One note, Pablo came out after halftime significantly before the rest of the team. I'm guessing there was some sort of player-led discussion in the halftime talk.
As Ebbie Calvin "Nuke" Laloosh said in "Bull Durham," "I love winning ... it's better than losing." + Doyle was a machine doing a lot of dirty work across the pitch + Saied was another workhorse. Da Fonte has a lot of promise as well. + Badji actually chipped a keeper with a deft little flick + Great to see Axel back + Gordon brought that goonie mojo with him; also loved the celebration with the fans + Love the "Louder Than Bombs" flag in the terrace, big Smiths fan - Watts seemed lost in midfield. Azira went missing as well. - They went to sleep on that first goal ... Azira's slip didn't help but no one shut down their goal scorer - Don't know why Aspirra didn't get a card ... Toledo's calls didn't make sense to me - Loved the Timbers fans LARPing "football hooligan" at halftime and trying to start stuff ... pure class! - Unsure who has picked the MOTM last two games, not sure on Saied
A couple of observations from tonight: 1) Ford was MOTM. Outstanding. His athleticism is no doubt an asset but his brain is catching up that said athleticism. It has been trending his last few matches. I am becoming a believer. I am becoming a fan. Ford's starting to recognize and see plays as they develop. He is starting to understand defensive shape. There is still that bull in a china shop feel to him but it is not of the Watts variety. If that makes sense. A confident energy exudes from him. It is not a nervous energy. He and Sjoberg have the potential to develop into quite a tandem. 2) Doyle's best match this season? It sure looked like it. Playing in the "hole" tonight was a great call by Pablo. He was active and wanted the ball in every offensive possession. Doyle was looking to play the ball behind the defense evident by his outstanding assist to Badji. He was dialed in. We need more of those performances. 3) Saeid is right behind Ford for man of the match. His calmness on the ball and his willingness to swing it to either side of the field was on point. He was the perfect link tonight. I love how he pushed the tempo when needed but also recognized when to take the foot off the pedal. We are starting to see Saeid play similar to his first season in Columbus. That's a good thing. 4) For the first time we saw Josh Gatt's speed. He's finally getting his legs back in shape. The dude can fly. Scary thing is -- I saw him pre-injuries. He had Olympic track speed. I hope moving forward we can utilize that speed. He can be an asset. 5) Alan Gordon can play until he's 40. The dude has been the ultimate super sub his entire career. I don't know why I thought it would be any different with the Rapids. He is a guy you love to hate until he's on your team. Gordon does not have to do much except get himself in the box and make himself available and he will produce the goods.
So a 2-1 come-from-behind....I recall off hand only a few of these: Year 1 Jean Harbor from the right side scores to complete the win 2010 MLS cup over, who else?, Dallas Last Month vs. The crew. Last Night. What a strange feeling to know your team can come back for the win, eh? R
Since Gordon scored the late game winner two weeks in a row, I think the follow is apropos: Down here (at the bottom of the table) it's our time. It's our time down here!
Pulling a Goonies against Portland is particularly appropriate (BTW Jonathan Ke Quan, who played Data, will be at Colorado Springs Comic-Con in August. He's only recently stated doing conventions. As a Indiana Jones fan I'm tempted to go see Short Round. )
I remember the highlight videos people used to post over on USMNT forums/sites; he had blazing speed. Judging from his brief time here he seems to have some touch on the ball too. I felt bad for him, esp. in the 1st. Finally getting a chance to start, and then not seeing the ball due to the ineptitude of the Rapids' attack.
Serna came out in his jersey, so his sub must have been planned at halftime. I wonder who came up with that, and with the idea of moving Saeid central instead of the usual like-for-like. We seem to be getting more of these types of subs lately, but it was still a surprise to me. Watts's 1st half passing chalkboard: Saied's 2nd half passing chalkboard:
Huge win tonight over Portland to get those much needed 3 points!! Oh yea got a couple stitches too pic.twitter.com/pQhRL3S5Yc— Mike da Fonte (@MikedaFonte) June 18, 2017
Still amped up about the win last night. Two completely different halves with the Rapids once again figuring it out as some point during the second. I don't think it was intentional, but when Watts came out (he seemed to have a little knock on one of his legs) and Saeid moved to a more central role the Rapids attack became much more cohesive. I've felt for a while that he needs to be in the middle to make a difference. When he's out wide he just isn't in position to dictate tempo and ball movement. This isn't to saw he's the ultimate #10, but right now he's the best bet for the Rapids in that type capacity. In the second half Gatt had two long runs where he beat multiple defenders one v one with skill and pace. Yes, both ended up without a result, but if he can do that on a regular basis eventually he'll get some goals and assists. He'll also wear out the opposition, especially at DSGP. (He wore himself out in last night's match - he was spent when he came to the bench.) Was that Badji's first successful chip? How long have we been calling of him to do chip the keeper rather than trying to blast it past? And he did it with his left foot. IMHO, Doyle works hard almost all the time he's on the pitch. Playing a bit behind Badji and Calvert he had the opportunity receive the ball and find his teammates. Ford may not be refined yet, but he does make a difference. in the second half Nagbe was making a run with the ball where he beat two Rapids 1v1. Ford went to ground at the right time, won the ball, got up with the ball at his feet and calmly moved it forward. Let's hope he stays healthy and the same with Sjöberg as they are the best pairing at center back. What was up with the shambolic defending in the first half? It started in the midfield and put too much pressure on the back line. I know that Portland was playing with five in the midfield, but still . . . Once Badji scored the Rapids gained confidence as a group and they kept the attack going like a tide that eventually overwhelmed the Timbers. Watts in the midfield doesn't work in MLS matches. When's the last time the Rapids had three consecutive come from behind wins?
I'm not as excited over the Rapids lineup as some people. What I saw last night was a team that bumbled its way through the first half, snagged an opportunistic goal in the second (Badji) aided by bad goalkeeping, and had a notorious bench threat (Gordon) bag yet another late winner. The win came at home in a league that is strongly skewed toward home pitch advantage, against a depleted opponent that isn't exactly a road juggernaut. Any three points are good, and nobody is complaining about three. That said, I really don't like the structure of this team. Let's start with the back line. It was apparent after Portland's first few possessions that their game plan was to push the ball up the touchline, change field (which they do well), and attack from the other wing. They did this repeatedly, and it took 30 minutes of Pablo yelling to get the defense to cut off the touchline passing lanes. When they did so, the back line didn't communicate well, retreated 20-30 yards under every attack, failed to mark back post players, and simply got lucky that Portland wasn't hot. Sjoberg is still a work in progress, but has some decent skills. Hairston is too passive on defense, and lets opposing players drive the box too easily. Ford doesn't read the build well yet and there isn't very good communication on the back line to help him out. Da Fonte looks like he would be more at home playing enforcer for the Philadelphia Flyers. He isn't *exactly* a finesse player, and likely is earning a rep with the officials for his off-the-ball aggressiveness. Watts doesn't belong in the midfield. (He doesn't belong on the back line either, but that's a different discussion.) Saeid's ball distribution has been decent against weak opposition. Let's see how it is against the best MLS road team this Wednesday. Azira had a rough game overall. Gatt simply isn't good with the ball at his feet. Badji and Doyle are enigmas up top. Doyle was brought in as a goal-scorer, but has morphed into an adept passer and solid defensive player in tight situations. Badji is streaky. When he's on, he has nice touch and is dangerous. When he's not, he channels Nico Hernandez and has the touch of Thiago Martins. Howard is a legend in goal, but isn't playing at the same level as a few years ago. Offstage, there's a clock ticking. These weaknesses were evident last night. Portland repeatedly left Andriuskevicius, Olum, and Miller at home and sent Valentin flying up the touchline. Valentin repeatedly found Adi, Asprilla and Blanco unmarked, while the Rapids were swarming Nagbe. With the Rapids in possession, nobody seemed to notice that Portland effectively had only a three-man back line. Colorado's attacks were not made in force, and the Rapids rarely had a numerical advantage on builds. The first instinct was still to pass back. In other words, it was the same old Rapids, except that Badji was in the right place at the right time and Gleeson wasn't, and except that Gordon was Gordon off the bench. Again, three points is always good. But this Rapids team isn't good enough to contend for a playoff spot. The upcoming schedule will be a reality check. Enjoy last night now, because results like that may not come this way again for a while.
Gatt needs to learn when to pass (and shoot) the ball. Far too much dependence on his footwork over his teammates. He did look good with those runs but it will be even better when he sets someone up after a run. Only 3 other times ('96, '98, '99) have the Rapids won 3 in the row without at least one shutout. Those games are so long ago and the Rapids pulled their detailed media guide offline (working on that) that I can't look up if any of those runs were all come from behind or not.
To be fair, Portland is 2nd in the West. The sporks are first, so two of our home wins are against decent teams. I agree to the home field advantage in mls, but the rapids pulled the win out. I thought the team looked good the 2nd half last night, probably will look even better with nana and gashi. Not saying we are great, but my bottom line is always win or lose. They won.
I saw this mentioned elsewhere but Saturday night is one of the few times I think that you can credit Pablo with out-coaching the opposition to get a result. His subs were dead on and they weren't just like for like. Bringing Serna on and moving Saied inside changed the game and going with 3 strikers late led to the winning goal.
This thought has crossed my mind several times. We actually changed the formation with subs and got the win because of it. Only fair to say that PM gets credit on this one (which you did and I am agreeing with a damn husky-lover). rod.
Great analysis, @fortcollins! Hairston is too passive on defense, and lets opposing players drive the box too easily. Hairston is still a midfielder, he's just lining up in defense now. It takes a while for a player to learn how to play FB. We'll see if he ever really gets it. Sure hope so. Watts doesn't belong in the midfield. Completely agree. Whatever ability to play MF he had in college must have stayed there. Saeid's ball distribution has been decent against weak opposition. Let's see how it is against the best MLS road team this Wednesday. Until Nana comes back, we need Saeid in this spot. He's better than Powers and miles better than Watts, but he may not be the answer long-term. Doyle was brought in as a goal-scorer, but has morphed into an adept passer and solid defensive player in tight situations. Doyle is good enough to help in multiple spots, BUT HE NEEDS SERVICE and hasn't gotten much for most of his time here.
I have had this thought but I also feel that being thin in the back line forced him to substitute this way.
Maybe. But it would have been a very Pablo move to sub Serna for Gatt, or if Watts had to come out, sub Powers for him. As for the backline, they don't usually sub centerbacks and he had Miller and Williams on the bench to sub in for a fullback.
Is any one really that excited about the Rapids' lineup? Seems like are mostly pleasantly surprised. For a while there they weren't able to win even at home. But I agree with you that there are some tough times ahead. After Wednesday they will have played 9 home games, 6 road games. Making up those road games is going to hurt. They are still seeking their first road point!
not to rain on the anti-Pablo tirade postings but he's come a long way from year one and guided a clearly flawed team last year to easily our best regular-season. Although we disagree with his tactics and sometimes shake our heads at his decisions, the team certainly looks to have turned things around. Some of the new players that have sent our old favorites to the bench certainly look to be upgrades. Is it really just me that is optimistic compared to the pre-2016 teams going back three or four years ?I am tired withholding season tickets to a club that has so few winning seasons and hope this will be a second consecutive years of good results. Shocking!!! Colorado 1 LA Beckhams 0 R
I think we can make a run for the last 2 playoffs spots, the talent gap is not the huge in this league-