Nico Hernandez had the same celebration, too. I'd be alright with El Matador, but the league's already had that guy, and he gave the name a bad name. Maybe El Torero?
Just to clear things up, we have been doing "Boundary Road" since 1999 in our USL days. It's in reference to the road that our old stadium Swangard is located on. It's sung at the beginning of every match as an anthem of sorts. Cheers.
Once Vancouver scored I thought it was over. In the second half the Rapids' defending was shambolic and they consistently under pressure with their inability to hold any possession. But when Irwin made the save and then Laba screwed up the Rapids obviously took advantage. And the "Bend it Like Mari" goal was absolutely amazing. When he first struck it I was thinking "that was ambitious" and it took a minute to realize it went in. Same with the second goal (the going in part). In the first half the Rapids had some decent possession, but weren't doing anything with it and at the same time were a perhaps bit fortunate they didn't give up a PK. Still they had kept themselves in it. And then came out in the second half and were disappointing - I agree with Balboa that without Sanchez there isn't creativity and urgency in the attack. At the same time, the Rapids back line has to be smarter with their defending. They have made a number of egregious errors in the last two matches. They really need to rectify this as much as anything. The Rapids may not have the material to win the West, but they seem to have the fight/pride to keep themselves in matches - which is a starting point.
Said the people of West Virginia. At some point they realized it too, because they made a reference before play restarted that the ref just must not have realized it at first and only showed the red after somebody brought it up. The Vancouver production definitely didn't help on that second one. They immediately cut away to show Vanvouver players rather than showing us celebrating. Definitely made it confusing for a bit. We were incredibly lucky to steal those points. The new formation was definitely causing some confusion. Hill definitely didn't do anything to show that he deserves another start anytime soon. Powers' skills meanwhile seemed wasted playing on the right. Still, I think working with two strikers up top works better with our personnel, especially when Buddle isn't available. Hopefully Pablo, puts Powers at the top of the diamond and then has LaBrocca or maybe even Chavez play on the right. Our defense started getting pulled apart after LaBrocca came on though. I think that disrupted the midfield because LaBrocca and Powers were both trying to play the same position. Laba's absence showed just how much he was doing to break things up. Being up a goal at the time, I'm surprised Vacncouver didn't make a sub right away or at least after our first goal to bring on another midfielder for a forward. Lucky three points.
But written by our state's poet. Yes, I caught that, but then they went back to the "double yellow" theory, continuing with it even into the post-game show after a commercial break (where somebody on a production staff should have corrected it). Yet another example of why the Rapids FO/KSE should cough up the funds to send these guys to the games. Where do you see Sanchez in this formation, or is this your suggestion when he's not available?
Pablo: I have 27 players on this roster and I believe in every single one of them. He seems to be making it work. 19 players have started so far. Some of that is due to injuries but not all of it.
The main reason why Vancouver dominated us for most of the game was for two reasons. First was physicality. I felt like we got pushed around quite a bit and out-muscled on a lot on 50/50 balls. That allowed Vancouver to control the tempo for most of the time. Second was our (lackluster) ability to utilize space when we did have the ball. The team does not lack creativity, but it does lack player making good available runs into space to receive the ball. This probably had more to do with the formation and Pablo's new setup, and it will take some time for the squad to get used to it. Things got a lot easier when the Whitecaps went down a man and it opened things up for us. I really don't have much to add about Jose Mari's performance. He was a solid anchor in the midfield and both of those goals were absolutely world class. Having a player that can pull that trick literally out of nowhere is a huge asset to the team. I will say, on an unrelated note, that we probably would not have lost last week against KC had we been able to play him. It was great to have Irwin back, and he saved our bacon a number of times. He was definitely the #2 MOTM. For someone that supposedly had work-rate issues, I sure as hell didn't see that out of Torres. He was everywhere yesterday. His shots were dangerous, his passes were crisp, and he constantly harassed and pressured Vancouver players when we didn't have possession. That overhead kick he served to Brown was fantastic. He certainly looked like a DP. He was our #3 MOTM. Piermayr looks to be a nice acquisition. He seemed steady and composed. Brown was a mixed bag, but to his credit he only missed the goal on the chance (Torres overhead kick) by inches. It may not have been his best outing, however I think he will benefit in the long run being able to work up top with another striker instead of having a long target man setup. Moor goofed on the goal, which he does on occasion. He misjudged the header and then got burned by a player thats a lot faster than him. I'm also glad the O'Neil experiment at right back is over. He seems much more comfortable (and useful) in the center. This was a great road win. We're off to a great start this year if you consider the strength of our schedule. We have been playing some very tough teams and have to play another one next week. Vanquish the fifthly Maple Menace!
It looks like we watched the same game. I feel like the turf made play a little bit disjointed for the rapids especially in the first half. That overhead kick to Brown was a beauty!
So I finally check score just now and Love the result. Watched the highlights and for those saying Hill did nothing I can say he released the long pass under heavy pressure from 2 guys that Torres then did back/ overhead kick to Brown. So there was that and the Yellow... We seem to be on cusp of being a winning team regardless of who is available, still would like them to sign this other Outside back kid for that additional depth. Wow, just great to see us get 3 points.
Not sure O"Neil doesn't move back to RB when Wynne comes back.... Your comment that the experiment might be over could be a bit premature. I have no issue is Burch or one of the new guys moves in to RB and O'Neill goes back to CB, just not sure what happens with Wynne at that point (and his crazy speed). rod.
My (late) highlights: - 9th minute (first) mention by Balboa that "Its going to take some time." - Broadcast team and us thinking we had 20k traveling fans when we heard the singing. - Balboa saying modern goalkeepers have to be able to play the ball with their feet and come out and be the "12th field player." - Irwin is back! - Some guy from Spain had a pretty good match. - Personal opinion, referee knew it was second yellow (for red) but feigned he didn't to help sell the call. I.e. if that's yellow when you're not already on one it still is if you are -- made all the difference as a pivot point 'match critical decision' I applaud the guts of the center to make it.
You know, I didn't even think about that. My main thought was that putting Powers on the right really limited his game and I didn't like Hill's performance (defensively he can be really lazy). Perhaps Sanchez would play as one of the top two, if he even starts. That or I'm waiting for the 4-2-2-2 with Mari and LaBrocca/Sturgis/Watts as the holding mids, and Powers and Sanchez as the advanced midfielders.
Repped for slipping in the reference to Balboa's annoying habit of saying that "It's going to take time" every single game at least three times a game....."Powers missed 30 seconds of practice going to the bathroom...it's going to take some time for him to gel with his teammates."
Earlier in this thread someone wrote that the Rapids were "lucky," to me it seems they are opportunistic. Not just in Vancouver, but the Portland and NY matches. They have taken opportunities given and done well with them. Laba didn't make the best choice once he went to ground and it cost his team. In the previous two matches there were Rapids' players how also got their team into trouble with picking up second yellows. There should be a memo on this - don't risk a second yellow unless you are going to prevent a clear scoring chance. Neither Mari or Wynne were doing so. Although the Laba case was different it still is an example of not thinking about the situation. So the Rapids are good at taking what's given to them. Nothing wrong with this. Looking at Mari's first goal several more times, it seems he intentionally flicked the ball up so that when he turned he could strike a volley which allowed him to get that wicked bend on the ball. That was really classy. For me Piermayr was solid. He was very comfortable on the ball and seemed to make good decisions. I bet we'll see a lot more of him this season, although I don't think it means that Wynne won't be back at his spot in the next match. Eloundou was a bit hard to get a sense of given that when he was in the Rapids had a man advantage for most of the time he was on the pitch. But the one thing that seems to differentiate him from Brown is that he looks up to find other players and appears aware of the situation.
I don't think we were "lucky" as much as we were deliberate. Last year we well may have found a way to draw or lose after going up a goal and man. This year we may also do that on another occasion but we didn't on this one.
Whether you call it luck, opportunity, or being deliberate, Colorado have definitely benefited from some significant 50/50 calls going their way early on. I'm pleased with results like this, but we've gotta come up with more run of play scoring in 11v11.
If Jose Mari's goal doesn't win goal of the week, then MLS's goal of the week has lost any credibility it may have had. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/04/07/vote-now-2014-att-mls-goal-week-week-5
From this article it's also nice to see Mari echoing Thierry Henry's praise of MLS quality of play. I think it's improved a huge amount during these last 5-6 years...
If it ever had any (which was doubtful) it was lost years ago when Tam McManus actually won the vote, but they still showed Beckham's 80-yard empty net goal as Goal of the Week on the ESPN broadcast.
Thanks for reminding me of that goal! It just may be the best goal from a Rapid I've ever seen live. "What a cracker," as Fleming might say.