Rapids Fall And Can't Get Up

Last night the soccer gods turned away from the Rapids. I'd say they were too busy with golden boy Tebow, but he might have had a worse day than the Rapids. As a Seahawks fan I feel no sympathy. :D A combination of a lack of offense and bad luck really destroyed Colorado's hopes of repeating.

The home side controlled play for most of the first half, but as we've seen in recent games, they could not convert that into goals. Meanwhile they picked up 3 significant injuries in the first half. The combination of those two things killed them. In the first 15 minutes of the second half KC took advantage of the weakened lineup for two goals and a red card and the game was over.

I'm going to dispense with my normal game review, because there's really only a couple of points to make. This loss is directly attributable to the injuries suffered. Folan left after 23 minutes due to landing badly and tweaking his knee. He's now out 2 weeks. Kimura left after 36 minutes due to breaking his left foot, he's out 4-8 weeks. Moor left after 60 minutes due to spraining his shoulder, he's out 2-4 weeks. We used all 3 subs in the first 60 minutes for players who were injured and will miss the return leg in KC. To their credit, all 3 players tried to play through their injuries before finally having to be subbed out.

Kimura's injury was the killer, and Moor's didn't help. Because of Koz having to leave Marshall was brought in to play center back and Wynne was pushed into Kimura's right back role. Marshall let Bunbury get behind him and couldn't quite catch up, allowing Teal to beat Pickens for the first goal. It was close enough that I have no doubt Wynne could have caught him if he was still playing center back. 10 minutes later Marshall again allowed Bunbury to slip behind him in the box and when closing him down tapped him and gave him the opportunity to go to ground, drawing a PK and a red card for Marshall. Marshall was also trying to cover for the injured Moor, who came out of the game at that point. Down 2 goals, a man, and out of subs the Rapids were done.

That leads me to the second point. Toledo had a bad night in the center, but it wasn't the travesty of justice a number of Rapids fans are making it out to be. The big misses by Toledo was the lack of a foul and yellow card on the collision that injured Kimura and the lack of any cards on the scuffle in the box between Kamara, Pickens, and Comminges. Other than that he really didn't miss that much. Unless Kamara's swipe rose tot he level of a red card (I haven't seen a replay, but it doesn't seem like it) at best a couple of KC players have additional yellow cards. What killed us were the injuries that resulted from the physical, but not dirty, play by KC and our continued lack of creativity on offense. Toldeo didn't cost us this game.

Player of the Game: Miguel Comminges. After a couple of game to settle in Comminges is looking like a solid pick-up. Last night he controlled the left side of defense and even made a couple of good attacking passes. In a game that went sideways due to injuries it was hard for anyone to stand out but I thought he had a good game.

Battle Of I-70 Starts Tomorrow

A quick turnaround for the Rapids as they are back in action tomorrow. The first leg of the conference semi-finals sees the SporKC's coming back to town. It will be the final home game of the season, no matter what happens, so let's go out with a bang. The tailgate starts at 2:30 with kickoff at 5:30. For those of you who can't make it you can see the game on FOX Soccer Channel.

Injury Report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear); MF Jamie Smith (R knee ACL tear); Anthony Wallace (R knee arthroscopic surgery)

QUESTIONABLE: Pablo Mastroeni (concussion)

PROBABLE: GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain);

KC has 4 players out, so both teams are at the same numeric strength (Since Pablo is not expected to play. Colorado is missing 3 of its 4 best players in Casey, Smith, and Pablo though (Wynne being the 4th, who will play) and that's going to be a challenge to overcome. Here's my guess at the starting XI, but its really a guess:

Pickens

Kimura - Wynne - Moor - Comminges

Mullan - Thompson - Larentowicz - Nyassi

Cummings - Folan

I'd really prefer to see Nyassi up top and Nane in midfield (and Folan in a suite somewhere) but Gary Smith seems to still like the Irishman. LaBauex, Akpan, or ven Earls could get a start though, so its a real toss-up.

Key To Look For: Our midfield. No Pablo and no Smith means that its a patchwork group in the middle of the field. That could put a real strain on an offense that's had a hard time generating chances in the best of times lately.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Larentowicz. Between the injuries and short rest before this game I don't see the Rapids getting a win. There's just too much stacked against them. Ginger Ninja will score off a free kick, but the defense won't be able to keep KC off the board.

One Game Down, Three To Go

A cold night in Commerce City worked to the Rapids advantage as they got a first half lead and then suffocated any chances the Crew might have had to get back into the game. Colorado won 1-0 and moved on to the Conference Semi-Final round to face Kansas City.

The Rapids took control early as they had the majority of play in the first half. With the exception of about a 10 minute period in the middle of the half Colorado had the run of play and were the most dangerous team. At halftime they had 62% of the possession. The attacking paid off right before half on a nice bit of passing from the team. Mullan played a ball through the Crew defense that Kimura ran onto. Cummings came in as the trailing player and was left unmarked and Koz played the ball back to him. Omar one-timed it past an airborne Hesmer for a great way to end the half.

The second half the Crew came out a bit more aggressive and the Rapids had to absorb more pressure. Slowly though Colorado retook control and wore the Crew out. With the cold weather and the altitude Columbus will seemed to fade as the half went on. By stoppage time the Rapids actually had the best two chances, but were unable to double their lead. That turned out to be unnecessary though as the team closed out the win and sent Columbus home for the season.

My key to the game was how Ginger and Nane/Thompson controlled the midfield. It turned out Jamie Smith partnered with Ginger and brought a good deal of stability to the center of the park. While things weren't perfect the Rapids dominance in possession was largely due to the midfield paring.

Other Observations:

• The goal was a textbook example of moving the ball and finding the open man. It reminded me of how Cummings and Casey have linked up in recent years. Maybe this will give Omar a jump start for the playoffs.
• The Rapids played one of the better team games of the season. Players were interchanging well and working together more cohesively than in many games.
• That said, Folan was awful. There was no desire in his game and no effort in his play. There's no reason he needs to be on the field in a Rapids jersey again.
• The bad news out of this game was the injury to Jamie Smith. Today's MRI revealed that he tore his right ACL and has months of rehab ahead of him.
• The Wells Thompson sub was made at the right time, I just would have taken Folan off.
• Nyassi and Cummings made some Crew defenders look stupid last night. It was fun to watch.
• I was surprised to see Ross LaBauex as the sub for Smith, I was expecting Nane.
• The Rapids move on to face KC at the Dick on Sunday. Kickoff is at 5:30.

Player of the Game: Brian Mullan. He drove the offense multiple times and set up a great goal. He was the engine of the team last night.

Defense Of The Cup Begins Tomorrow

The Rapids start the playoffs tomorrow night at the Dick against the Columbus Crew. 4 games in the next 11 days separate them from another trip to MLS Cup. Tomorrow night its simple, win or go home. There will be 30 minutes and, if necessary, PK's to decide a winner. Of course last year when Colorado started their run to MLS Cup they did it by beating the Crew in the first round. Kickoff tomorrow is at 8pm, so the tailgate starts at 6, regardless of how cold it is. Those of you that can't make it can watch on Altitude in Colorado, or streaming on MLSSoccer.com elsewhere.

Injury Report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear); Anthony Wallace (R knee arthroscopic surgery)

QUESTIONABLE: Pablo Mastroeni (concussion)

PROBABLE: GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain); MF Jamie Smith (R hamstring strain / R calf strain)

Columbus has two questionable players and one player suspended, so both teams are pretty close to equal strength. Given that its win or go home, there shouldn't be any reason to hold anyone back who can go. My guess at the starting XI:

Pickens

Kimura - Wynne - Moor - Comminges

Mullan - Nane - Larentowicz - Smith

Cummings - Nyassi

Recent articles make it sound very unlikely that Pablo will be cleared from his concussion and able to play. That's a big loss for the team that Nane (or possibly Thompson) will have to step up and make up for. Otherwise I expect our normal second-half starting XI to start.

Key To Look For: How do Ginger and Nane/Thompson hold the midfield. If the Rapids can hold the ball in midfield they can make Columbus work at altitude on short rest. If they can't we'll see Colorado revert to long ball again.

Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Moor. I think the cold weather, short rest, and the natural conservative play of a knockout game will keep this low scoring. Eventually Columbus will wear down with the altitude and additional travel and start giving up free kicks and corner kicks. Moor will convert one of them for the winner.

Colorado Ends Regular Season With A Win

After a first half completely bereft of ideas by either team (I commented at half that the best hope for either team to score was an own goal) the second half perked up and resulted in the Rapids clinching a home playoff game.

The half started on a bad note though as Vancouver scored 4 minutes in. A free kick from Alain Rochat bounced in front of goal and into the net with Pickens standing their with his arms pulled back like he thought it was going out of play. Just a horrible read by Matt. 10 minutes later Vancouver would repay the favor on the other end. The Rapids got a free kick just outside the box, Nyassi tapped it and Smith stopped it so Ginger Ninja could power it home, and he did, right between former-Rapids keeper Joe Cannon's legs.

The rest of the game was playing out to the point where I thought my prediction of a 1-1 game with Larentowicz scoring was going to be right on, but an unlikely source had other ideas. In the 84th minute after Folan had been dispossessed in the box Kandji (or a Vancouver defender, hard to tell) got to the ball and played it back to an open Wells Thompson. Wells took a couple of touches and launched an arcing shot from 20 yards that beat Cannon and gave Colorado a come-from-behind win and a home playoff game.

My key to the game was what offensive ideas the Rapids had. Despite the win and two goals though, they really didn't have any. One goal from allowing Ginger to slam a free kick at the goal, and a long shot from Wells Thompson aren't exactly things you plan for.

Other Observations:

• The Vancouver goal is all on Pickens. The ball was a good 30 yards away from goal and actually hit the ground in front of goal with no Whitecap able to make a play on it. Matt has to stop that.
• Other than the goal the Whitecaps only got 1 shot on target, mainly because they had n o real ideas but also because or defense did a good job of shutting things down.
• Omar Cummings was non-existent in this game. I just hope that he can find his mojo in the offseason.
• Far too many times the Rapids went for the long unsuccessful pass down the field instead of the shorter, more patient, pass. Kimura seemed particularly guilty of this.
• Good to see Jamie Smith able to play, we'll need him in the playoffs.
• The "thug" Rapids finished with the second lowest foul total in the league.
• Playoff soccer starts Thursday night at 8 at the Dick versus the Columbus Crew!

Player of the Game: Jeff Larentowicz. not only for the goal, which was solid, but for being a team leader in Pablo's absence.