Rapids Beat FSL, All Is Right With The World

Apparently the problem with the Rapids in July was the fact that it was July.  As soon as we got out of the month we won!  Colorado took advantage of a FSL team that never got their heads in the game and got their first shutout in a month for a 1-0 win.

The first big moment of the game would turn out to be as close as FSL would get to scoring a goal.  Justin Braun headed down a cross and Pickens came up big with the save.  Immediately afterwards Moor got tangled with Saborio in front of the goal and Pickens had to step in to prevent any extra-curricular activities that might result in cards.

In the 38th minute Moor whipped in a cross to Castrillon.  His header attempt deflected right back to Nane at the top of the box.  For the second time in the game Nane had a clear shot and hit the crossbar.  Unlike the first time though, this time the ball deflected into the goal for a 1-0 lead.  It was Nane's first professional goal.  The half ended with Saborio reportedly expressing his displeasure with Class VI and Espindola also reportedly expressing his displeasure with the Pid Army.  To quote Top Gun they were "Communicating.  Keeping up foreign relations."  Always good to get into the opponent's heads like that.

The second half was much like the first.  The Rapids controlled a majority of the play and had some good chances, including Castrillon hitting the post, but couldn't convert.  FSL got the ball into dangerous positions but couldn't get a shot on target.  Their most dangerous attack came in stoppage time but a quick defense (Wynne and Zapata) put a stop to it and the Rapids broke their 6 game losing streak.

There was no key to the game until the Rapids won.  So I guess they'll be a key to the game next week. ;)

Other Observations:

• .Castrillon was working all night to get a goal but couldn't convert.  He hit the post, had a couple of good headers saved, and had one deflected to Nane that ended up as a goal.  As I suggested a few weeks ago he does seem to be a better fit up front than in the midfield.
• Cummings showed a few moments of the old Omar.  Unfortunately he hasn't found the scoring touch yet.
• Rivero appears to be good for the first 60 minutes or so, then he drops off dramatically.  Bringing Hill in for him was a good move.
• Nane had another solid game until his injury, I'm starting to think he's not a waste of a roster spot. ;)
• Moving Mullan back to right back when Marshall got injured was an interesting move.  I wonder if we might see a long-term move for Brian?
• Wells Thompson, aka the Holy Hacker, was used in the perfect spot again, a defensive sub when the Rapids have the lead.
• The tema just looked like they wanted it more than they had in a while.  I don't know what during the week caused the change, but I'm glad they figured it out.
• The Rapids avoided being the first team to be swept and go scoreless in the Rocky Mountain Cup, so at least there's that.

Player Of The Game: Matt Pickens & Brian Mullan.  I'm splitting it because they both had good games and they both hit major milestones.  Pickens won his 40th game as Rapid, a new team record.  Mullan played in his 300th MLS game, only the 15th field player in league history to hit that mark (Mastroeni and Marshall have also reached that mark).

Rapids Face Own Battle Of New Orleans

Andrew Jackson and Company take on the British

200 years ago this year the War of 1812 started.  On Christmas Eve 1814 the Treaty of Ghent, ending hostilities, was signed.  Due to the slow pace of communication in the 1800's New Orleans didn't find out about the treaty until after the Americans defended the city from the British on January 8th, 1815.  A battle fought when the war had already finished, with many thinking the British had won.

Tomorrow the Rapids face their own Battle of New Orleans as they meet FSL at home in the final game of the Rocky Mountain Cup, a prize already won for the year by FSL.  So despite the war for the Cup being over there's still one last battle to fight.  Let's hope that, much like Andrew Jackson and the Americans in the Big Easy, the losing team wins the final fight. (In reality the War of 1812 was more like a draw and in the long term the U.S. got most of the things out of the war they were aiming for).

Game time tomorrow is 7pm on Altitude, with the tailgate starting at 5.  With Balboa calling Olympic soccer for NBC Pablo Mastroeni will be doing color on the broadcast.

Injury Report:
OUT: MF Pablo Mastroeni (headache symptoms); DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear)
QUESTIONABLE: FW Conor Casey (L hamstring tightness); FW Edu (R foot contusion)
PROBABLE: FW Omar Cummings (L ankle sprain); Jamie Smith (R ACL tear)

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED AFTER NEXT 2 YELLOWS: MF Jaime Castrillon; DF Tyrone Marshall; MF Martin Rivero; DF Tyson Wahl

No change in the injury or disciplinary report from last week.  FSL is missing 3 players including Olave so they're about as hurt as we are.  My guess at the starting XI:

Casey - Cummings

Rivero - Larentowicz - Nane - Mullan

Wahl - Marshall - Wynne - Moor

Pickens

At this point you could put all the defenders names in a hat and draw 4 and have as good of a chance of being right as I do.  I really don't know what we'll see.  I don't expect changes elsewhere though.

Key To Look For: This section is on hiatus until we actually win.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Casey.  This is pure wishful thinking on my part, I have nothing to back it up other than the losing streak has to end sometime, so why not this week at home against a FSL team that travelled to Costa Rica in midweek for CCL play?

Slower, Lower, Weaker

More of the same.  Not really going to review the game because if you saw any league match in July you saw this game.

My key to the game was the Rapids figuring out how to win.  Not yet.

Other Observations:

• The first Sounders goal we just got beat on.  It was a corner kick and Johnson did a good job of getting his man (Wynne it looks like) caught in traffic so EJ could have a free header.  Sometimes the other team just runs their plan better than you do.
• The second Sounders goal though was a defensive cluster, again.  Despite having 5 men in the box (the whole back line + Larentowicz) against 4 attackers Johnson was unmarked to make the cross and Alonso was unmarked to take the shot.  How the hell does something like that happen?
• That whole sequence started on an admittedly less-than-stellar back pass from Casey, but Larentowicz sat flat footed and watched it roll by without making an attempt to corral it.
• Nice work by Moor on the Rapids goal.  Good job cleaning up on the back post.
• Cummings is really struggling to make an impact.  something is not clicking with him.
• Casey ad 1 golden chance and a couple of difficult but good chances to tie the game.  I can't fault him for not finishing the two headers, but the week strike to try to get it over the keeper has to be better.
• Rivero's free kicks are good (hit the crossbar on one of them) but his corner kicks are not.  Somebody else should be taking those.
• One of these days Pickens will get his team-record setting win, right?
• 6 losses in a row ties a team record.  Maybe we can avoid setting a new one against FSL next week.
• Sadly, this was the best we've looked all month and we still lost.

Player Of The Game: Brian Mullan.  He's become the Energizer bunny of the team.

Faster, Higher, Stronger?

As much as I love the Rapids, this will be my sporting obsession for now

So the Rapids have one more chance to get a meaningful win this month, being 0-0-5 so far.  Tomorrow the Sounders are back for their first game in Colorado since the Steve Zakuani incident, and hopefully he'll be playing.  Game time tomorrow is 7pm and the tailgate, featuring fish tacos, starts at 4.  So break away from the Olympics and come have some good food.  If you can't make it but still don't want to watch the Games this game will be on Altitude.

Injury Report:
OUT: MF Pablo Mastroeni (headache symptoms); DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear)
QUESTIONABLE: FW Conor Casey (L hamstring tightness); FW Edu (R foot contusion)
PROBABLE: FW Omar Cummings (L ankle sprain); Jamie Smith (R ACL tear)

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED AFTER NEXT 2 YELLOWS: MF Jaime Castrillon; DF Tyrone Marshall; MF Martin Rivero; DF Tyson Wahl

We get the Ginger Ninja back from suspension, but it looks like Casey is still unavailable.  Seattle is missing 5 players and just today swapped DP's, so who knows if their new one will be available.  My guess at the XI:

Hill - Cummings

Castrillon - Larentowicz - Rivero - Mullan

Wahl - Moor - Wynne - Freeman

Pickens

After his good play against Swansea OP said that he had misjudged Hill.  I think we're going to see him start with Casey and Edu unavailable.  Wahl seems to be getting the nod over Zapata recently, otherwise everything else is as it has been.

Key To Look For: There's no key at this point, the Rapids just have to figure out how to win.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Larentowicz.  I don't see the Rapids breaking their winless streak tomorrow, but I think they can get a point out of this game.  Ginger will score fro a free kick but once again a defensive mental mistake will cost us points.

Swans And Keepers

No full review of last night's friendly, but some odds and ends that I observed. First though, the news of the day. Colorado signed goalkeeper Matt Pickens to a multi-year contract extension today. As always terms were not released but we'll see the new salary when the Players Union updates its salary list. Pickens joins Mullan, Moor, Larentowicz, and Cummings with new multi-year deals since the end of last season.

Now, onto last night's game. The Rapids won 2-1 with two great goals from Andre Akpan and Kamani Hill in the first 15 minutes before Jonathan De Guzman scored directly from a free kick with 12 minutes to play. With the exception of the last 15 minutes or so Swansea wasn't really trying hard, and after 30 minutes their players were obviously struggling after their long flight from London on Monday and playing at altitude. Despite that there were some interesting notes:

• Swansea players laid a wreath at midfield before the game and both teams held a moment of silence in memory of the Aurora victims which was very much appreciated.
• Oddly there was no British/Welsh flag flying and neither God Save The Queen or Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (the Welsh anthem) were played, though the Star-Spangled Banner was sung like any other game.
• Hill looked good last night.  Pareja's post-game comments seemed to insinuate he may have read Hill's place wrong and he's reassessing.  Its will be interesting to see if we see more of Hill now.
• On top of that his goal was an absolute bomb off the post from outside the area.
• Thompson had a harsh tackle that would have been questionable for a league game, much less a friendly.
• Great combination work between Smith, Zapata, and Akpan for the first goal within 5 minutes.
• De Guzman's goal was good, but Joyce completely misread it.  Most keepers probably could have stopped it.
• Great to see homegrown players Davy Armstrong and Shane O'Neil get their first home playing time (for Armstrong) and first playing time of any kind (O'Neil).  Armstrong played RB while O'Neil took Larentowicz's spot in midfield.
• Unfortunately the attendance was only about 6500.  I have a feeling that's going to lead to the Rapids not bringing in a big European team again for a while.  They'll probably revert to Mexican teams where they know they'll get good attendance.