probably until close to Leagues Cup.  Bassett said after the Orlando game that he felt something pop in his ankle and played through it.  I figure if he's back for the 4th of July we'll be lucky.

The only thing I'm not really sure on is who would play left wing.  My bet is that Armas still goes with Bassett, but it could be Cabral or even Calvin Harris.  Also if Maxso doesn't start for some reason that will tell us something about his future.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Mihailovic.  As bad as LA has been thy have the same number of goals this season as we do.  The difference is that they allow almost a full goal a game more than we do.  But our offense is horrible recently.  We should win this 2-1 but I can't predict that based on our recent play.

Three European Signings With Rapids Ties

Over the last week there have been three singings (or almost signings in the first case) with ties to the Rapids.

The big news is that the deal with Stav Lemkin has apparently fallen through.  After the report by Tom Bogert, backed up by the Post and Burgundy Wave, that the two sides were in negotiations all signs were pointing to a done deal.  Then this weekend FC Twente of the Eredivisie was linked to him and he was reportedly flying to the Netherlands to sign a deal.  Today Bogert is reporting that the deal was agreed on but Twente came in late with an offer and Lemkin is choosing to accept it. 

Twente is a top 5-6 team in the Netherlands and played in the Champions League last season and other European competitions the prior two years.  They didn't qualify for Europe next year but Lemkin has to expect they will be back in Europe soon.  Its hard to pass that opportunity up.  We have to hope that Smith and Taylor have a backup plan for that reported $1.6M they were going to use on the transfer fee, especially if Maxso leaves.

In other news my English team, Blackburn Rovers, made their first ever signing (that I know of) of a former Rapid.  And of all people its Sidnei Tavares.  After his 5 appearances here on loan in the fall of 2023 we waived him but were still on the hook for paying him until the end of the loan in the summer of 2024.  He spent last season at Portuguese side Moreirense.  Reportedly Rovers are paying 2 million for him, in either Pounds or Euros, depending on the source.  I'll will mention if he turns out to be any good in Lancashire.

Two Rovers have then plays for the Rapids, Roy Wegerle and Jermaine Jones, plus there's been some Rapids coaches who have spent time in Blackburn but this is the first time an ex-Rapid has made it to Rovers.

The final signing is a happier one for everyone I think.  Yesterday non-league side Brackley Town who were just promoted from the National League North to the National League announced the signing of Jack Price.  Great to see the ex-captain and fan favorite back on the pitch.  He'll play my Wealdstone FC in the National League, its a long-shot but I may have to travel to London for work, maybe I can arrange it for when Brackely are playing Wealdstone.

Rating The Gold Cup Kits - The Best And The Worst

Now that we've gone through all 16 sets of kits, lets recap.

Overall Best Kit - Jamaica alternate

Class of the competition here.  The Honduras and Guadeloupe alternates were also in the running.  The Saudi Arabia primary would also be a candidate if they were actually a team that should be in the Gold Cup.

Top 3 Overall Sets

1. Jamaica

2. Guadeloupe

3. Costa Rica

One and two were easy as they had no weak kit in their set and had the best couple kits overall.  Third was a bit of a tossup between Costa Rica, Honduras, and Haiti.  In the end the Ticos were just a little more consistent through both their kits than the others.

Worst Overall Set - El Salvador

Sorry La Selecta but those aren't great.  Just too plain and a lack of effort from Umbro.

Rating The Gold Cup Kits - Group D

The final group including the hosts tonight, Group D.  I may do a wrap-up post on this series tomorrow since there's no Rapids game this weekend.

United States

I was all set to give the U.S. a high rating until turning on tonight's game against Saudi Arabia and realizing they're still using the 2024 alternate kit (seen above) instead of the new 2025 alternate which is a great shirt.  This duo, not as impressive.  I misunderstood that the pinstripe kit will be used by both men's and women's team but the stars kit will be women's only and the men will stay with this kit.  A lot of people like the pinstripes but I'm not as taken with them.  I do appreciate what Nike was trying with it though.  The alternate kit is very plain.  I will likely buy the new women's white kit but not this one.

5/10 - Available through Nike

Haiti

Haiti goes with a solid template and varies the colors through the red, white, and blue of their flag.  They're the best set of kits in the group, even if the blue comes out looking a little Aquaman-ish in these pictures.  I'd probably give the nod to the white secondary but they're all well done.

7/10 - Available through Saeta

Trinidad & Tobago

These aren't quite as good as their prior kits with Bol but they're still very nice.  The road/white kit is my favorite with that gradated red detail, the best individual kit in this group.  The primary just shouts T&T to me for some reason, which is what you want in a primary jersey (and something Nike has struggled with on the U.S. jersey).  The black isn't as impressive but still has nice work.

6/10 - Available through Capelli but the second kit only has youth sizes

Saudi Arabia

First of all, why are they here?  CONCACAF is past the time that they need to invite outside teams to make up the numbers.  Guyana should be here in their place, or maybe Cuba (Cuba is higher ranked but Guyana was the best losing team in the qualifiers).  If you are going to invite a team, why Saudi Arabia?  Qatar at least made some sporting sense when they were looking for competitive matches when they didn't have to go through qualification before hosting the 2022 World Cup but Saudi Arabia is just here so they can do more sportswashing with their large investment in CONCACAF.  Do better guys.

If it weren't for that though, the home kit would be top tier in this competition.  The Saudi Arabian crest is distinct and that pattern looks great.  The road kit?  Meh.  The sublimated pattern doesn't really add anything to the shirt.

5/10 - Minus a point for not needing to be here.  Available through Adidas

Rating The Gold Cup Kits - Group C

As the competition moves into its second round of games we move into the second half of the groups.  Tonight its Group C.

Panama

Tough start for this one as its hard to find any official images of these kits.  Reebok doesn't seem to sell them through any well-known outlets.  Anyway the home is a solid if simple kit but the road and the black third have great detailing.  I like the waves on the road kit in particular.  Its not a top-tier group but its above average for this Gold Cup.

6/10 - Not available from a known online outlet

Jamaica

Jamaica always brings the color and this pair is no different.  The home is a nice blending of the colors of the Jamaican flag with the subtle print that you have to look hard to see, but the away is an immediate classic.  The color and design pattern with the birds standing out instead of being sublimated is great and was an instant hit among kit collectors.  There are some non-soccer related issues that lead me not to want to support Jamaica at this time (LGBTQ rights/protections) but otherwise that away kit would be the top of my acquire list. Clearly the class of this group.

8/10 - Available through Adidas on Amazon

Guatemala

This is our first true inverted pair of kits (El Salvador was close but one had a collar) with the home and away kits having reversed colors and the third sticking with the same design but adding detailing to the sash.  There a nice set of kits, nothing fancy, but certainly define a look.  And they didn't go with a big G as their badge.

5/10 - Available through Umbro

Guadeloupe

I know I said Jamaica was the class of this group but I would make them 1A and Guadeloupe 1B.  I love this set of kits, especially the road green.  Using the three colors of the unofficial flag (as a department of France its official flag is the French flag) that the national team uses in CONCACAF competitions and an image of the flag on the home and away.  The home and away also include a sublimated image of Carbet Falls while the third includes an image of the island country.  Very well done all around.

8/10 - Available through Tempo Sport

Rating The Gold Cup Kits - Group B

Part two of my four (or maybe five) part review and rating of the Gold Cup kits.  Tonight we get Group B.

Canada

For an program that's recently taken big steps into the top tier of CONCACAF their kits have not done the same.  I know Canada Soccer and Nike dropped the ball in the last World Cup cycle but these aren't a great improvement.  The red home kit is fairly plain and the pinstripes give the road kit at least a little character but I'd expect more from a nation gearing up to host the World Cup.  Hopefully their 2026 cycle is better.

3/10 - Available through Nike

Honduras

The home kit starts the group out on the wrong foot with a plain white shirt and the large H badge which I've never been fond of, but the second and third kits save this group.  Until I was writing this I was not aware that Honduras had changed its flag color from the darker blue on the third kit to the more aqua blue on the secondary.  They both look great and a nice nod to the recent older flag by having the third.  The only knock on those two is the big white box on the front of the third kit.  It would make sense for a club team as a spot for a sponsor logo, but its not needed on a national team kit.  This is a weak group kit wise, but this batch is the best of the four.

7/10 - Available through the Joma store on Amazon

El Salvador

Eh, those are certainly three kits.  Just none of them stand out to me.  The trend in Central American crests, Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador so far, to go to really big letters with little else doesn't do much for me (and yes, I feel the same way about the current USA logo).  Combined with little detail there's not much here for me to like.  A collar on the primary, some detailing on the third, but nothing that makes them memorable.

3/10 - Available through Umbro

Curacao

These are also a bit plain but break it up with some nice cutouts, a little texture, and some non-basic colors.  Plus a patch on the right arm containing the Curacao national anthem is a unique touch.  Solid but not spectacular.  Still in this group that's good enough for second place.

5/10 - Available through Kelme

Punchless Rapids Lose Again

Djordje Mihailovic scored in the 33rd minute of the Portland game on May 28th.  It will have been at least 4 weeks until the Rapids score their next goal after that.  For the second game in a row the home side was blanked, setting the scoreless streak at 237 minutes and counting.

Worse yet, that Djordje goal was the end of a 143 minute stretch where we scored 3 times, in the 70'th minute against FSL, in the 41st minute against St. Louis, and the Portland goal.  Before that they went 297 minutes without scoring between the FSL goal and Yapi's goal right before half in DC.

So in the last 677 minutes of action we've scored 3 total goals, all within the equivalent of a game and a half of time in the middle of that run.  Essentially we're scoring 1 goal every 2.5 games.  The offense of this team is broken.  On Saturday they had no shots on target and two in the second half when in theory they were chasing the game to get an equalizer.  This is while we were as healthy as we've been in attack for a while.  Navarro, Mihailovic, Yapi, and Ku-DiPietro all started and Bassett came off the bench.  Despite that we still looked lost in attack.

I could talk more about what happened specifically in the game, but really the lack of a tactical plan in attack is what it comes down to.  It doesn't matter that Cannon left his man unmarked or that Hansen could have done better to save the ball, if we don't score we aren't going to win.  In the second half there seemed to be a lack of a desire from the team and even or leaders, like Mihailovic, seemed to have their heads down.

In the post game quotes guys like Bassett and Djordje seemed to call out the locker room for not being focused and engaged.  We'll see if it makes a difference in 10 days against the Galaxy.  We've got 3 games in 10 days against teams behind us in the standings.  If we come out of that run with anything less than 7 points, and we really need 9, then the post 4th of July conversation is going to be about another lost season, not about the playoffs.

Rating The Gold Cup Kits - Group A

I'll be reviewing that minimal effort from the Rapids tomorrow, but with the Gold Cup starting this weekend and the Rapids on a 10-day break I wanted to start on a related project.  I've become a bit of a kit collector since the pandemic lock-downs, something I blame/credit Jon Arnold's Getting CONCACAFed for.  First of all, support Jon, he's the best coverage of the confederation bar none.  But thanks to his article about Caribbean sides new looks, especially featuring the new Anguilla kits (created by C38 friend Keith Laubhan), I started getting more into kits from smaller nations and mainly from island nations.  Then companies like Stingz Sportswear and Stimulus Athletic started partnering with small countries looking to kick start their football programs by offering stylish kits that would interest collectors and here I am with Dominica and St. Lucia and Kiribati kits in my closet.

So that leads me here, to rating this year's Gold Cup kits.  Going to go through all 16, split over four posts.  I want to give a shoutout to the Football Kit Archive which helped me find details on some of the smaller countries and smaller companies making their kits.  We're going to go by Groups, starting with Group A today.

Mexico:

That first one is their third kit new for the Gold Cup (and what they wore in the opener), followed by the home and away.  None of these blow me away, though I do like the detailing on the away.  That third kit is very plain and I don't like the centered badge.  I appreciate the creativity in the home but it doesn't fully pull it off.

6/10 - Available through Adidas

Costa Rica

The home followed by the away.  These are both great.  I particularly like the pattern on the home kit.  The away doesn't work quite as well but its still a good look.  I my opinion these are the best kits in Group A.  The only real knock on them is that the new Costa Rican badge isn't as good as their older one.

7/10 - Available through Adidas

Suriname

I'm sitting here watching Costa Rica - Suriname as I write this and the only picture I can find online of the home kit is that first pic above from Football Kit Archive.  Suriname recently moved to Macron and I was hoping that would make it easier to find their kits but no such luck.  The away kit is seen from an online store but there's no place to buy the home kit.  That primary is solid but the away does nothing for me based on the few pictures I've seen.  Its a step down from their last kits with Klupp which had me digging around to find one to buy online, unsuccessfully.

5/10 - Mainly due to the home.  Not available from a trusted online outlet

Dominican Republic

Primary and alternate, as Silver Sport dubs them, shown.  As expected for a smaller country in their first Gold Cup these are pretty basic but done well and they are very clean.  The alternate is your basic white jersey but the home has a bit of texture.  The both have an outline of the country with the flag in it on the back just below the collar which is a nice tough.  Good job on these.

6/10 - Available through Silver Sport