Rapids Stumble Their Way To A Win

Apologies for the delay, a summer flu has knocked me out for the last 24 hours. Preview of tomorrow's Chivas game will be up later tonight.

After the worst first half the Rapids have played in years they straightened things out and halftime and dominated the second half en route to a win.

The game couldn't have started any worse as Drew Moor was whistled for a penalty just 15 seconds into the game. Moor also received a yellow card that a worse ref could have made a red. Granting your opponent a 1-0 lead after 2 minutes is not particularly good strategy. 15 minutes later MLS Cup hero Mac Kandji leveled the score as he was unmarked and headed in a Scott Palguta cross.

Just as the Rapids thought hey had gotten things back to normal, their lack of mental focus struck again. Matt Pickens snagged a long ball into the box and was wiped out by an onrushing Metapan striker. Instead of staying down and making sure everyone was ready he jumped up and threw the ball out towards Koz. The throw wasn't string and Koz wasn't expecting it though, allowing a Metapan striker to run onto it and chip it over Pickens for a 2-1 lead. While there should have been a foul called on Metapan when Pickens was knocked down, there's no excuse for the dumb play by Matt. That was followed 10 minutes later by another PK call on Moor but after further review the referee (correctly IMO) reversed the call. Kardeck, who got tangled up with Moor on the non-PK call, decided to get some revenge a couple of minutes later and slammed his arm into Moor's chest on a long ball with no attempt to play the ball. He saw a straight red. A few minutes later the Rapids took advantage of the extra man as Nane and Akpan combined to get the ball across goal where Kandji could tap it in for his second goal of the match.

Right after half Colorado would finally take the lead. Once again Mac Attack was involved as he brought the ball into the box, and tried to play a 1-2 with Thompson. Wells got the ball stuck on his foot but managed to slide it an unmarked Akpan who made it 3 goals for the Rapids. The rest of the half was Colorado killing off any Metapan chances while trying not to get hurt or get any more cards.

• The officiating looked very anti-Colorado in the stadium, but watching the broadcast I felt the it was equally bad for both teams. Wells Thompson probably should have seen a red at some point, but so should 1 or 2 other Metapan players. A horrible offside decision in the 63rd minute cost moor a 1 on 1 with the keeper that could have made it 4-2.
• The Rapids were not mentally prepared to play this game. They came out like this would be a walkover and almost paid for it. The fact that we played a really bad half and were tied at halftime shows you how bad Isidro Metapan is.
• Based on what I saw there's no reason, barring truly awful officiating, that a full strength Colorado side couldn't beat Isidro Metapan in Metapan.
• The lineup and substitution decisions made by Gary Smith for this match are ones that look like genius moves when they work, but get you called into Jeff Plush's office to explain yourself when they don't. Our manager is a bit of a gambler apparently.
• Omar Cummings was seen on the concourse in street clothes and Jamie Smith spent the end of the game sitting in Class VI.
• Former Rapid Terry Cooke made an appearance at the Class VI/Pid Army tailgate.

Player of the Game: Mac Kandji. 2 goals and an assist on the third, easy choice.

Rapids Start Champions League Play Tomorrow Night!

Tomorrow night Colorado plays its first meaningful international match since facing Leon in the preliminary round of the old CONCACAF Champions Cup in 1998. The first opponent is El Salvador's Isidro Metapan, who qualified for the Champions League by winning the El Salvadorian 2010 Apertura. Kickoff at the Dick tomorrow is an unusual 8pm for TV, which means the kegs will be breached at 5:30 and the grills fired up at 6 for the tailgate.

Isidro has won 5 of the last 8 seasons if the Primera Division but has not fared well on the international stage. They've only made it to the group stage once, by directly qualifying in 2009-10, and finished last in the group with 3 points and a -19 goal differential. They have lost every road game in their history of Champions League play, while being outscored 15-2. What little I've found about the current team is that they are very organized defensively but lack firepower going forward.

The other game in Group B just finished and Santos Laguna beat Real Espana 3-2 at home. That's a pretty good result for us, as I think the best outcome is for Santos Laguna and Colorado to take as many points as possible off the other two teams. Santos did that, but they had to work all game to get the win and they only got a +1 goal differential out of it.

I'm not going to do a starting XI prediction or a key to the game for this one, as that really depends on how seriously the Rapids are planning to take this competition. Gary Smith said today that he wants to win the CCL, but GS is becoming a master of saying the right thing to the press but not really worrying about what he said when it comes time to make decisions. From that article I expect our normal 5-man defensive group to start and to see Cyanide up front, but the midfield 4 could have some surprises.

Prediction: 1-0 Rapids win, goal by Cummings. I expect this to be a low scoring game and I'd be shocked if there were more than 3 goals in this one. Two apparently tough defenses means that opportunities are going to be rare. Cyanide's speed will combine to expose the Metapan defense once though, and that will be enough to get the Rapids off on the right foot in CCL play.

Rapids Get Ref Assist In Win

A wild and crazy game in San Jose saw Colorado return to the Rockies with 3 points. They got some help from the refs and some good play from the midfield but this game could have easily gone the other way.

San Jose had more possession but Colorado had better chances early. Seven minutes in Folan slammed a Mullan cross off the post from his head. A long ball was sent in to Folan right in front of goal, but he was tripped up by a San Jose defender. Then San Jose broke through on a cross that was tipped towards goal. Pickens reacted well and parried it away but it fell to an unmarked Gjertsen on the back post who tapped it in for the lead.

The Rapids kept the pressure up and right before half it paid off. Mastroeni tracked a ball down on the end line and crossed it back towards goal. It went behind defender Sam Cronin, but his trailing arm blocked it out of play. A penalty was called and Folan converted it to level the score. given the play a tie score at halftime was an accurate representation of the game.

The second half started out equal as well. Things changed in the 50th minute as Cronin slid in from behind on Mastroeni and received a straight red card for it. Right after the card it seemed that Colorado was the team playing a man down as San Jose really turned up the pressure. Colorado absorbed it though and turned the play back towards the Earthquakes. In the 71st minute Wells Thompson was pushed from behind right outside the box. Ginger Ninja stepped up and slammed the free kick home to give the Rapids the lead.

After the goal once again San Jose poured it on and it really felt like there was an equalizer coming. Colorado made it through a couple of tricky situations though, including a big save from Pickens to get the three points.

My key to the game was what lineup the Rapids played. Somewhat surprising to me was that we saw 8 of regular starters plus part-time starter Thompson. Only Cyanide didn't start and Cummings got 30 minutes of work in at the end. I'm not sure we get a win if the regular group wasn't starting.

Stat of the Game: The Rapids tied their quickest trip to 40 points in the post-shootout era with this win. They got to 40 points in 26 games in 2002 and 2010 as well.

Other Observations:

• There have been, not surprisingly, a number of complaints about the officiating. Honestly I think Ward lost the game after the PK. The Rapids benefited from it, but it wasn't pretty.
• That said, the PK call was a good one based on what MLS has called this year.m Its at least the second time this season I've seen a sliding defender called fora handball on his trailing/support hand. A bit of a grey area in the "unnatural position" part of the handling rule but at least they're consistent.
• The red card wasn't a good call, unless MLS is setting a new standard for tackles from behind. It wasn't particularly hard or dirty, and probably should have been yellow at worst.
• However earlier in the game Wondolowski took down Drew Moor with a scissor tackle from behind, that probably should have been red. That, along with the tripping of Folan in the box before the first goal that looked like a possible PK means the Earthquakes were on thin ice before the calls started going against them.
• on the PK, Mastroeni immediately turned to the Assistant Ref and 4 times yelled "You f****** saw it!". I chuckled at it but it really wasn't a great move by Pablo. According to reports the ref was already making the signal for a penalty so it didn't influence the decision at least.
• Folan had a better game, but I'm still not impressed. He goes down far too easy for a big man and his "legs spread, bent at the waist" move when the ball is too far for him to make a real effort is getting very old.
• Good to see LaBauex getting another chance, but he didn't have a great outing. I don't thing withdrawn striker is his spot.
• Kimura was caught completely ball watching on the Quakes goal. He's not going to make the Blue Samurai that way.
• I'm coming around a bit on Wells Thompson. I still don't think he's any better than a journeyman MLS player, but he's not a hindrance to the team any more.
• Now the big challenge of the Champions League starts!

Player of the Game: Drew Moor, for tying the MLS Ironman record for field players at 67 consecutive complete games, also held by former Rapid Peter Vermes. That's a tough record to match and he should hopefully set a new record Saturday against Chivas.

The Equalizer

The Rapids are on the road this week, some of them on a very long road trip, in San Jose. Last time these two teams met a great Kosuke Kimura goal gave the Rapids the win and, more importantly, the Eastern Conference Championship en rout to their MLS Cup victory. I think we can expect the Earthquakes to be looking for some revenge after that loss. Game time tomorrow is a late 8:30pm. The game is on Altitude with Class VI and the Pid Army watching the game from the Highland Tap House on 32nd.

Injury Report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear); Anthony Wallace (L knee sprain)

QUESTIONABLE: MF Jamie Smith (R hamstring strain, R calf strain)

PROBABLE: GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain)

Disciplinary Report:

SUSPENDED AFTER 2 MORE CAUTIONS: FW Caleb Folan; MF Ross LaBauex; MF Jeff Larentowicz; DF Tyrone Marshall; MF Pablo Mastroeni; DF Drew Moor; MF Sanna Nyassi; MF Wells Thompson; DF Anthony Wallace

Hey, look who's not on the injury list for the first time this season. Macumba Kandji! Despite being downgraded to questionable, Gary Smith reported yesterday that Jamie Smith, along with Folan and Kandji, were ready to play 90 tomorrow night. San Jose have 5 players listed as questionable or worse, so they're hurting. My complete guess at the starting XI tomorrow:

Pickens

Kimura - Wynne - Marshall - Moor

Mullan - Pablo- Larentowicz - Thompson

Folan - Akpan

With the injuries. travel, and crowded schedule coming up I think Cyanide will get the night off, and Smith will get another game to rest, though we could see him as a sub. Otherwise we'll see our normal starters. I'd like to see Mullan and Marshall rested for the Champions League game on Wednesday but I doubt it will happen.

Stat of the Game: By my count if Drew Moor starts and plays the full game he'll tie Peter Vermes ironman record at 67 games.

Key To Look For: What lineup do the Rapids play. Omar Cummings flew to China to play with the Jamaican National Team on Wednesday, the same day Nyassi played with the Gambian National Team in the Congo. Both are expected to be with the team tomorrow night. With the CCL starting on Wednesday and another game next Saturday, do some players get rested?

Prediction: 1-1 draw, Larentowicz gets The Equalizer (reference left up to you to decode). I think we'll see a few players be rested and the team be happy with a draw. San Jose isn't a real dangerous team right now but I won't be shocked when this defense gives up a goal to them.

Rapids All-Time Team: Left Midfielder

The starting left midfielder for the Rapids All-Time Team is Chris Henderson.

How Acquired: Signed as a Discovery Player in 1996. First pick in the Dispersal Draft in 2002

Years In Colorado: 1996 through 1998 and 2002 through early 2005

How Departed: Left as a free agent and signed by KC. Traded to Columbus in a 3-way trade that brought Mike Petke to Colorado.

(OK, so I cheated a bit. Henderson was primarily a right midfielder, but he showed in his time in Colorado that he could just as easily play on the left.)

Henderson is the only player in team history that I can think of that played regularly for the team in two different times. Chris was one of the better players on the Rapids when he left after the 1998 season, but with the addition of Anders Limpar he was seen as surplus to the team's needs. Henderson moved on to KC for two years and then to Miami for one. After the 2001 season the Miami Fusion were contracted along with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Due to trades the Rapids held the top draft spot in the Dispersal Draft from those two teams and they used it to bring Henderson back to Colorado (The Rapids also acquired Kyle Beckerman and Pablo Mastroeni that day, possibly the best single-day haul in team history).

When you combine his two stints with the team he set records for games, starts, minutes, and assists. His games and minutes total were also league records when he retired. Henderson still holds the team assists record with 53 and is second in the other 3 stats behind Mastroeni. His combined total of 84 goals and assists is by far the team record, with Casey and Bravo tied for second at 61.

In his second stint Henderson combined with the John Spencer, Chris Carrieri, and Mark Chung to create what offense the Rapids had in that time. This is when his flexibility to play on either side of the field really came into play as Chung and Henderson would regularly swap sides during the game to confuse the defense. Henderson would get free to snap crosses into the box or make diagonal runs to free up the forwards.

Of course possibly the biggest goal in Rapids history prior to last year was scored by Chris Henderson. In the 1997 Western Conference final Colorado was facing Dallas (the first of five times in the playoffs). Back then the playoffs were a best of 3 series and Colorado had upset Dallas in Dallas in game 1. Game 2 in Colorado was tied 1-1 with 3 minutes to play, with Game 3 back in Dallas looming on the horizon. Then Henderson side-volleyed a cross into the back of the net to give the Rapids the game-winning goal and their first ever berth in MLS Cup. That was as close as Colorado got to a championship until Kandji blew out his ACL getting the Rapids the MLS Cup.