I doubt he needs any more motivation, but it will be interesting to see Lewis's reaction to facing his old club. Obviously he's been a major difference maker for the Rapids in his brief time in burgundy. With the Rapids he has played 331 minutes, started 4 games and scored 3 goals. With NYCFC he played 775 minutes and scored 3 goals. So what's changed? No Acosta? And maybe no Price. If that's the question then I think it's likely we'll see basically the same starting lineup as v Portland with Bassett and Wilson in the holding mid spots.
With us not having Acosta and Price in the midfield, it has really hampered our defensive coverage. That said, we also could have easily scored two or three more goals in that game against Portland. However, against the Timbers, we essentially gave them the point with the handball PK and the own goal of the year. I doubt we make those same mistakes again, but we're facing an entirely different animal this weekend. NYCFC will probably be looking to make a statement this week after losing an absolute heartbreaker against NY Red Bulls last week, and in a fashion I'm sure they feel hard done by with that corner/throw in call. NYCFC has only lost 3 games this season, but 2 of them were on the road - a 4-0 drubbing by Toronto early this season, and last weeks 2-1 loss to NYRB. Overall, they are 4-3-2 on the road, with 15 goals for, and 13 goals against. Lewis is probably hungry to show his old team what they missed out on by keeping him benched and trading him away, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him with a little extra spring in his step. This will probably not help his first touch which he has struggled with, but it will probably make him run a little bit harder, a little bit longer, and shoot a little more often. I really liked Shinyashiki last week. He was really a great source of creativity on the attack. Hopefully he can continue his run of form and get an assist or a score on Saturday. Him and Kei are so close to connecting on some really cheeky one-twos each week, so I'll be looking for them to finally piece some of those together as well. I'm not sure if I'd start Nicholson in this game though. NYCFC has a terribly small home pitch and likes to compress the field of play in away games. Nicholson is great at stretching teams, so we will need his pace ALOT to open NYCFC up. If he has the stamina to run like that all game, awesome. If not, I'd like to see him come in around the 60th minute and just run roughshod all over the field. This should be a good game overall though! 2 months ago we would've been expecting the team to lose. Now we have a very real chance to play spoiler for NYCFC and their playoff hopes! I'm feeling good for this one. 3-1 for the good guys. Lewis, Kei, and Mezquida all score. Let's show the Man City wannabe's what the boys in Burgundy are capable of. Go Rapids.
One of the most optimistic predictions I've read in a long while. Unfortunately I'm still a bitter old man with clean specs. Playing NY is an entirely different animal than Portland. Rapids can live without Price, but are really going to miss Acosta. Also, the small field favors intricate passing. Although a bit better play recently, the Rapids are more brute force on set pieces than give-and-gos. 3-1 NY with Smith actually putting a strong header in the opponent's goal this week.
Looks like NYCFC will be a bit depleted on Saturday night. NYCFC will be without fellow winger Ismael Tajouri-Shradi due to an ankle injury and the central tandem of Alex Ring and Maxime Chanot because of yellow card accumulation. From: https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/ja...out-ismael-tajouri-shradi-vs-colorado-rapids/
Hey now. Think of the effort that went into that goal. It was yet another set piece goal. Smith shook the player he was supposed to mark and created space in the box. Smith had a quality header, probably his best as a Rapid. He placed the ball crisply, well out of the keeper's reach, burying it in the back of the net. Nobody, and I mean nobody, could have stopped him from scoring.
I have no idea who is going to win this. I am looking forward to live soccer Saturday night. I don't like NYCFC United. I sort of like the RedBulls. So I hope we win this one and dent NYFCYCFY United's season.
1-1 draw, goal by Lewis. This feels optimistic, I can see NY getting more than one goal but I don't know that we have more than one in us. Lewis will get a bit of revenge on his old team and hopefully a point for his new one. http://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2019/07/stool-pigeons-in-town-tomorrow-night.html
I think the NYFC rest some folks to avoid altitude, and we win 2-0 in a snoozer (fun for the winning side, torture for the losers). I do not think NY cares. DROMPY (Don't Rain on my Parade, yet). R
I'm anticipating a match like many of the Casey era. The Rapids will create many chances, and if they capitalize they have a good shot at winning. Get the ball wide early in the attack and let Lewis and Nicholson do their thing.
2-1 CO wins. Nicholson and Lewis make the difference in attack. Hopefully the Rapids will be more fun to watch than at the Arsenal game.
Where are you watching the game at tonight? ⚽️ #COLvNYC @budweiserusa🏟 @DSGpark⏰ 7:00PM📺 @AltitudeTV📻 @AltitudeSR💻 AltitudeNOW#Rapids96 | #Elevate— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 20, 2019
Scattered thunderstorms for the evening. I wonder what the chances are of a lightning delay in this one.
I was wondering the same thing. We're headed down there tonight but I realllllly don't want to get caught up in another July-4 debacle. Hopefully their Twitter / FB will post updates timely if there are any delays before match time as we drive down
With it being the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, I’m hoping somebody does a moonwalk dance after a goal in tonight’s game. I know it’ll be tough in cleats, but worth it. Just sayin...
1st delay. Kickoff not delayed yet, but they have delayed opening of the gates. WEATHER UPDATE: We are delaying the opening of gates into the stadium due to weather in the area. Kick is still set for 7PM at the moment and we will provide more information as soon as we have it.#Rapids96 | #COLvNYC— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 20, 2019
The Doppler for Denver area shows a lot of heavy rain... probably for a while as it extends up into Idaho Springs. Denver flash flood warning until 8:15pm
Now warmups delayed: UPDATE 6:16PM - Warmups have officially been delayed as well. We will provide more information across our channels when it becomes available.#Rapids96 | #COLvNYC https://t.co/vpjye9tapP— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 21, 2019
This has been a bad season for weather. The early games were cold, and now at least a couple games with thunderstorm delays.
Dang, no Kamara: Come on you Burgundy Boys!📝 https://t.co/loNDOYQrgy#Rapids96 | #COLvNYC pic.twitter.com/lgEZrq6hWO— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) July 21, 2019 That is a really green attacking 4! (Anderson, Bassett, Lewis, Shinyashiki)