If It's CCL, It Must Be An Embarrassing Night For The Rapids

*sigh*.  I don't know why I thought it would be different, but I did.  Instead the Rapids did what they've always done in the CCL.  Crash out in the first round in a generally embarrassing fashion.  I didn't start following the team until just after the 1998 appearance, so I can't speak to that, but in 2011 it was Gary Smith not even bothering to travel to a road CCL match and the Rapids looking decidedly minor league from top to bottom when hosting Santos.  In 2018 it was Anthony Hudson openly stating before the matches that he didn't care about the result and was using the games as preseason warmups.  Last night it was a team playing up a man, at home, for 75 minutes and then not getting the result they needed before losing in penalty kicks.  Oh, and being apparently outdrawn in their home stadium, in sub-zero temps, by Guatemalan supporters.  But remember, we're taking it "seriously" this year.

Comuicaciones haws 2 shots on target in the series, both in the first match, and is moving on.  This despite having at least 6 players not even make the trip to Colorado and having another sent off in the 15th minute.  For 75 minutes the Rapids had complete control of the game, and they came up with a single goal.  Now credit to Cremas' keeper, he had a good night, but we didn't really make him work that hard given the difference in talent level (no knock on our opposition, they even admitted they were the less talented team), man power, and home field advantage.  In our last 3 games we've scored a single goal when 1 more goal in any of those games would have been enough.  We haven't win a knock-out game/series since the Open Cup in 2017.  This team is desperate for the guy who can step up and score when we need a critical goal.

Can we stop pretending that the answer to our hole at striker is Rubio or Lewis or Shinyashiki?  They had their chances this series and none of them answered the call.  It felt like Lewis lost the ball more than he kept it over the two games.  Rubio had the chance to be the hero, and couldn't manage to stay onside (that was correctly called by VAR).  Shinyashiki could barely get time in the series, and when he did he failed to do the thing he need to do, namely make his PK.

Robin Fraser put out a good lineup in both games, but this lineup has no ability to break down a bunker.  We saw it last year and we're seeing it again this season.  The lack of the necessary talent on this roster isn't on Fraser, its on Smith.  He talked a month ago about having targets identified at striker, but apparently he can't get the deal done.  Something he's consistently failed at, despite his success with the rest of the roster.  Literally every preview I've read for this season has talked about how the Rapids need a 9, and somehow we went all offseason without signing one.  I understand we're playing Moneyball because that's what our owner gives us to work with, but Moneyball ended the same way our season did last year.  Why will anything be different this season?

It was also embarrassing to see the crowd makeup in the stadium last night.  I'm going to make this perfectly clear up front, this isn't a knock against those of us who did show up, or even those fans with more brains than us and decide to watch from a warm home.  There's no way a random Guatemalan team should be outdrawing the home team in snow and single-digit temps in Denver.  It shows a failure of the Front Office, over 25+ years, to connect with this community and build a fan base.  There should be plenty of committed/insane fans who are willing to come out to this game despite the weather and overwhelm the couple of thousand Guatemalan fans.  Instead we sounded like the visiting support in our own stadium.  It doesn't help when that visiting team shows more respect and love for their supporters than the burgundy boys did.  Outside of Jack Price pretty much the whole team just turned and trudged their way to the locker room after the Shootout instead of acknowledging the fans.  Poor show guys, and thanks to Captain Jack for taking the time to show some love.

In the end this is another series where we failed to show up, on and off the field. and we got the expected result.  Now we go into the regular season where we have the talent to, over 34 games, finish in a playoff spot and have a "successful" season, but its going to end quickly in the playoffs again unless we add some real firepower.  And ever if we do we'll still have to wonder what could have been had we added it before the season.

Man of the Match: Max.  Hey, he scored on his home debut, which is all you can ask.  If only the rest of the team had lived up to that standard.  Honorable mention to Yarbrough, who started out the shootout looking like he wasn't going to save anything, but then came up big forcing the kicks to go 7 rounds.  But he had nothing else to do last night not facing a shot on target.

Upcoming Opponents Decided

This weekend our upcoming opponent for Thursday's playoff match and for the Concacaf Champions League in February were partially decided.

Frist, the big one, we'll play Portland on Thursday in the conference semifinals.  So far this season we've beaten them 2-0 at home and drawn them 2-2 in Portland.  Later this week we'll go into more detail about those two matches and what to expect on Thursday.

Concacaf also announced the details of the Concacaf Champions League.  The draw will take place on December 15th but we know 15 of the 16 teams in the competition already.  The teams are ranked by how the teams in those slots have done in past editions of the CCL, not how the qualified teams have done in past editions.  For example, the Supporters Shield winner always gets the USA2 slot, and based on how past Shield winners have done the Revs are ranked 5th of the 16th teams.  The other conference winner always gets the USA3 slot, and based how they've done over the years the Rapids have the best ranking of American teams in 4th.  Given that the rankings for 2022 are already known as well as 15 of the 16 teams in the slots:

Cruz Azul - Mexico

Leon - Mexico

UNAM (Pumas) - Mexico

Colorado Rapids - USA

New England Revolution - USA

Montreal - Canada

MLS Cup winner* - USA

Seattle Sounders - USA

***********

Santos Laguna - Mexico

Santos de Guapiles - Costa Rica

Motagua - Honduras

Saprissa - Costa Rica

Cavaly - Haiti/Concacaf League

Guastatoya - Guatemala/Concacaf League

Comunicaciones - Guatemala/Concacaf League

Forge FC - Canada/Concacaf League

The last 4 spots are awarded to the semi-finalists of the Concacaf league, played among qualifiers from the smaller leagues in the region.  The competition is in the semi-final stage so we know the 4 teams who will qualify but the order of the two Guatemalan teams may change based on who wins the semi-final between them.

* - If the MLS Cup winner is one of New England, Colorado, or Seattle, the highest team in the Shield standings who hasn't yet qualified for the CCL will get the spot.  This year that would be Sporting KC.

Once the 16 teams are ranked they're split into the top 8 and the bottom 8, and one from each side of the split are drawn against each other.  So you can see that which of the spots the Guatemalan team fills or if one of the MLS teams moves into the MLS Cup spot doesn't really matter as they stay in the same pot.

The rules of the draw are that teams from the same federation can't be drawn against each other (there's an exception to that but it won't apply this year).  So Montreal can't draw Forge FC and Santos Laguna can't draw Cruz Azul, Leon, or Pumas (which means they will draw a MLS team).

So the possible Rapids opponents in the first round are any of the bottom 8 teams in that list up there.  The first round will take place as a home and home series on Feb. 15th-17th and Feb. 22nd-24th.  As the higher ranked team the Rapids will host the second leg on Feb. 22nd-24th.

As part of the draw on Dec. 15th the teams will be placed into a traditional 16 team bracket, like the Sweet Sixteen, and they'll know what their path to the final is.  In the quarter-finals the winners of series 1, 3, 5, and 7 in that bracket will host the second legs of the home-and-home series (generally considered the better option).  Those will be played March 8-10th and March 15th-17th.  For the semis and final the host of the second leg will be determined by the records of the teams involved in the earlier rounds, with the team with the better record getting the second leg.  The semis will be played April 5th-7th and April 12th-14th, and the finals will be April 26th-28th and May 3rd-5th.

CCL Ends Not With A Bang, But A Wimper

As expected nothing much came out of last night's CCL game.  We saw a few different players, had a good run out, and went home with our CCL campaign complete.

The Rapids looked better this week, having some good chances and really controlling the game for all but about the last 20 minutes when they tired.  That said, TFC had a 2 goal lead coming in and never really seemed to get out of third gear.  Maybe an early goal by the Rapids puts the pressure on TFC and they break, but its equally possible an early goal wakes them up and they go on to beat us.

Now we have a week and a half break before league play starts in New England on the 10th.  Consider this, in 4 games against MLS opposition this season we've scored 1 goal.  Not good.

(Oh, and for all the talk about how TFC is an all time great MLS team, they've beaten Colorado once in the 4 times they've faced them going back to 2016.  I'm not impressed.)

CCL Round 2

Last week I did a full game preview for what amounted to a preseason game.  Fool me once and all that so just a quick write up this week.  From the talk it appears will swap out most, if not all, of the starting XI tomorrow night and play them all a full 90 again.  We know Boateng and Aigner are out of the country and Azira's wife gave birth this weekend so I'm assuming he's not available.  Gashi and Colvey are still listed as probable with injuries.

Kickoff is 6pm MST and it looks like streaming is your only option, either through Univision Deportes or go90.

Prediction: 1-0 loss.

Colorado Offense As Frozen As The Fans

Wow, that was cold.  An official kickoff temperature of 3 degrees set a new MLS record, one that won't be broken any time soon.

As we expected from the pre-game comments the Rapids treated this like a preseason plus game while TFC came in looking to make this the first step on their run to the CCL title.  Not surprisingly, TFC won 2-0.  The first half was actually fairly even, with some positive things to build on in 2018.  The second half was 2017-level dreck and TFC took advantage for both goals.  Colorado used no subs and after the game Hudson said that was intentional to build fitness (and probably, to minimize the risk of injury).

Because the goal of this game was largely not on winning its hard to draw many conclusions from it.  Jack Price looked good, he's quickly going to become a favorite I think.  Tommy Smith seems to be a good organizer on the back line.  Jack McBean brought nothing to the game and a front line of Badji & McBean is not going to get the job done in league play.  Finally I had carried the torch for a renewed Howard this offseason.  After his performance last night I regret it.  I hope it was just the cold because he looked slow and barely reacted on either TFC goal.  If its not just the cold and he really is struggling, Hudson is going to have his first big decision of his Rapids career as MacMath waits in the wings.

We've got TFC again in Toronto next Tuesday but it will take a miracle to advance.  After that its a bye the following weekend, a trip to New England on the 10th, another bye, and then the home opener on the 24th.  Kind of a start-stop month ahead, it will be important to stay focused.

Game On!

Well the season is finally here.  On what will be a very cold night with temperatures with wind chill in the single digits the Rapids face Toronto in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League.  Kickoff tomorrow night is at 8pm and I expect me and about 100 of my closest C38 comrades will be about the only fans in the stadium.  Those of you smart enough to stay out of the cold can find the game on Univision Deportes at 11pm, streamed live from the Univision Deportes website, or supposedly streamed live with English commentary on go90.

New coach, new players, and no injury report means I'm not going to try to predict a starting XI.  We'll be playing our new 3-5-2 and our lack of strikers means its likely guys like Hairston, Badji, Castillo, and McBean will start but outside of that its really up in the air.

Toronto plays a 5-3-2 (really the main difference between a 5-3-2 and a 3-5-2 is how aggressive the wing backs get) so the midfield is going to be really crowded.  Expect a lot of playing to the outside to find space.  They'll be missing a couple of bigger players due to injury and impending fatherhood so we might see an odd set of lineups from both teams.

Prediction: 0-0 draw.  I think Colorado is going to play conservatively, knowing they don't yet have all the pieces to get into a shootout.  The cold weather will only add to that as nobody is going to want to risk injury.  TFC will be fairly happy to go home without a deficit so this may not be the most exciting soccer tomorrow night.

Christmas News Recap

Sorry for the silence over the last two weeks, I was visiting my father-in-law in Florida for the holidays.  A recap of what happened in Rapids-land while I was gone, roughly in chronological order.

* Rapids pick Mike Grella in Re-Entry Draft, immediately trade him to Columbus for a 2019 2nd round draft pick

• As the Rapids Media Director later confirmed on Twitter this was a quick way to get a free draft pick.  The Rapids had no intention of taking anyone but the Crew approached them about making this move  (they couldn't trade the pick due to the blackout period pre-draft) so Colorado got a draft pick for nothing.  Why not?

* Steve Cooke takes over the USL's Oklahoma City Energy

• Not a real surprise except maybe the timing.  Cooke has put in his time and showed a bit of what he could do as the head coach when taking over Pablo's spot this past season.  The Rapids made keeping him a condition of any new coaching hire so I thought he'd be around at least until the midseason coaching moves in the lower leagues happened but either way he was going to get a chance sooner or later.  Good luck to him!  I don't think this is a huge loss for Colorado.  While I'm sure Hudson would have been happy to work with Cooke giving him more freedom to set up his own staff is probably a good thing.

* Rapids will open with the Fire at home on March 3rd at 7pm then head to New England for their home opener on March 10th at 11:30am (MT).

• Good to open at home though a night game in early March might be chilly.  And we always seem to get a road game in New England early in the season.

* Colorado draws Toronto in the CONCACAF Champions League.  Home game Feb. 20th at 8pm, road leg Feb. 27th at 6pm (MT).  Season ticket holders will get a ticket to the home match as part of their ticket package.

• All good news except that date/kickoff time.  Can you say brrr?  Its likely going to be quite cold by the final whistle at 10pm.  I'm much happier drawing a equally-in-preseason Toronto than a in-midseasonn-form Mexican side in the first round.  Our odds are better against TFC, even if they are the GOAT MLS team.  I mean, they hosted us last season when we were awful and they couldn't beat us.

* Colorado trades $100K of TAM to Vancouver for New Zealand outside back Deklan Wynne.

• No surprise that Hudson is grabbing up his former New Zealand players that are in MLS.  Much like McBean, Wynne has spent most his career on Vancouver's USL side, and I would expect that he continues to see time in Charlotte.  $100K in TAM sounds like a lot but with the amount of TAM more than doubling this season that's only worth about half as much as it used to be.

That's it for the news over the last couple of weeks.  To do a quick review of our offseason so far we've acquired one likely starter (Blomberg) and 3 young players unlikely to contribute in a meaningful way to a successful 2018 season (Colvey, McBean, Wynne).  There's nothing bad about any of those moves they're just fairly meaningless, outside of Blomberg.  We have a little over 3 weeks before camp opens, I expect the Rapids to be very busy stocking up the actual first team roster in that time if we hope to be successful in the CCL and league this season.

CCL Draw, Preseason Plans, and Castillo Incoming?

Lots of news aside from Hudson today.  Taking it roughly in order.

CONCACAF announced the draw for the 2018 CCL today.  Colorado will be the one MLS/Liga MX team in Pot B, the other 8 teams will be in Pot 1.  Under the competition rules we can't be drawn against an American team in the first round so we know our opponent will be one of Toronto, Chivas, Club America, Tigres, or Tijuana.  Colorado will host the first leg as the Pot B. team.

The seeding were based on the results of the teams in each slot over the last 5 CCL competitions.  So as the team in the USA4 slot our pot placement was based on the CCL results of the last 5 teams in the USA4 slot.  That results in us being in a tie with Dallas, the USA2 slot holder, for the final spot in Pot A but presumably, since USA2 is a "higher" spot than USA4, they got the final pot A spot.

The draw will be on Dec. 18th with the games in late February.  I don't love our chances but a home snowstorm at altitude might be a nice equalizer.

That was followed by this tweet from Spanish sports reporter John E. Rojas that the rumor linking U.S. Nat Edgar Castillo to the Rapids will be come a reality in the next few days.  Castillo is a 31 year old left back who has played his whole career in Mexico and played for the Mexican Nats before making a one time switch to the U.S. in 2009.  He played somewhat regularly for the Nats between 2009-2013 (but not in the World Cup) including in the 1-0 win at the Azteca.  He appeared once in 2014 and then in both qualifiers against Guatemala in 2016.

This would be a huge upgrade at left back, one of the biggest holes the Rapids have.  At 31 he's not a long-term prospect but he still should have 3 or so good seasons in him.  This would be a solid move for the FO and a good sign that they are addressing areas of need.

Finally the end of the Denver Post article about the Hudson signing had some information about our preseason plans.  Camp will open on Jan. 22nd, the earliest day allowed by the CBA, and on the 24th the team will head to Casa Grande for an intense preseason camp to prepare for the CCL.  The team will participate in the Desert Diamond Cup but depending on the CCL schedule it may be a split squad that gets left behind in Tucson while the first team returns to Denver and/or goes on the road for the legs of the CCL.

I'm glad to see the team has a plan already in place to deal with the tight time window between the allowed start of preseason and the CCL.  Its not much, you think every team would have this figured out, but in the past the Rapids FO, at least publicly, hasn't always seemed that organized about preseason matters.

That's all for today, which is plenty.  I love having an active FO in the offseason, its a nice change, but a little more spacing of the major announcements  would be appreciated.  :D

CONCACAF Champions League Changes

Today CONCACAF announced changes in the Champions League format starting with the 2017-18 cycle the Rapids have qualified for.  Instead of playing in a group stage this fall, MLS teams will move right to a 16-team knockout tournament held in Feb-May of 2018.  The 4 MLS qualifiers will be joined in the tournament by 4 Mexican teams, the Canadian champion, the 5 major Central American league champs (all but Belize and Nicaragua), the Caribbean Club Champion, and the winner of the fall 2017 CCL tournament.  That tournament will now be contested by the 2 best teams from Nicaragua, the champion of Belize, the 2nd and 3rd placed teams from the other 5 Central American countries, and 3 Caribbean teams.

Essentially this changes the CCL into a small countries tournament and large countries tournament.  The results of each year's tournaments will be factored in to seeding for future years so countries can move up to the large tournament or down to the small one depending on results.  The benefit of this is to reduce schedule crowding for bigger teams who are playing games against minnows that they are (largely) winning easily.  It also allows those smaller clubs to play reasonable competition and not get blown out regularly.

As noted both in the CONCACAF and MLS releases, these changes do not effect which teams have qualified for the next cycle, despite the MLS teams not starting play until after the 2017 qualifiers would be decided.  Instead of playing a 3 team group stage this fall with two home and two road games between August and October the Rapids will play their first CCL game as a home-and-home knockout in February of 2018.  That will actually help our schedule congestion this fall and hopefully, with a good draw, we'll see a beatable team in preseason next year.

This leaves MLS in an odd place though as teams who qualify for the CCL won't start playing in it for over a year.  I expect we'll see an announcement before the season starts that there will be no teams that qualify for CCL in 2017.  Then the qualifiers will return in 2018.  That will mean that the teams that were already announced as having qualified will play in in 2018 and thee teams that qualify will play in 2019 and so on.  This allows MLS to "catch up" while not pulling a CCL spot from an already qualified team.

Unrelated, we got confirmation of Alan Gordon's signing today.

Rapids Clinch CCL, Fall Behind In Shield Race

Full recap tomorrow but here's where today's results put us.

With NYCFC's loss we are guaranteed a top 3 overall finish and with it, a spot in the 2017-18 CONCACAF Champions League.  For the current edition the draw was held on May 30th and the first games were in the first week of August.  I would assume similar scheduling next year for the 2017-18 edition.

We have not yet clinched hosting MLS Cup if we make it.  If RBNY beat Philly and we lose to Houston, then end up facing RBNY in MLS Cup we would play at Red Bull Arena.  Any other combination of results in those two games next week or any other opponent should we make it to MLS Cup and it would be played at DSG Park.

We have lost control of our destiny in the Supporters Shield race.  With Dallas' win and our loss Dallas now has a 2 point lead in the race.  In order to win it we have to beat Houston next week and LA has to beat Dallas.  The problem with that later requirement is LA clinched the #3 seed in the West this week.  The only thing they have to play for is a chance as a CCL spot by finishing ahead of NYCFC and hoping the MLS Cup winner (if not them) is one of the 3 teams already qualified or a Canadian team.  Long odds.  More likely they realize they host a wild-card game 3 days later and they rest as much as they can against Dallas to prepare for that winner-take-all match.  Dallas does go to Guatemala before the LA game and stranger things have happened but right now Dallas is now the heavy favorite to win.

Rapids CCL Run Ends In 2-0 Defeat

Colorado went to Mexico hoping that they could steal a win. Santos obliged them by starting their reserves. Then we found out the Rapids started half of their reserves and that was the end of that hope.

Colorado controlled play for much of the first half, but every time the ball got to the attackers it died. Kandji and Folan had no real idea what to do with the ball when they got it, and the few times they got a good look they couldn't put the ball on target. At halftime I was optimistic that the Rapids could steal a win, but that ended quickly with a great volley by Santos in the 55th minute to go up 1-0, and then they doubled the lead in the 67th minute with another good volley. After that Colorado was done.

Colorado had one final hope tonight, if Isidro Metapan and Real Espana played to a draw the Rapids would get through. Unfortunately Metapan won 3-2 and claimed second place in the group. The Rapids failed to advance because their reserves only got one point against Real Espana, the weakest team in the group. A win in either game would have been enough to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.

Other Observations:

• Why does Gary Smith continue to try to put out the minimum lineup he thinks he can get away with? There was no reason to fly Nyassi and Cummings all the way to Mexico, then bring them off the bench after we're down 1-0.
• I appreciate the effort Kimura made at right mid, but he's far too defensive for that role unless your other midfielders are attack minded (and last night they weren't).
• Folan, still awful.
• Ceus had no chance on either goal and put in a solid night.
• In general the defense and midfield got their jobs done, the attack just died whenever it got much past midfield.

Player of the Game: Jeff Larentowicz. Solid night leading the team but he couldn't get it done without attacking help.

Colorado Tries To Qualify for CCL Quarterfinals

Tomorrow night the Rapids play their final group stage game of the Champions League in Torreon, Mexico against Santos Laguna. With a win Colorado will clinch 2nd place in the group and a spot in the quarterfinals. With an extremely unlikely 4 goal win they will win the group. A draw or loss does not eliminate them, but it leaves their fate in the hands of Real Espana and Isidro Metapan who play on Thursday. A draw between them would allow the Rapids to finish in 2nd regardless of their result against Santos.

Colorado got beat down 4-1 in their home match against Santos with a lineup that was half starters and half reserves. The Rapids have brought most of their starters with them to Mexico. Other than Pablo and Smith, who are recovering from injury, the only other starters that didn't travel were Mullan and Pickens. There are still enough reserves on the trip that none of the starters have to play, but on first appearance it seems like Colorado is going all out for the win.

It won't be easy though. Santos clearly out-played the Rapids in September. Even though Colorado didn't play well the Mexicans would have beaten any MLS team on that night. If that team shows up again the Rapids stand no chance, regardless of who they use. There are two pieces of good news though. First, Santos Laguna has just moved to the top of the table in their domestic competition and has a good chance to extend that lead on the road this weekend. Second, they've already qualified for the quarterfinals of the CCL and they'll win the group as long as they don't lose to the Rapids by 4 or more. Since the Rapids only need a win to qualify they won't risk the result and try to score more if they get a comfortable lead. This may lead the home side to start some reserves and/or not put a high priority on the result.

Because of the huge question marks around both starting lineups I'm not going to try to make a prediction. If Santos rolls out their starters there's little to no chance the Rapids win. If they go with a largely reserve lineup though, there's a opening for Colorado to take advantage of. Their best chance is to score early and shock Santos Laguna. If the Rapids can get an early lead and keep the pressure up Laguna may fold up shop and just do enough not to finish 2nd in the group.

I'll Take My Crow Now Please

So, yeah, about that whole post where I said the Rapids will be beat by Metapan and the roster selection was not great. Well Colorado proved me an idiot with a 3-1 win last night. The reserve squad, lead by Steve Guppy and augmented by Wells Thompson and Tyrone Marshall, pulled together in a tough environment and dominated the scoreboard.

There was a pretty big mistake to start the night. The Rapids stayed in San Salvador, about a 2 hour drive from Metapan. It wasn't until the team got to the stadium for pre-game that the equipment manager realized he forgot a bag at the hotel, the bag with the team's cleats! Immediately they called their contact back and the hotel, he found the bag, and a police escort started towards Metapan. The problem was that kickoff was in 90 minutes and starters Wells Thompson and Andre Akpan didn't have boots! A number of players had kept their cleats with them, and they were able to borrow some from Metapan and run to a sporting goods store to buy others, but Thompson and Akpan were stuck wearing cleats that were too big. Just as the teams were taking the field for kickoff the bag arrived and the referees were forced to handle a delay as Ian Joyce and Omar Cummings helped Wells and Andre get the right shoes on. The rest of the starters without their normal shoes changed at half.

In the 31st minute Ross LaBauex played a ball in front of Eddie Ababio. Ababio chipped it over the keeper for the first goal. This was Ababio's first professional appearance (later int he game he would be replaced by Davy Armstrong who was also getting his first professional playing time as the Rapids first homegrown player). The lead only lasted 5 minutes as Stweard Ceus was called for a 6-second violation. I have literally never seen that called in a professional game. The ensuing indirect kick inside the box was finished off to level the score. Metapan was very unlucky not to score right before half as they had a wide-open volley go off the crossbar.

Right after half Amarikwa put the Rapids back into the lead with a volley off a header form the top of the box that the Metapan keeper fumbled and let get behind him. Cummings finished off the scoring with a classic Omar goal, running onto a long ball ahead of the defense and beating the keeper. At that point Metapan knew it was over and folded up shop.

As you can see, the Rapids proved me wrong. Colorado was really outplayed for a good part of the game, especially in the first half, but they manged to do two things that have been lacking recently. The first was finishing their opportunities. The 3 goals were really their only 3 good chances in the game (and Amarikwa's was only half a chance at best) and they finished all of them. The second was that they didn't make any defensive blunders. The couple of good chances Metapan got came from them outplaying us (or int he case of the goal, a horrible call), not from the keeper playing a bad ball or a defender not seeing an attacker on a pass. Combined they were worse on the field but better on the scoreboard.

My humble pie now eaten, I still stand by my belief that Smith skipping this game was an insult and a poor decision, regardless of the result. Just because the Rapids won doesn't change the questionable decision-making process.

Colorado Proves CCL Game Is Meaningless

Colorado faces Isidro Metapan tonight in El Salavador at 8pm MDT. The game is delayed until 10:30pm on FOX Soccer Channel but can be watched live on the CONCACAF Champions League site. The supporters groups are gathering at the British Bulldog for this one, presumably to watch the live stream on big screens.

The Rapids sent a mostly reserve squad to Metapan, with Cummings, Thompson, and Marshall as the only players who get regular playing time. Apparently the game is so unimportant that Gary Smith can't be bothered to travel, sending assistant coach Steve Guppy with the team to coach the game.

I actually agree that this game should have a lower priority. Our playoff chances are teetering on the edge while our odds of advancement in the CCL are very low. A loss in either of our next two games eliminates us, and even a draw makes it difficult. Getting wins in El Salvador and Mexico would be a long shot for a fully healthy Rapids squad, with the injuries and the importance of our remaining league games its time to punt. Had we started full lineups in either (or both) of the Real Espana games and gotten the wins that were there for the taking we'd be in a different situation, but since we didn't we need to move on from the CCL.

That said, its ridiculous that Gary Smith isn't with the team. He's the head coach and this is a first-team game. Unlike the players, the only physical exertion he has to perform at a game is to get off the bench to pass instructions once in a while. A flight to El Salvador and back shouldn't cause any problems with that. Its less than 200 miles further to Metapan from Denver than to Boston. If the Rapids had a midweek road match in New England, would he skip that as well?

Sending Omar Cummings, and to a lesser extent Wells Thompson, is also an odd choice. Cummings is our best healthy striker with more goals+assists than anyone on the team. Thompson is a backup, but with Jamie Smith having a history of pre-game injuries Wells has been pressed into service on a moments notice more than once. Now, with a critical league game on Saturday, he sends them both with the reserves to Metapan and says anyone on the trip won't play more than a substitute role on Saturday. So we can expect to see Folan and Nyassi up top and we have to hope Jamie Smith stays healthy.

Clearly this is a game Gary Smith has written off. If he can't be bothered to show up and support his team, why should I bother even watching it?

Prediction: 2-0 Rapids loss. A reserves team couldn't get it done against a weaker Real Espana team at home, there's no reason to think they can get it done in El Salvador.

I Love It When A Plan Falls Apart

In 2005, a not-so-crack soccer team was sent to the reserves by a coach for skills they didn't possess. These men promptly escaped from a minimally-interested Front Office to the Denver underground. Today, still not missed by the fans, they survive as minimum wage MLS players. If you have a game...if no one else cares...and if you can find them...maybe you can start...The B-Team.

Ironically because it was a CCL match and not a league game the A-Team theme was not played before the game like normal last night. Just in writing that I think I spent more time thinking about the game than Gary Smith did prior to writing his lineup card. In a game we had to win to hopefully have a chance to get to the knockout rounds we ran out a b-team lineup supplemented by Koz and Mullan (who were by far the players of the game). Not surprising, given their results in the reserves, we got a b-team result in the form of a 2-1 loss.

And really, that's all the time I want to spend on this game. Our CCL campaign is essentially over and Gary Smith doesn't seem to care, so why should I?

Rapids Face Must-Win CCL Game

Tomorrow night Real Espana becomes the final CCL team to make the trip to Denver for the group stage. In August we faced them in Honduras using mostly a team of reserves and drew 1-1. The only members of our best XI that started that game were Kimura, Larentowicz, and Cummings with Moor getting 20 and Nyassi getting 10 minutes late. Colorado was under siege that game, with only some bad shooting by Real and good saves by Ceus keeping us from losing.

This is pretty much a must-win game if the Rapids want to get pout of the stage. Assuming that Isidro Metapan doesn't pull the upset of the stage by winning in Mexico on Thursday, Colorado can clinch a spot in the knock-out rounds with wins tomorrow night and next week in Metapan. Given that we are almost certainly going to fail to get points in Mexico, given how our first team played against Santos last week, winning the next two games is really our only shot at getting out of the group. Of course we also really need to best San Jose on Saturday, so Gary Smith has to figure out how to juggle the lineup.

Prediction: 1-0 Rapids win. Real Espana looked dangerous against the back line of our reserves, but a starting team that has worked together would have successfully stopped much of their attack. Our offense isn't exactly clicking on all cylinders though, so I don't expect us to do much better than our reserves did. Of course this prediction assumes we see something close to a first-team starting XI.

Rapids Embarrass Themselves On And Off The Field

Where do I start with this mess of an event. From the big things to the small things it was an embarrassment. Might as well take it chronologically.

1. I get en email from my ticket rep saying "No parking passes for this game are needed". I write back asking if that's true for the tailgate lot. He says yep, no passes. I decide to bring mine anyway (Well, its permanently in the glove compartment, it was coming either way) sure enough, you need the tailgate lot pass to get to the lot for this game.

2. Nice job removing all the porta-potties from the tailgate lot guys. Did you think the season ended at Labor Day?

3. Same email from ticket rep said all Santos fans had to go in on the East side, all rapids fans had to go in on the West. Of course as I go in on the West side I see plenty of Santos fans going in with me.

4. The roster sheet being handed out at the gate identified our new player Comminges as being from Les Abymes, Guatemala. He's from Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. But hey, all those CONCACAF 'G' countries are the same, right?

5. That same sheet had the standings for our CCL group incorrect. Somehow they showed the Rapids as the only team with a draw. Basic understanding of sports should make it obvious that its impossible for only 1 team to have a draw.

6. I get to my seat, which of course isn't actually my seat, because they moved all the die-hard fans on the East so all the Rapids fans were on the West side and all the Santos fans were on the East side, only to find a Santos fan two rows in front of me. Of course, because this was the section behind the Santos bench there;s no shock in that, I'm sure many Santos fans would have wanted to sit right behind their team's bench.

7. Looking across to the East side and seeing 8K Santos fans. Embarrassing for the organization that their opponents outdraw the home team due to the crappy marketing this organization does.

8. Finding out that Tina and the rest of the clan, Class VI leaders, got re-seated outside the Class VI section and near some Santos fans. Nice job taking care of some of your best fans Rapids.

9. The starting lineup. Really Smith? No Pickens against the best strike force the Rapids will play all season? And don't give me any crap about needing to rest him. He was on fire in LA and he's a goalkeeper, goalkeepers regularly play 40 games in soccer leagues around the world. Putting Moor on the right and Palguta was a winning move too, I hope Koz enjoyed his night off.

10. Not to mention the stunning strategic move of playing a 4-3-3 with a team that never plays that formation. Instead of starting Mullan in our traditional 4-4-2 that's worked well for us you start Kandji. Mac proceeded to prove that he doesn't belong in a reserves game, much less the CCL.

11. Security around the Pid Army and BSG while the whole East stands are yelling ********! on every goal kick. yeah, you wouldn't want your loyal fans to feel welcome or anything, you want to make sure you can keep the once-in-a-lifetime visitors happy so they'll still never come back.

12. 90 minutes of the worst soccer the Rapids have played in years. The team wasn't moving or talking to each other, and they flat out gave up on the 2nd goal, which is about the time I gave up on the game. BTW, the goal was onside.

13. Despite that I still stayed until the end, but I couldn't even get pissed at the Class VI fans who left at 4-0. I believe you should support your team through thick and thin, but after the debacle last night I couldn't blame people for walking out.

Rapids Biggest CCL Game Tomorrow

Colorado hosts Santos Laguna of the Mexican League tomorrow. This is the biggest CCL match the Rapids will play, as Santos is by far the best team in the group but a win tomorrow would put Colorado in the driver's seat for advancing into the knockout rounds. Game time tomorrow at the Dick is 8pm and the game will be on FOX Soccer Channel. Note to season ticket holders on the East side of the stadium (which would be everyone in Class VI, BSG, and the Pid Army), the East side of the stadium has been given to the Santos fans. You should have been contacted to be re-seated on the West side. If not, contact your ticket rep. Tailgate tomorrow starts at 5:30, with fish tacos on the menu!

Santos Laguna got into the CCL by being the runner-up of the 2010 Apertura season. They beat Olimpia of Honduras by an aggregate 4-3 score in the preliminary round and have beaten Real Espana at home 3-2 and lost to Isidro Metapan on the road 2-0. Santos were in the 2010-11 CCL where they were knocked out by Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals and in the 2008-09 CCL where they were knocked out by eventual champion Alante in the semifinals. They are currently 15th (of 18 teams) in the Mexican Clasura and just drew a tough game against Chivas on Saturday.

Despite their league struggles, both teams have stated that they are going to play the strongest lineups they can. Of course we've heard that before from Gary Smith. Hopefully he realizes this is the critical game of the CCL campaign. The Rapids have to be favored to beat Real Espana at the Dick next week, so a win tomorrow night would give Colorado a very good chance to get to 10 points by the end of Round 4, which would mean the only way they wouldn't advance would be the unlikely scenario of losing a 3-way tiebreaker at 10 points. That would mean the Rapids could go into the last two rounds without a lot of pressure, which is good since those are road games in El Salvador and Mexico, tough places to get a result.

Despite Gary Smith's statement, I expect to see a lineup of some starters and some reserves. I wouldn't be shocked to see Marshall, Mastroeni or Larentowicz, Mullan, and Nyassi not starting. Moor will start after being forced to sit out on Friday, and I assume that Cummings limited play on Friday will allow him to start. Against a tough team like Mexico I assume Pickens will get the nod over Ceus.

Prediction: 1-1 draw. I think a full strength Rapids side could beat Santos, but I don't think Gary smith will put out a full strength side. Because of that the Rapids will be pushed to their limit but they will manage to hang on for a draw. This will leave Colorado in the position of needing to beat Isidro Metapan on the road in order to advance.

Rapids Continue Stumbling through CCL

Colorado sent a young team down to Honduras, and you could tell from the play. The Rapids had few chances last night and were under siege most of the game. They managed a 1-1 draw and the one point is a good result given their youth, but 3 points was there for the taking had the coaching staff done a better job managing the squad over the last couple of weeks.

The first 20-30 minutes was fairly even, with neither team having any good chances. The last 20 minutes or so of the half though the field was tilting against Colorado. Ceus had to make a couple of saves including one point blank one, and he came flying out of his box and almost got a red card. Replays showed he didn't get the ball, but he didn't get the man either so it was the right call. Right before half the Rapids were finally able to get the ball tot he other end of the field, where LaBauex beat his man and crossed the ball tot he top of the box. Ginger Ninja ran onto it and just beat the keeper with a shot to the far post for the unlikely halftime lead.

Colorado spent he whole second half under siege. Real hit the crossbar on an open net header. They beat Ceus again only for Earls to save it off the line. Colorado didn't get a shot on goal the entire half (in fact, their only shot on goal the whole game was Larentowicz' goal). Finally the wall broke down. On a swerving cross into the box Koz could only head it away from his mark, but right back into the center where both Holody and Moor had lost their men. Rodriguez, Espana's most dangerous player all night, finished the ball to draw things level. Real still wouldn't go away and created another couple of good chances but Colorado hung on for the draw.

• After the Real Espana goal Nyassi almost gave the game away. A ball was cleared to the side of the box and Nyassi ran through the back of the player to try to get it. Probably a foul, hard to tell if it was just inside or just outside the box though. The ref waved play on.
• That was really the only miss by the ref all night. He wasn't falling for any dives or weak fouls.
• The back line was a dangerous mess all night. Holody, Earls, and Palguta were not in sync and its obvious why they haven't been playing much.
• I saw Akpan's name in the starting lineup, but I'm not sure I saw him on the field.
• No idea why Amarikwa came in instead of Kandji. Comparing the two CCL games its obvious which one of them should be getting more time.
• Cummings is not the Cummings of old. He's apparently nursing a sore ankle, but he doesn't seem to have the drive either.
• LaBauex gets full credit for the assist. Unfortunately that's about all he did.
• Moor lost his man on the goal, but he stabilized a back line that was in complete disarray.
• I really think the Rapids lost 2 points not on their play int he game, but on the choices made by Gary Smith in setting the lineups and subs over the last 4 games. Anything short of a win in Chicago would be a failure of Smith's strategy.
• Santos Laguna went to Metapan and lost 2-0, which means after 2 rounds the Rapids lead the group as the only team to get points on the road. Santos and Metapan each have 3 points and Real Espana has 1.

Player of the Game: Jeff Larentowicz. not only did he have the goal against the run of play, but he was a stabilizing influence for a scattered Rapids team.

Colorado Makes First CCL Road Trip

The Rapids have taken 19 players on the long trip to Honduras, their first trip outside the U.S. & Canada for a meaningful game in 13 years. Tomorrow they face Real Espana in San Pedro Sula in their second Champions League match. While Pablo, Pickens, Wynne, and Smith stayed in Colorado the rest of the starters traveled with the team and will be available for selection. Game time tomorrow is 8pm MDT and the game will be on FOX Soccer Channel.

Real Espana are the defending Honduran Apertura champions, their first championship since the 2006 Apertura. They did finish second in the 2008-09 Apertura and Clasura. This is Espana's second appearance in the Champions League. Last year they made it through the qualification round with an aggregate 6-3 win over Costa Rica's Liberia Mia, then finished last in their group with 6 points and a -8 goal differential. In the first group stage game this year they lost 3-2 at Santos Laguna.

I expect Colorado to approach this game very conservatively. Despite the likes of Drew Moor, Omar Cummings, and Brian Mullan making the trip I would be willing to bet they start the game on the bench. We'll probably see LaBauex, Holody, and Folan in the starting lineup. The backline in particular could be quite young, with Steward Ceus in the nets behind them.

Prediction: 1-0 Rapids loss. I think there's enough experience on the trip for the Rapids to keep the game close, but I don't expect enough of it to start for the Rapids to get a point. Many players will be getting their first taste of being a visiting team in Central America and that's something you just can't really prepare for. I wouldn't be shocked if we pulled off a draw, but it would be a nice surprise.