Rapids Offense Heats Up Snow Classico III

On Friday I predicted:

Each side will get a sloppy goal, Portland will be happy with a road point in the conditions, and we move on to next week's game.

Well, it was 3 sloppy goals per side (2 sloppy and 1 gorgeous for the Rapids) and I don't think Portland was real happy with the road point but otherwise I wasn't far off. :D

Lets start with that first Rapids goal.  That's probably the best team goal we've seen in 3? years.  It started with great field vision from Rubio to make the cross-field pass to Serna, a nice bit of short passing between him and Acosta, and then Acosta putting the ball right on Kamara's foot for the easy goal.  Four players, the width of the field, and Portland had no answer.  More of that please.

After that things descended into snow classico sloppiness.   Being unable to clear the ball allowed Portland to get a good look at goal, only for it to be foiled by Sjoberg.  Unfortunately he used his hand to do it.  There's been a lot of discussion over Drew Fischer's call on this play.  Axel was going to ground but he used his hands to reverse his momentum and then stop his fall, putting them right into the ball's path.  While you could make a case his arms were in a natural position the violent movement of them in the moment before the shot made it appear like he was trying to put them right where he did,  I understand and can't argue with the PK call.  Once that call is made though there is no wiggle room about the red card.  A PK is only awarded for a deliberate handball and the LOTG clearly states that a deliberate handball that Denies an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity (DOGSO-H) is a red card anywhere on the field.

Howard came up big in saving the PK but a bit of bad luck took the rebound right back to the shooter for an easy tap in.  After some sustained pressure late in the first half Blanco was able to slightly redirect a corner kick past the far post for the lead.  After that the teams were just happy to get to the halftime locker room to warm up.  Seconds into the second half Feilhaber took a swerving path through the Timbers defense to get a weak shot off that was blocked right back to him.  His even weaker toe poke squeezed past Portland's keeper and suddenly we were level despite being down a man!

After that the game got real ugly.  Players were slip siding all over the place, the ball wouldn't roll on the ground more than about 20 feet, and you couldn't see the other side of the field from one sideline.  In the end that cost us as Wynne had to stretch for a ball he might have been able to handle better with more secure footing and redirected it past Tim for an own goal and a 3-2 Portland lead.  At this point you can't blame Rapids fans for appreciating the new fight in the team but thinking we were headed to 0 points.

Nobody told the team that though.  Down a man, in a snowstorm, and with no expectations on them they didn't quit.  All the way to the 94th minute where Serna picked up a lose ball on the edge of the box and hit a nice curling shot...that was saved.  In this case though the rebound luck was with us and the ball fell right to Shinyashiki, making his professional debut.  An easy touch, a 3-3 draw, and the Rapids took home a point that felt like a win.

Random Musings:

• This is not last year's Rapids.  This team had more fight than we saw in most games last year combined.  They never put their heads down and they never lost faith in their ability to get back into the game,
• In case your wondering, I couldn't find any time in the last 10 seasons where the Rapids scored two goals playing with one less player on the field than the opposition.
• Hudson deserves a lot of credit for his coaching in this one.  He went with the best XI he could for the starters, then when his hand was forced by the early red card he made all the right moves.  Rubio was the right choice to remove to fill the hole in the back with Wilson.  Pulling Bassett for Price when the game was going to become a sloppy mess was a real smart change.  Then, obviously, adding Shinyashiki and going for the tie worked perfectly.
• Dillon Serna looked very good at left back.  One official assist and one unofficial one.  I thought Vines was going to be the regular starter but Serna has made it hard to put him on the bench, as least after one game.
• Kei Kamara was everywhere doing everything.  It was also obvious how he's going to be the emotional center of this team when he's on the field.  It was great to see that so quickly.
• Rubio didn't have much time on the field but he looked good in his limited time.
• Rosenberry got worked by Blanco a couple of times early in the game.  Blanco is one of the better left wingers in the league though.
• Speaking of Blanco, he sure had a lot to "say" to 108 after he scored.  Of course, the looks and gestures to the section only proved to us he could hear us and we were in his head.
• I am feeling more optimistic about this season after this game.  This team might not be the best in the league but we're going to make everyone work for what they get.

Man of the Match: Tim Howard.  I know, in a game where we scored 3 and allowed 3 how does the goalkeeper become man of the match?  Tim played a lights out game with a number of big saves and its hard to hold any of the three goals against him.  He looked better than he has in a while, even despite the conditions.  5 saves on 7 shots along with a saved PK is a big game.