- Justin Hein

• Smith (despite his pooch) is the #1 choice, with over 80% of the vote
• Ballouchy is no longer in the top 5 midfielders
• Only 20% of respondents thing midfield is the right position for Cummings
• Wells Thompson is about as popular as Congress right now

Talkback

Leave your comments below…

• Are you surprised Smith was the strong #1?
• Lopez is working his way into the hearts of fans, will he finally get a start?
• Despite the unpopularity of the position, will Smith still start Cummings at winger?

These are the sorts of games that compel me to predict another season where we fall just out of playoff contention. We came off six games unbeaten, but the final three of those were ties. We are dropping points when we could be nipping at Fake Salt Lake’s heels.

Dare I say we were punchless without Ballouchy? The game was screaming for someone to take charge of our attack in the midfield. Smith looked adequate in the midfield, took a couple good set pieces, but lacked the creative touch. Thompson was pacey but never really troubled the defense. On a bright note, Casey and Cummings teamed up well on a few chances and put our only shots on goal. However in the end we fell short.

Smith appears to be throwing darts again with the lineup. To be fair, I’m not sure either what the combination is. Some fans want Lopez in there, a man who has shown to be quite dangerous throughout his career. Can he last 90 minutes however? Clark seems tentative, little of the slashing winger of 2009. What we need is a leader, someone who will grab our attack by the scruff of the neck and will his way into making us dangerous in games like this where a point was ours for the taking.

Basics

Jacob Peterson opened the scoring just 5 minutes in off a perfect low cross from Cummings. Though Cummings didn’t score he figured in many of the scoring chances, including a breakaway chance in the first half against Bouna Coundoul. His second touch betrayed him however, and he was unable to convert the golden chance. A sloppy two-footed challenge against Palguta resulted in a red card, and the Red Bulls were reduced to 10 men by half.

Just two minutes into the second Pat Noonan notched his first of the season for the Rapids. Mehdi Ballouchy scored the third Rapids’ goal on a simply glorious free kick that should be an absolute lock for MLS goal of the week. Nick LaBrocca put a botched Bouna save in the back of the net to bring the goal total to four.

Bonus

Two items in the bonus column

1. The Rapids played a complete game. Excellent goal keeping by Pickens, solid defense by the back four, mostly crisp passing in the midfield, and deadly quick attacks up front. The Rapids maintained excellent possession, and the few Red Bulls scoring chances were primarily off poor passes from the Rapids.
2. Congrats to Pat Noonan on notching his first goal for the Rapids. To this point he has seemed a step behind play, but as he integrates with the Rapids he is beginning to show creativity on the pitch.

Bummer

And two items in the bummer column

1. Julien Baudet is a big, physical defender with a great foot and excellent instincts. He played well until a scary collision late in the 1st half that looked to result in a kick to his face and an arm injury. He left with an air cast on and looking fairly shook up.
2. Forgive my compassion for the enemy, but the talented Juan Pablo Angel looks totally frustrated on the field. His runs are timed perfectly, and then his fellow attackers will send a piss poor ball flying over everyone and over the end line.

Backtalk

I’d love to hear from you tonight on this:

Of the new Rapids acquirees (assuming Baudet isn’t badly hurt), who has the best chance to make a significant contribution this season: Noonan, Baudet, or Diz.

Just days into his stint with us, Fecundo has only been able to demonstrate his prodigious ability to flop, so any guesses on his contribution will be just that. But Noonan and Baudet have seen significant time the last couple games, so let’s hear from you!

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?

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

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• wewantrapidman

The trio of Clark, Cummings, and Casey are producing incredible firepower up front. Were it not for a bizzare and uncharacteristic (not to mention inexcusable) drop by Matt Pickens, it would have been a comfortable 3-1 win. It does concern me that each week there is a silly goal (penalty kick, muffed save), but our goal production is keeping our unbeaten streak alive.

It was good to see Mehdi Ballouchy open up his scoring bank for the year with a penalty kick. He is another young player who continues to make great strides in his game. Harvey is another consistent contributor.

Up next is Fake Salt Lake, how sweet it would be to grab 3 more on the road before returning home to face DC United at DSGP.

More match coverage

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• wewantrapidman
• Denver Post