A 2-2 draw may not have been exactly what Rapids fans were dreaming of, especially considering Sporting KC was riding a 3 game losing streak. But after a disastrous start, the Rapids showed considerable heart and a creative flair to claw their way back into a point.

First Half

Pickens was uncharacteristically shaky, 1st Half

The Rapids carried injuries into the game before 15,269 at DSGP, including Cummings, Mastroeni, Mullan, and Marvell Wynne. The makeshift back 4 had a nightmare start, giving up a goal just 71 seconds. Teal Bunbury made a run into the box, completely unmarked, and headed home a simple cross from Sinovic. The Rapids responded with some positive offensive movement of their own, but still looking vulnerable down the wings, in the middle…basically everywhere in the back.

Casey was open on goal in the 12′ thanks to sloppy passing by the KC defense. Uncharacteristically, but as might be expected from the long layoff, hit the shot directly DIRECTLY at the head of the goal keeper who made the easy save. His first touch let him down, but an “in form” Casey would’ve put it home.

Waiting to taste goal again

A minute later Pickens made a  huge save to deny a second KC goal off a Kei Kamara volley. But they he made an absolute mess of a throw from Matt Besler, not taking the long toss cleanly, and Bunbury calmly hit the ball into the open net.

Rapids down 2-0, just 14 minutes in. Sigh.

Casey tried a spectacular volley off a cross in the 19′, but didn’t hit it cleanly. In the 25′ Nielsen made a spectacular kick save after his own poor clearance on a set piece let to a Drew Moor shot. The Rapids continued to press, with Rivero and Castrillon creating, but there seemed an absence of understanding with the forwards about the where’s and when’s of their runs. Casey managed to make an absolute nuisance of himself in and around the box nonetheless (a foreshadowing of things to come), which was an encouraging sight for the Rapids faithful.

The final verdict in the first half: while the Rapids controlled most of the flow of play, and kept much of that possession in KC’s half. And while KC had just one more shot on goal than the Rapids (5-4), the chances they did have were clear cut and KC took them.

Second Half

The Rapids continued “keep away” in the second half, moving the ball methodically back and forth across the pitch. Rivero, as only South Americans can, made an shady tackle look like first degree assault. The result: a yellow card, and a free kick about 35 yards out. On the ensuing free kick, Rivero send a perfect…I mean purrrrfect ball to the edge of the 6 yard box, where Tyrone Marshall made up for some questionable defending with a gorgeous header; hard, low, and across the keeper into the net. Rapids now down only 2-1, 52′.

Forget SpaceX. Jeff Larentowicz's free kicks are the real rocket launch.

A picture perfect cross from “Rapids #9″ almost, and probably should’ve resulted in goal #2 off Castrillon’s head just feet from goal (Castrillon is having some issssues finishing IMHO). But it was another set piece that delivered the equalizer soon after. With three men lined up, Larentowicz sent a blistering, scorching low ball low and to the Nielsen’s left. He did well to palm the ball away, but the Conor Casey makes a living out of eating up messes in the box. Casey collected the rebound and sent a hard low pass back into the 6 yard box, which Kosuke Kimura side-footed home to level the match. Rapids 2 – Sporting KC 2.

Sporting KC began to press, setting up set pieces of their own which the Rapids defended much more aggressively. Sporting KC continued the pressure, getting their back four all the way up to midfield and forcing the Rapids to play from the counter which is not their strength. The game slowed down, and KC started lobbing in cross after cross. But the previously porous Rapids defense stood firm, and Pickens took to punching instead of catching the dicier crosses.

The game began to open up with just minutes remaining, with Kamani picking Rivero out in the midst of traffic. Rivero’s header had pace but was too centered between the posts and Nielsen saved without too much trouble. Sporting KC countered but couldn’t do anything with a generous free kick earned 25 yards out. The final minutes were frantic, but the score held for a draw.

Takeaways

The spine of the Rapids was the key to the Rapids success over the last 2 years. With Casey & Cummings up top, Larentowicz and Mastroeni in the midfield, and Wynne and Moor in the back, the Rapids were extremely difficult to break down. With injuries affecting all but Larentowicz and Moor, with Cummings’s inconsistency, and with a new style of play, we’ve lost some of that stability in the middle of the pitch.

Nonetheless the Rapids coalesced in the second half to prevent any further bleeding. And the offensive output showed there is no shortage of creativity on the pitch. Casey, Rivero, and Cascio all look dangerous every time they touch the ball. What we lack is that understanding built over several seasons; knowing the run a forward will make before he makes it.

The Rapids showed a lot of courage, and Marshall deserves a lot of credit for raising his game. Moor and Larentowicz were predictably strong, and Rivero showed that creative flair we’ve all been looking for throughout the match.

It may have only been a draw, but after a terrible start, most Rapids fans left considerably heartened by the boys in burgundy’s gutsy performance.

The Colorado Rapids etched another 2-0 clean sheet victory at home last weekend onto the 2012 season canvas but a far bigger test awaits them tomorrow night in Sandy, Utah.

The first of three Rocky Mountain Cup games this season, two of which are in Utah (how does that work?), will be a major test for some of the newest players to don the burgundy. Rookie Tony Cascio has shown plenty of fight to go along with skill in the four games so far but this will be one of the bigger matches he has played in in his young career. And I am sure the South American games that Martin Rivero and Jaime Castrillon have played in in their time have been no picnic but this will be a step up in terms of crowd hostility and physicality than they have experienced so far in the MLS.

The team looks likely to be unchanged from the starting XI last weekend with Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni out for several weeks with ongoing concussion issues. The bench may also be largely unchanged from the Chicago game. Ross LaBauex, who had been on the bench in the opening two games and started against New York, was not present last weekend for both the first team and reserve game. Even though he is not listed on the official injury list for tomorrow night, he is suffering from a sports hernia injury and is expected not to see any action for about ten days. That means the midfield options are again likely to be Wells Thompson and Joseph Nane. Andre Akpan, who scored twice for the reserves last weekend, could be  a tasty striking option off the bench while Tyrone Marshall, for most of last season a starter, seems to be getting used to coming on as a defensive sub while Drew Moor moves into a defensive midfielder position.

Conor back?

One interesting piece of news that comes a little late for tomorrow’s game is that Conor Casey is targeting an April 21 comeback for the Galaxy game. How the Rapids could do with his nous and toughness against Salt Lake tomorrow. Instead, Rapids fans will have to hope that Omar Cummings’ encouraging scoring form can continue with the help of the feisty Brian Mullan and Cascio upfront to take advantage of the no doubt very few opportunities that will come his way. Plus another clean sheet of course. Or at least fewer goals than were let in against New York, especially in the opening six minutes.

Tony Cascio is a revelation

Oscar Pareja said the Rapids have had time to put the New York Red Bulls game out of their system. Let’s hope so because that was painful to watch. The coach used the word “distraught” to describe the opening. Seems about right.

The game was over in those first six minutes as the Rapids turned the ball over in crucial areas of the field and were pounced upon by one of the better strike partnerships in the MLS in Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper. It’s easy to pick on Ross LaBauex for the first goal, as many have predictably done since last Sunday, but it was Jaime Castrillon who turned the ball over for that second goal and it was the Colombian again who inexplicably let Roy Miller coast deeply into the penalty box to gift Cooper for the final goal. That’s not to take away from Castrillon’s performance offensively which was one of the better parts of the game. He stole the ball off Rafa Marquez for Omar Cummings to score a beauty and he also came close with a great header in the first half. While we are at it, we can equally say that midfielder Wells Thompson  was largely ineffective in the game.

The point, surely, is not to apportion blame on individuals. Everyone makes mistakes and has bad games. It was an overall bad performance defensively by the Rapids and they will have to be a lot sharper tomorrow with the likes of Pappa, Pardo and Oduro to deal with.

PABLO OUT AGAIN

Once again, team captain Pablo Mastroeni is unavailable. I feel we will be writing a lot of that this season. The veteran has been reported as saying he is only one bad concussion away from retirement and he clearly is not right just now. This may well be a recurring problem throughout this season and the Rapids will have to get used to it.

The good news is that Jeff Larentowicz is back. He may well be partnered by Martin Rivero in the midfield as the young Argentinian has now received his transfer certificate. But, what message could that send to LaBauex? You made one mistake and that is that? If Pareja wants to instill confidence in his young midfielders, some of whom will no doubt be called upon regularly this season, surely the best option tomorrow would be to plunge LaBauex back into the starting line-up, tell him to forget last week and get him back on that horse. Thompson is much more established in the squad and will be a good option off the bench while Rivero is unlikely to be game ready and would be a better bench option too.

The front three of Cummings, Tony Cascio and Brian Mullan look likely to start their fourth straight game. Cascio has been a revelation. His attacking  threat last week was one of the few bright spots in the Rapids game and he is looking like a great pick. Maybe he will take a plunge later in the season as most first year players seem to do but we should all be enjoying his contributions right now.

Who goes where?

The Rapids enter tomorrow’s game with the New York Red Bulls without the grizzled central midfield pairing of Pablo Mastroeni (concussion) and Jeff Larentowicz (suspension). It is the first time at least one of those two has not been on the field to start an MLS game since Larentowicz moved West to join Colorado at the start of the 2010 MLS Cup winning season.

Game over? Well, MLSsoccer.com seems to think so. Six out of their seven pundits predict a Red Bulls victory even as Thierry Henry et al sit bottom of the Eastern Conference with two opening defeats and one goal to show for their efforts. No-one likes us, we don’t care!

They are certainly major absences for the Rapids, a perfect two and two so far. But it may well be something the squad will have to get used to, certainly in terms of Mastroeni. The veteran is having too many concussion symptoms for comfort and it would not be surprising if he plays a limited number of games this season in what could well be a retirement year.

So, opportunities abound tomorrow for the squad players. Players like Ross LaBauex could really put down a marker and get in Oscar Pareja’s face for the rest of the season, or more importantly the Colombian’s mind. LaBauex, who came on for Mastroeni in last weekend’s victory over Philadelphia, looks likely to start. The other part of the central midfield puzzle looks less clear. Wells Thompson, who has come off the bench in both games so far, could partner LaBauex or Joseph Nane may get the nod. Another intriguing option would be to put Drew Moor in a central midfield holding role, something that Pareja tried in training this week. That would allow Tyrone Marshall to play in central defense. Pareja may be tempted, however, to put Moor in his normal position up against his old friend Kenny Cooper who is likely to start alongside Henry with Juan Agudelo absent on US U-23 duty.

A tough game for sure given the circumstances in central midfield. But don’t write the Rapids off just yet. There is a resolve to this team and this will be an opportunity for them to show the much-discussed greater depth of the side in 2012.

Just about to do The Dead Fish (Denver Post)

Last season, this game was one of the best Rapids results of the year. Omar Cummings and the late lamented Sanna Nyassi were really beginning to enjoy their fruitful forward partnership with Nyassi scoring one of the sweetest goals in 2011 after a perfect through ball from Cummings. Pablo Mastroeni also scored one of his regularly spectacular goals with a beautiful left foot curled shot into the corner past Mondragon in the Philly net.

But that was then and this is now. Nyassi has gone in one of the less understandable offseason moves by the Rapids and the veteran Mondragon has moved on to be replaced by a 20-year-old McMath who had a bit of a stinker in Philly’s opening game against Portland. We could go on and on about the need to pressurize the youngster whose confidence may be a bit low but he’ll probably proceed to play a blinder in front of the Sons of Ben, so what’s the point? I’m sure Oscar Pareja has had words with Cummings and co. about the need for consistently offensive play and testing the youngster early doors though.

The Rapids will have to play offensively, as they have promised for much of the offseason. With a raucous Philly crowd for their home opener, and being a team eager to bounce back from the defeat in Portland, this will be no place for the Rapids to soak it all up and hope to score on the counter.

The starting line-up looks likely to be very similar to last week against Columbus. Martin Rivero still does not have his International Transfer Certificate from Argentina and did not travel. That means a likely same threesome upfront. While the ever confident Quincy Amarikwa did everything he could to get in the coach’s face with his spectacular goal last week (why was that not GOTW?) and his equally spectacular celebration, Pareja had plenty of good words for rookie Tony Cascio and the lanky Adrien Brody lookalike will probably get the nod. The midfield and defense will not change either. Mastroeni appears to have recovered fully from any after effects of his blow to the head last weekend. His ongoing battle with possible concussion issues remains a worry for the team though.

Soccer is unpredictable and it’s foolish to come out and say what the result will be. The Rapids will be happy with a point and full health, that’s for sure.

The Rapids are happy this morning to state that a new era has arrived. So much so that they even project a starting line-up for today’s season opener against the Columbus Crew. That’s almost unheard of.

The bad news is that newly signed playmaker Martin Rivero looks unlikely to play unless his International Transfer Certificate arrives miraculously from Argentina before kick-off. I don’t know, can’t help feeling that’s a very bad piece of planning on the Rapids’ part. There is so much preparation that is put in during preseason but a simple logistical step of getting a piece of paper seems to have been overlooked by someone. Rivero was probably bench material for the opener but even so.

Of the eleven likely to start, Tony Cascio stands out the most. The Adrien Brody lookalike has clearly impressed during preseason, not least scoring four times. The rookie, picked up in the Superdraft, is slated to patrol one of the flanks up top with veteran Brian Mullan on the other. The Crew will hopefully remember Mullan’s outstanding performance against them in the playoff last year. The guy was eveywhere. These two will join Omar Cummings on the frontline. The Jamaican has scored in the last four season openers.

One of Oscar Pareja’s big new signings, Jaime Castrillon, will be making his debut today in the midfield with Pablo Mastroeni and Jeff Larentowicz. This could be quite a tasty midfield combination going forward and one which should not be overlooked, but inevitably will be, by media outside of Colorado. Not by the other teams, I’m sure, but by the media for sure. Curious, no?

Drew Moor has been nursing a hamstring problem which kept him out of the Colorado School of Mines game last week but is raring to go aongside Marvell Wynne. Luis Zapata looks likely to be another debutant at left back with Anthony Wallace (season-ending) and Hunter Freeman both out. Expect Quincy Amarikwa or Andre Akpan to come off the bench at some point and regular midfield benchers Ross LaBauex and Wells Thompson to be warming the wood again. Tyrone Marshall will be a reliable replacement for one of Moor or Wynne if needed.

The talk is over, the games begin. Expectations are high, hopefully not too high. No score predictions, who can really tell? But hopeful for an opening day victory.

If I had to pick the Rapids starting eleven mid-season it would look like this:

Goalkeeper: Matt Pickens
Defense: RB Kosuke Kimura, CB Tyrone Marshall, CB Drew Moor, LB Marvell Wynne
Midfield: RM Brian Mullan, CM Jeff Larentowicz, CM Pablo Mastroeni, LM Jamie Smith
Forwards: F Conor Casey, F Omar Cummings

I think it would be very much aligned with what Gary Smith envisioned at the start of the 2011 season. We added Caleb Folan in the offseason to add competition to our group of forwards as well as add much needed depth since Mac Kandji tore his ACL on the game winner in the 2010 MLS Cup.

I’m personally a fan of Folan, his work ethic, his hustle and his will to score. You can see his desire for a goal in his play lately and I believe if he could will the ball into the back of the net he could at this point. Our group of forwards is very deep and our strongest position on our roster.

Taking a look at our defense. The obvious hole is left back. Both Wynne and Kimura are natural right backs. When Wynne joined at the beginning of the 2010 season, I assumed he would give Kimura competition at his position and eventually take it over. However, Kimura has out worked his way to one of our most consistent players year over year. He wins Most Improved Player this year and I trust him fully at right back. Tyrone Marshall is the best offseason move we made, coming from the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Process and shores up our central defense, giving Wynne flexibility to play outside or inside depending on the match.

The issue this season is left back. We do have four solid starters for our defense, but not a true left back. Coach Gary Smith rotates our back four as often day turns to night, and while I’m OK with the four starters we have, this doesn’t give our players a consistency of where they will be playing each match. While I do think Anthony Wallace is our left back of the future (hence why we asked for him back after the Portland Timbers acquired him during last year’s MLS Expansion Draft), he’s still not quite a consistent, starting left back. He has shown flashes of excellence, which earned him a call up to our US Men’s National team earlier this year, and with some more time, will be a great player for years to come.

Moving to our midfield. We are a solid defensive team, in part, to our defensive minded central midfielders. Outside of Larentowicz, our starting midfield is aging. Mastroeni is 35, Brian Mullan is 33 and Jamie Smith is 31. It has been obvious this year that our captain has lost a step or two. In my opinion, our biggest flaw this year has been not challenging our central midfield with another capable player. The more I watch Pablo play this year, the more I clearly see where our lack of offense is coming from. As much as I think Larentowicz is about as boring a player to watch as possible, he’s solid as a central defensive midfielder and is very good at his role. However, Pablo is playing that exact same role, not by design, but by his aging years. Gary Smith has a tough decision. Pablo is our captain. He’s retiring soon. But the longer the 2011 season progresses, it’s becoming more clear we need a central attacking midfielder, something Pablo can not fulfill. Larentowicz is the clear choice for CDM which leaves Pablo…? On the bench? Our forwards, a group I’d argue is the best overall group of forwards in the league, need distribution. Our outside midfielders can get the ball in the box, but we struggle up the middle.

In summary, our needs at this point in the season are a starting (true) left back and most importantly, a new, more youthful creative central attacking midfielder. Sure I’d take another outside midfielder but the major need is in the middle of the pitch. This might make Gary Smith change the formation he’s used to running, however it’s a change that needs to take place. With Pablo suspended on yellow cards for our next match at home versus the Vancouver Whitecaps, we’ll get the chance to see a new Rapids lineup and possible formation. Saturday, I’ll get to see a midfield without Pablo and still succeed, or I’ll be wrong and see the importance of our captain in the midfield. I don’t like to be wrong.

I’ll leave you with this:

In 17 games played this year, our Captain has 0 goals and 2 assists. 6 shots and 0 on frame.

JMH

Whenever I hear a fellow countryman is heading back stateside, I get all excited. As Tommy Boy would say, “Hello there pretty little pet, I love you. And then I stroke it, and I pet it, and I massage it. Hehe I love it, I love my little naughty pet!” Now of course this is a professional kind of excitement but just trying to illustrate how my eager imagination works. As you might have read, United States men’s national team player, Benny Feilhaber, is coming to the MLS. For the last 3 seasons Feilhaber has been playing in the Danish leagues with Aarhus Gymnastikforening (don’t worry, I can’t say it either) as more of an attacking midfielder. After watching the Colorado Rapids last two matches, our depth at center midfield has been uncovered. Pablo Mastroeni isn’t getting any younger (he’s actually the second oldest on the team at 34) and I can’t help believe that we won’t get a few more knocks in our midfield this season.

Feilhaber is more of an attacking midfielder unlike our defensive midfielder, Jeff Larentowicz. I consider Pablo our best option for getting our forwards service from the midfield and since he has not played the last two matches, our dangerous forwards (any combination you choose) have been extremely quiet. Seeing how our team has developed since the offseason, I believe forward is our most talented position and our defense is even tighter as a core than they were last year. With Mastroeni at 34, Brian Mullan at 32 and Jamie Smith at 30, midfield seems like a position we need to starting looking at for the future as well as for our immediate needs.

So here comes Feilhaber, 26, knocking on the MLS door. He’s never played stateside, having gone to Germany in 2005 after his UCLA experience, and now potentially getting picked up by a team very close to home. Chivas USA has the top allocation ranking for returning US national team players and will most likely use their position to claim Feilhaber. They seem to be in the business of trading away USMNT players for draft picks, allocation money and for players closer to the demographic of their fanbase. Going back to my eager imagination, I’d like to see the Rapids make a trade offer for Feilhaber. Use the comment section below to describe your idea of a realistic package we could offer Chivas USA for Benny.

JMH

In a nightmare that keeps repeating itself, a late goal from a questionable call downed the Rapids on a blustery night at Rio Tinto. A soft free kick in the waning seconds led to this:

The free kick itself was an unwelcome, though probably justified intervention on a night where the referees overall let the boys play. The refs rightly flagged the aggressive goal scorer Fabian Espindola two times, one ruling out a goal in the first half. However, it looked like they missed this one.

Nonetheless, Rapids fans would be amiss to focus on this one moment. The Rapids went toe to toe with their rival, at their house, and the two teams effectively neutralized each other for most of the game. The effort from the boys in Burgundy was everything we expected, if it lagged at the very end.

However, the performance again reiterated a problem that emerged last week versus FC Dallas: a creative void. The midfield pairing of Larentowicz and Mastroeni would never be compared to Xavi and Iniesta in their creativity on the ball. However, the arrival of the Ginga Ninja freed Mastroeni to be distinctly more aggressive in the attack than he has been in recent years. Jamie Smith floated on the wing, sending in crosses or cutting inside and supplying balls to Casey / Cummings, or even Kimura pushing up the wing. Without Mastroeni, we simply have not found a creative force in the midfield, and that is our greatest void right now.

The injury bug has hit hard early season, and it’s true the loss of Casey has hurt. However, Folan has shown a capable replacement. He has pace, a remarkable work rate, and gets off great shots both from his boot and in the air. The greatest loss with Folan is the understanding Cummings and Casey have built over the last few years, but I suspect that will come. Also, Jamie Smith and Quincy Amarikwa both had to be subbed, with apparent hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively. On a defensive note, Tyrone Marshall put in a solid 90 minutes. and the back line was able to maintain a high line affectively versus a pit bull RSL attack. Bottom line, the makeshift front line and back line appear to be more than adequate.

It is the midfield that concerns me. I’ve said that I believe the midfield was the linchpin of our success:  Larentowicz / Mastroeni paired with Moor / Wynne did indeed form the steel of our defense, but Larentowicz / Mastroeni also did a solid job providing supply to the wings, to fullbacks pushing forward, and to the spear of our attack up top. We simply did not look dangerous often enough, and RSL looked the more likely team to score. We had chances, but far less than Rapids fans are used to, and far less than we need against a squad as solid as Fake Salt Lake.

If we are to compete to defend our crown, not to mention the other competitions we are in, we will need to address this shortage at midfield. Smith is adequate in midfield, but is missed on the wing. Wells worked his ass of, but also does not have the touch and supply in attack that Jamie brings. Like Wells, Nyassi brings pace as a sub, but neither is a 90 minute solution.

Gary Smith: if Stan is paying attention, we need another creative Central Midfielder. Pronto. Without it we are still a playoff team, but that’s not good enough anymore. We want to be in the conversation for the title until the very end, and that won’t happen without better supply to our attack.

Pablo, get better soon.