I really like Nicholson’s game. He’s sneaky fast. Always around the ball and has an aggressive, crafty, hard-nosed approach. He’s been solid tonight.
He new RSL got a soft penalty in the first half, so that is how the ref is giving them. I agree, smart play. Edit: knew not new. Our versus friend is probably having a heart attack.
Agreed it's how he's calling it - - I'm guessing the ref will be criticised for this in the match review by PRO.
Rule #1 of any sport: know your ref. If the calls are consistent, it's on the players to adjust to the ref. Sibiga and Elfath make quite a few soft calls.
Record-breaking opportunity alert: The 1999 Kansas City Wizards and 2012 Toronto FC went 1-10-0 in the first third of the season. If the Rapids lose here, they will break their record low of 3 points in the first third of the season.
They take too long to decide whether to look at VAR or not. But he's going to VAR. I bet this is a penalty.
Bodmer Line: 41/23 = 1.783 PPG (points needed to snag last playoff spot at 43 point average divided by games remaining) Kroenke Line: 24/23 = 1.043 PPG (maximum points that can be earned to win the average Wooden Spoon at just over 26 points). Worse, the second place team in the Spoon race is on pace for 28.9 points, so the cushion is growing (now eight points). Hudson Line: = 0.565 PPG (no more than 13 points in 23 remaining matches), measuring the PPG needed to become the worst team in MLS history. The current record is 16 points, held by D.C. United (3-24-7 in 2013). Rapids: 0-9-2, with 2 points in 11 matches = 0.182 PPG, on pace for 6.2 points for the season. This is the worst first third of a season (2 points) in MLS history. Rapids: surrendering 2.7 goals per match, on pace to surrender 92.7 goals for the season. The current MLS record is 74 goals allowed (Orlando City, 2018).
It's shocking how bad we are. As already noted, if we win our next 2 matches we'll still have the worst record in MLS.
The Rapids are earning only 0.182 PPG for the season. On the bright side, they are earning 0.333 PPG at home.
It certainly was an interesting Rocky Mountain Cup match. This one had about all of the drama a RMC match could offer. Zero quality, but lots of drama. Good teams find a way to win the ugly and crazy matches. Bad teams find a way to lose them. This match concludes the easy third of the 2019 schedule. The remaining schedule is weighted much more heavily with playoff contenders, road matches, and high scoring opponents.