2-0 Rapids, 2 PKs, Ricketts sent off for DOGSO, Sanchez converts the PK, Weber, Ricketts's replacement, gets a yellow for taking out Sanchez and gives up a penalty, Brown's penalty was poor but he followed it up and blasted it home. All in a span of 5 minutes.
4 Pts in 2 games Plus we must be leading MLS in penalty shots Just got to love it Who could of ever have predicted this start
Really interesting game. We should remember, this was Portland, the team that is supposed to go late and deep into the playoffs this year. I felt it had 0-0 written all over it until Rickets got simply beaten by Browns pace, but that incident masks a general quality they somehow have this year and that is guts, it wasn't pretty, but for those of you who want pretty then try to remember those 19 "pretty" losses we had two years ago, it was a good win against a good team and without the pressure of marketing hype/horsecr8p of the last two years there actually seems to be a half decent team emerging. Next week will be a big one if they want to make a real statement.
Our inability to score from the field of play had better change soon, we can't count on PKs every game for goals.
Interesting subs, huh? Did I make fun of the MLSsoccer.com fantasy writer for writing "I'm also hearing Nathan Sturgis is out of favor"? (Yes, yes I did.) Hill in over Sturgis with a 2-0 lead, ouch, Nathan.
I said this in the car on the way home. My 9-year-old pointed our 2nd goal was from the field of play. Both of the PKs today were forced from good scoring chances, nothing to worry about.
Great TIFO! I have a sick ward at home, baby with croup and a pregnant wife with a stomach bug so I had to miss the game. Watched almost a type of "stop animation style" on a dirty feed. GO Rapids!
I was going to post pics of the TIFO but Jason beat me to it. Plus, his are better! Simply put, that TIFO was amazing! As for the match, 4 points from two matches, I will take that any day of the week especially given our difficult schedule. I will have to watch my recording to properly breakdown our play and access player reviews/ratings but just on eye test alone, the boys put in a solid, solid shift. Portland may have controlled the possession game but we had the better chances. Powers was outstanding. MOTM for me. Two outstanding passes led to two PKs and a sending off. He perfectly mixed long and short passing and it was clear his intentions were to drive the attack. Buddle's hold up play and work in the trenches was very good and influential, too. The back line was far less shaky and more in sync and controlled than Match 1 vs. NYRB. They frustrated Gaston, Zakuani, and Valeri all day long. They pulled at just the right time and drew what seemed like a dozen offside calls. Great first win for Pablo. I am proud to say I witnessed his first of hopefully many, many wins. Oh, today was the one year anniversary of the "Snow Bowl" match and I swear today I was much, much colder. Of course, that day, one year ago, I was quite liquored up so I had no idea how cold I actually was.
Cold but a great game. I loved the energy shown by the Rapids. Agree that Powers had a hell of a game. Buddle looked good early on. Sanchez was great as always. Jose Mari was better also (despite the mustard and soft ketchup cards). Overall very impressed with how the Rapids have come out of the gate. Best part of the game had to be the tifo though … amazing job by C38! Love the legends on the left and the current team on the right. Great to be back in Colorado and at a game!
Portland should have signed Pickens. Ricketts was terrible. Overall very happy with the result. Not terribly exciting but solid effort and we deserved to win. Tifo was great too.
Three penalties in two games. The obvious explanation is that MLS sees us as the new marquee franchise, replacing the likes of LA and Seattle, and wants to make sure we get off to a good start.
Ricketts being shown a red as he's being carted off pretty much explains him. I don't believe he has ever gotten up first when colliding with another player.
Nice match - fun, chilly day - nice to meet @JasonMa at the tailgate. On a soapbox for a moent: Have to say I didn't like to verbal abuse heaped on Ricketts as he was carried off. Just not classy.... Anyone remember the (unnecessary) abuse Mac Kandji received when tearing his ACL and was down on the field for a while in the 2010 final? Let's not be "those fans".... Ok, now off the soapbox.
Was anyone else surprised that the DPost story was about a "controversial" goal? Last week's PK was controversial for sure and the second one yesterday was questionable. But the first ball was clearly won by Brown with Ricketts coming in late and taking him down. Didn't cross my mind it would be considered controversial except by partisan fans.
Bianchi's MLSSoccer.com article was about two controversial PK calls. Neither one was controversial, though the second Sanchez helped sell which probably leads to some thinking there wasn't anything there.
Sports Yak, that surprised me a bit because I didn't realize anyone thought the penalties were controversial. And I didn't connect it to the week before, since that article was also in the context of the ref lockout/strike. I don't know how much those guys watch MLS but if they were coming at it more from the angle of the NFL refs strike, I could see why they'd expect the difference to be stark.
What did you hear? I noticed a crescendo of boos just before the stretcher guys came out but I thought they were booing the ref and the situation--if he's not going to get up, send the stretcher crew out. But I didn't notice while he was on the stretcher.
There was a lot of booing in 108 all the way through him being carried off. I wasn't real comfortable with it either, though Ricketts brings some of that on himself with his track record. There's a reason I call him 'Glass Jaw'.
Agree it was a clear penalty and red card. I don't think Brown won the ball though Ricketts just missed it. He really should have gotten there. Not sure how anyone could view that as controversial. The second penalty Sanchez definitely helped sell by dragging his feet. Still I think it would be hard not to call it. While the second may have been harsh I think the ref was right. On a side note, I don't understand why Brown takes penalty kicks. Not his strong suit. Credit to him for following his shot but that was a terrible attempt. Rapids should designate someone else when Sanchez isn't available.
I had to look up what the newspaper in Portland wrote about the PKs. In that story, the Timbers weren't complaining about the PKs, but the offsides calls. "And the Timbers were called offside eight times Saturday night, while the Rapids were called offside just once. Timbers forward Gaston Fernandez was called offside four times and winger Steve Zakuani was called offside twice. Zakuani said that on a few of those calls the Timbers were "absolutely" not offside. "There were a couple that I’m looking right across and I thought my timing was pretty good on a couple of them," Zakuani said. "When you’re coming on the road, you’re only getting a certain amount of opportunities and having them called offside, when they weren’t several times, it’s tough." Controversy is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.