That was certainly unexpected. The Rapids played probably their worst half of the season on Saturday night. Luckily it was the first half and they followed it up with their best half since maybe the 3-1 win over FSL in July of 2015 (where we scored 3 in the last ~12 minutes of the game). Of course the accolades are rightfully going to Badji but there were a lot of contributors to that hat trick. Blomberg, Smith, and Aigner were all key to the goals as well. This was a nice boost heading into a rough part of the schedule.
Other observations:
- That was the first hat-trick for the team in almost 7 years. That was a long drought.
- If anyone told you a month ago we'd have 6 goals in our first 3 games, all from our strikers, you wouldn't have believed them.
- The team looked awful through the first 30 minutes or so, vintage 2017 stuff. They picked it up a bit near the end of the half and turned it on in the second. That's a step up from last week when it was 20-30 minutes of good play and 60+ minutes of 2017. Baby steps I guess.
- Howard didn't have to do much but when he did, he was there.
- Discipline are becoming an issue quickly. Price already has two cards in three games. I expect him to miss at least two games this year for caution accumulation. Overall we're getting a bit of a rep.
- Seeing Hairston and Wilson go down was not good. Hairston in particular looked bad. The silver lining is that we got our first look of the season at Sjoberg and Serna and they looked up to the challenge. Axel in particular stood out, taking his place in the back 3 like it was no big deal.
- Mason was quiet in this one, but when your strike partner puts up a hat-trick you don't need to do much.
- Blomberg is quietly turning into a key part of the offense. Its going to be hard to pull him out as Aigner and Gashi get healthy.
- Up 2-0 late with a hat-trick on the line I have no problem with Badji being selfish and getting the third goal, If we're losing or tied though he needs to pass that ball to the wide open Aigner.
- Speaking of, Aigner! He made some good runs and looked dangerous in his short time on the field.
- It was quite cold out there, much cooler than was expected. I'd be happy for a warm game soon.
- Up next, our old friends down in Dallas.
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1 comment:
Of course, the one game I miss they actually win. And, that wasn't just the worst half of football this season, that was probably the worst half of football I've ever seen!
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