Pundits wondered if the defending champs only looked good because of their relatively weak two first opponents. When the Rapids downed mid table DC United tonight, they were stone cold killers, converting the majority of their legitimate chances. It was a slick, cold field, with drizzle turning to snow, and a tepid first half turning to second half domination.

DC United controlled much of the flow of play in the first half, but generated relatively few chances as Moor, Wynne, and Pickens suffocated any attacks. Folan scored his first MLS goal in the 38th minute, warming the hearts of the freezing faithful as he took on the defender one on one. The big man danced back and forth and then laced a shot with his left boot past the diving Pat Onstad.

It remained 1-0 until DC’s Chris Korb sent a gorgeous 30 yard cross to Santino Quaranta who volleyed it in. It was a lovely first time shot, but it was the last time DC was in the game. The Rapids took over from there, scoring on the restart. Anthony Wallace, who previously had a quiet game, sent a lovely cross in to the box. Smith’s header was sublime, arching up and over the goalkeeper. 2-1 Colorado in the 71′.

The Rapids weren’t done yet, nor was the big Irishman, as Folan matched Smith’s touch with a lovely header of his own. Nyassi, who put in another excellent showing as a super sub, sent a cross into the middle for Folan. There was no luck of the Irish involved, just technical skill in heading it down and across the face of goal.

There is no coincidence that the last three goals happened after Cummings came in in the 52nd minute…and indeed the last goal was Omar’s. It was the third goal of the night off the noggin. Setup by Amerikwa’s header and a deflected pass from Pablo, the Jamaican International sent it home as he beat Onstad to the ball. 4-1 Rapids.

I never thought I’d say this: but the Rapids really do have options in attack, with Folan, Nyassi, and even Amerikwa demonstrating an ability to make trouble for opposing back lines. We do lack some speed in the attack without Cummings, but Folan and Nyassi have shown they can move the ball upfield in a hurry. With the Rapids in multiple competitions, this depth in attack is much needed.

However, despite the fireworks, it is the boys in the back that deserve a shoutout. Though it wasn’t a shutout, they suffocated the DC attack and gave them few chances to get back in the game.

93 minutes of frustration. One aggressive challenge by Ryan Johnson of San Jose on Drew Moor, who made the most of it and earned a PK that Casey did not waste.

Basics

This was a game full of annoyances. John Harkes saying “Bow-det.” The ball bouncing around on a field full of mini-moguls. Most importantly, a complete lack of service from the midfield to Thunder (Casey) & Lighting (Cummings) up top. We attempted the long ball to Cummings all game long, but it produced only a couple half chances.

Casey was frequently coming back close to midfield in the attack and becoming a 5th midfielder to try and create chances. Excellent work all day from Casey, but that far back is not where you want the best striker in the MLS playing.

San Jose played valiantly, creating the majority of the action through the game. But the Rapids persevered and gained a point.

I think it would be difficult to overstate how important the one point is. Coming into this weekend the Rapids were tied in the wildcard race at 36 points with Chivas and DC United. More importantly, Toronto, New England, and Fake Salt Lake all at 34 would have leapfrogged the Rapids if we lost. Being at 37 points ensure we stay in the thick of it regardless of what else happens.

Bonus

We worked hard and got lucky. I’m really not sure what else to say. The boys in sky blue worked hard, very hard, but simply lacked a midfielder who could dictate the pace of the game. Ballouchy can be creative, but needs a Mastroeni for muscle and possession. The lack of Colin Clark is also glaring.

But this is the “bonus” section and the fact is we never gave up, and attacked until the very last minute, earning a PK and a point.

Bummer

As I said above…the lack of midfield depth is glaring. If only Cookie was still on the bench…

The good news is, Mastroeni is coming back and hopefully he won’t elbow anyone in the face for a while.

Backtalk

How many points will it take to get in the playoffs? Marcel Balboa in the weekly show with Gary Smith said he thinks 42, which El Capitan thought was reasonable. What do you think?

A big “thanks” to Conor Casey’s parents for neglecting to have his wisdom teeth removed as a child. His surgery prevented him from practicing with the USMNT (who won nonethless), and it was his header in the 52′ that secured the Rapids an absolutely crucial 3 points.

Basics

Soccer is indeed the beautiful game, but this was not a beautiful game on either side. Toronto created most the chances in the first half, but DeRosario was caught offside repeatedly and the timing on their attack was off. Though the Rapids created a couple chances early including a nice shot from Ballouchy, passing was chopping and the Rapids rarely seemed to have the fluidity in the final third that has characterized games like the 4-0 win versus Chivas USA 8/9/09. The only golden chance was the PK Casey hit off the crossbar in the 25′.

The Rapids found a way to get the ball in the net in the 52′ from a Peterson cross via Casey’s shiny forehead. The Rapids held off the ensuing push from Toronto over the next 10 minutes, and Omar should’ve made it 2-nil in the 79′ one on one with the goalie.

Referee Terry Vaughn wasn’t afraid to go to his pocket, sending off two Toronto players: Sanyang for two yellows and Serioux with a straight red. Sanyang’s were understandable, but the Serioux straight red was bizarre. To be fair, Omar was getting bumped all night by Serioux, but the majority of the challeges were good physical play. Vaughn had enough in the 84′ and sent him off with a red card. Yellow? Absolutely. He had been toeing the line all night. But a red for Serioux? Harsh.

[9/7/09 4pm UPDATE] Just saw a replay of the event. Ok maybe it was a red. That was fairly blatant and he was the last defender.

Bonus

Casey now has a two goal lead in the Budweiser Golden Boot competition, with 12 goals to Freddy Montero’s 10. You can vote for Casey’s goal as goal of the week here.

Bummer

Casey has performed brilliantly on PK’s, including the MLS All Star game vs (my favorite player) Tim Howard. I have to take the blame for his miss, as I leaned over to my wife and said “He’s good at these,” clearly jinxing him. Either my jinx or novacaine caused him to bang it off the crossbar.

Backtalk

This puts the Rapids just two points behind the Galaxy with one less game played. It also puts us in fifth place in all the MLS, which is key for those 4 wildcard places. However, the bad news is that there is a four-way tie for 7th in the MLS, with Fake Salt Lake, Chivas USA, New England, and DC United all at 33 points. We could easily find ourselves out of the top 8 in MLS in one weekend.

Being in the top two in the west is obviously the best way to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, do you think we can catch the Galaxy?

At CRF we normally focus on Rapids news, as there are other great sources for national and global soccer analysis. However I believe today’s article from Kartik Krishnaiyer brings up an essential decision MLS has to make, and that very much affects us as Rapids fans. In his words, we have to decide to “try and be a good American leagues…or be a global player.”

From Kartik’s article:

MLS has to make a decision. Try and be a good American league, keeping the core of the national team player pool at home or be a global player by releasing the purse strings on clubs budgets and spending and allowing individual clubs to promote themselves outside their “assigned” market. (ie. Allow DC United to advertise on billboards in Dallas about Jamie Moreno, or even in South America, for example)

Right now, MLS is neither a good American league as the vast majority of US MNT pool players ply their trade abroad, nor a global player that has allowed clubs to build its own brand. MLS is a tweener league for lack of a better term. It is neither a league committed to developing nor promoting the American player, which would lead to one set of fans embracing it and promoting it, nor a bona-fide big league which would bring in even more fans.

Read the full article, which is in the context of atrocious MLS TV ratings.

In evaluating the Rapids form at this point in the season, I think of the US Men’s National Team. There was a carousel of players in and out, different formations, different styles of play, and inconsistent results. Once Bob Bradley arrived at a final 11 and somewhat of an identity, the results at the Confederations Cup were staggering. I believe the Rapids have yet to find that identity.

One of the first areas this shows up is the lack of a default starting 11. If you look at the Rapids losses on 3/21 to Chivas USA, 4/19 to Houston, 6/28 to Seattle, 7/4 to Chicago, and 7/18 to DC United, these are the players who started.

1. Matt Pickens
2. Preston Burpo
3. Jordan Harvey
4. Ugo Ihemelu
5. Scott Palguta
6. Cory Gibbs
7. Julien Baudet
8. Kosuke Kimura
9. Nick LaBrocca
10. Mehdi Ballouchy
11. Jacob Peterson
12. Pablo Mastroeni
13. Greg Dalby
14. Colin Clark
15. Conor Casey
16. Pan Noonan
17. Omar Cummings

For the 6/24 and 7/4 losses there was some turnover due to international duties (Casey, Cummings, Clark), however if you look at this list I can’t say who El Capitan is going to pick for our upcoming match against New York. Not only that, but how players are used is also in question. Is Kimura effective enough as an attacking defender to make up for deficiencies in shutting down attackers? How does Noonan fit into our attack, can he mesh soon enough to make an impact this season? Is Baudet a helpful addition to the squad, or are we disrupting our defense by inserting him mid season?

And what is our style? Are we hard nosed and aggressive like Mastroeni? Are we quick on the counter like Clark and Cummings? Are we fluid like Ballouchy? I realize all of these can coexist at some level, but it seems like individual players have their own style, but the Rapids have not developed a style all their own.

If we can identify the starting 11 that perform well together and have the best chance of creating a cohesive style, we might achieve some consistency and get back into the playoff picture.

What are your thoughts?

Kosuke’s second goal of the season was enough to secure a victory at home for the Rapids over a struggling FC Dallas team. While Kimura lacks the size of a Palguta or the ability to impose like Ihemelu, he has shown now on two occasions that he can utilize his speed from the back to find holes in the defense. Kudos also to Ballouchy, whose pass showed tremendous vision. Though at times he struggles with imprecise passing, he is developing his ability to see the field and find the attacking player.

The Rapids should’ve notched one in the first half, as Jacob Petersen had three solid chances, Casey another. The absence of Cummings and Clark continues to take a bit of the bite out of our attack. Casey is an opportunistic scorer. Our MLS All-Star is a big guy who muscles his way into the action and takes advantage of opportunities that others create, as you’ll see in this highlight reel. He isn’t a one on one kind of guy, he’s a finisher. I look forward to having the “lightning” side of the thunder & lightning up front, as does El Capitan as stated to Nick Thomas

We are a side that are lacking a couple of players that make a big diference for us. The most important thing was to get three points today.

Nonetheless we found a way to get it in the back of the net, and that is what matters. We are keeping ourselves near the top, though Chivas is now 3 points ahead with one less game played. We need to continue to get three points at home, and a point on the road vs DC United Saturday is more than doable.

Also notable: LaBrocca’s hustle and much improved haircut

For more on the match

• Video Highlights
• wewantrapidman

In the most complete game the Rapids have played this season, they easily disassembled DC United. With Conor Casey on international duty, Omar Cummings made the fans at DSGP say “Conor who?” in a simply brilliant display of skill.

In the first few minutes of the game, it was a brisk battle for possession, neither team especially crisp. Cummings opened the scoring in the 11′ off a fantastic ball by LaBrocca, hurdling the defender and putting it in the back of the net.

Around the 30th minute, Cummings nearly made it 2-0 off a nice pass from Noonan. The ensuing corner saw a Ihemelu shot off the bar, and Masteoeni put the rebound on target, but a fingertip save directed it again off the frame.

A fantastic save in the 44th kept a Chris Pontius header out of the goal. Then in extra time, Cummings made it a brace with another spectacular finish. He intercepted a poor United back pass, but seemed to waste it with his first touch. He manger to evade the oncoming goalie by pushing it far to the right. I seemed he was far too wide, but he cut it across his body and put it over a lunging defender and into the back of the net.

Distracted by the 2 for 1 t-shirt deals, I nearly missed Cummings make another spectacular play to setup goal #3. He outran the defender to the endline, then placed a gorgeous ball across goal to Clark who stuck it in the net.

On the defensive side, Palguta at least 4 huge stops. He was a stalwart in the middle, and gets my vote for the starting role. Pickens also got a well deserved shutout. He made the saves he should, and also made a couple spectacular ones as well.

For more on the match

• Video Highlights

The Rapids occupy 4th place in the Western Confeernce heading into tonight’s matchup vs D.C. United. That is actually somewhat positive considering the Rapids have played 2-3 less games than every other team.

The schedule also softens. While 7 of our first 11 games were on the road, now 9 of our next 12 are at DSGP. I believe the Rapids need to be in 2nd at the end of these next 12 games. This is our chance to make our move.

It will be interesting to see if newly acquired Pat Noonan sees action, and how he fits into the team. Hopefully he can help fill a large Conor Casey sized hole in the attack.