Great move by our beloved Rapids. Check out the Rapids website for the upcoming press release.

On first glance this seems to be an excellent trade. Larentowicz shared the midfield with Shalrie Joseph, though he appears to be more of a defensive midfielder (I’m still hoping for a Xavi clone). Thompson is called a “two-footed, wide midfielder” on the Revs website, and might address the need for wingers as I posted earlier.

Gibbs has struggled with injury and keeping his place in the starting XI with the addition of Baudet and Moor. Burpo is a great backup, but with a healthy Matt Pickens and young Steward Ceus in the wings, this is a trade that needs to happen.

Basics

The Rapids came out in a 3-5-2 before the 16,535 that were in attendance. This formation was likely designed to generate the service to Thunder & Lighting that have eluded us (our last non-PK goal was September 12th). It gave our offense a spark in the first half that we have lacked over the last month, and our boys worked their tails off as they do every week.

We were able to contain New England all day, but gave up an open header to Dube and he didn’t waste the chance. The Revolution had few chances off open play, and one can’t help but wonder what “would’ve been” if we had covered that free kick better or made more use of our own free kicks.

Bummer

The Rapids continue to struggle finding that final ball. The 3-5-2 created more chances, but Casey and Cummings now only expect 1 legitimate chance per game on goal. Early in the season, it was more like 3 or 4. As Gary Smith mentioned, we will have to be near flawless on executing those chances, which simply isn’t realistic. Even the best strikers in the world like Fernando Torres or Lionel Messi do not execute anywhere near 100% on golden chances.

I’m starting to feel like a broken record…but where is our service going to come from for the rest of this season? Players like Ballouchy and LaBrocca are playing very well, but simply do not have the killer instinct like Colin Clark had.

Bonus

• The calls have gone our way when we needed them to. Plain and simple, the PK’s have been our life ring, and Casey has not wasted them.
• Preston Burpo is playing excellent in goal for Pickens. He hasn’t registered the clean sheet I’m sure he wants, but is playing a steady veteran game every Saturday.

Backtalk

For the backtalk, I’ll be putting up the same survey about whether we are going to make the playoffs. Has your opinion changed? I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but the Rapids have gone from one of the most prolific attacks in the MLS to a team who just can’t put it in the back of the net.

Fans also felt that New England was the most likely bubble team to make it in.

UPDATE: El Capitan Gary Smith said after the San Jose game that the magic number was 42. His vote counts as 4 votes for me, so consider 42 points the victory!

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?

It should be said that our young Rapids were on the road, in poor weather, on a difficult artificial surface. However these are the kinds of games that haunt you in the latter part of the season when the playoffs are on the line. The Rapids clearly have quality on the field, but need to hone that killer instinct to finish off a struggling opponent.

Moving on to this weekend, as Nick Thomas of wewantrapidman points out

I know all games are important but this weekend’s homer against Seattle is shaping up to be a cracker and perhaps somewhat of a watershed for the season.

Growing up in a suburb of Seattle, I’m looking forward to this game more than any other. Seattle is my #2 team in the MLS, and I’d like to see them play well. In the end however, I’d like to see the Rapids play up to this game and hand Seattle a loss.

For more coverage on the game

• wewantrapidman
• Goal.com
• Video highlights (check out the most lackluster goal call I’ve ever heard on Casey’s header. Seriously dude, were you watching the Nuggets highlights during the game?)

We are a young team, and prone to up and down play. So the sluggish play we demonstrated against the Galaxy is bound to return. However, this was much much better from the lads.

A bye week, then on to New England for a clash with the Revolution

El Capitan Gary Smith said

“I think we are adding a very explosive and athletic forward who I believe has a huge amount of potential,” said head coach Gary Smith. “I am sure he will be a wonderful addition to our already youthful and exciting front line.”

The young Guyana National Team player recorded a hat trick and an assist when Joe Public F.C. of Trinidad & Tobago dismantled the New England Revolution in September 2008 CONCACAF tournament play.