That response to going down 2-0 was surprising. Was that the first time they played 4-4-2 all season? Huge difference. Serna goes from the milk carton to getting a point, nice.
I had play tickets, so I missed the game. Loved the recap on this thread. Ye of little faith! During intermission of the play, I looked and saw the Rapids were down 2-0. "Boy, glad we're missing that one."
My family purposely chose an event over watching the game. I had a great week and didn't want the Rapids pissing on it. But of course it killed me not looking at my phone and knowing anything about the match. I got up early and watched the replay. After the two early RSL goals, I nearly put my remote through the screen, cursed loud and violently, and came close to just turning the game off in disgust. Almost in a defiant manner, I continued to watch. i am glad I did. The response to going down two goals was a pleasant surprise. I can't believe I'm going to applaud Hudson but switching to what resembled or looked like a 4-4-2 was a the smart (and correct / logical) decision. Hopefully, he learned a thing or two and that a 4-4-2 with this bunch is the only hope. I do have to say, I nearly shit my pants when McBean stepped up to take the penalty. I would have blown a gasket had he missed. Hudson would have not been spared. Tidier in defense, cleaner passes, more urgency and playing with a little chip in the second half earned a point. i can't complain too much. We need that second half effort for a full 90 to be a respectable opponent. Oh.......man i love Castillo. That run........oh man that run........absolutely sublime. I wish we had 10 others that could match his urgency, grit, determination, hustle, attacking intelligence, and flare. He leaves in all out on the pitch. Too bad Castillo's strong season is overshadowed by a poor team. He's been everything as advertised.
I watched the first 20 minutes and took the weather break as a good reason to watch something else. We had a long day at the German festival (full Rapids contingent there, BTW), so just flipped the channel around. Kicked back over at what ended up being just after half time. Frankly, a different team. As much as I am not a McBean fan (and I am not), he was more active and useful than Boli had been. How sad is that for Boli? Based on the play, I was clamoring for Serna, his energy and knack for hitting one of those crazy shots is tailor made for this type of situation. Took Hudson a little longer to get there, but it paid dividends. Frankly, based on the 2nd half run of play we could have maybe (*gasp*) won that game. Badji and Gashi would have made a huge difference in this one. Badji most of all as I firmly believe he would have made some of the weak shots McBean was throwing out there. Gashi would have helped on set pieces and such. Not sure why Hairston wasn't in, he seems like a solid player. Blomberg does not impress me at RB, Hairston seems a lot more solid to me. But what do I know, I never coached in Oceania! I will be in DC for next Saturday's game. Sort of dreading it, but supporting the in-laws who really wanted to take us to a DC game and it happened to be the Rapids. I will wear my Rapids gear even though sitting in the general area. Watch for the guy in Burgundy generally cursing and mocking the DC LB (108 tradition). Pretty sure we won't fare well out there because <insert standard Hudson excuse here>. rod.
I watched it on replay. Plata is one dangerous little Hobbit. It might be nice if the Rapids would mark him sometime. Hudson's tactical change during the lightning delay is interesting for several reasons. First, he has tactics? Second, it only took him 19 1/4 matches to realize that USL talent can play a 4-4-2. Third, not letting RSL sit in Colorado's defensive third actually helps stop hemorrhaging goals. Duh. The RSL announcers thought the PK was soft. It wasn't. It was the right call. That said, I still pathologically hate VAR. Beckerman is still a beast. Every RMC match reminds me how awful that trade was. And I still can't figure out why Ballouchy was barred from entering Canada when he was playing for the Rapids, but later was able to play for Vancouver. Castillo is the brightest spot for the Rapids in this miserable season. I like his work rate and skill set. His motor and game passion remind me a bit of Kosuke Kimura, though he is far more reserved. Howard saved the bacon a couple times. It really would be nice if he had a back line he could count on. Smith was atrocious. I forgot Boli was in the lineup until he was subbed off. How many times did Blomberg surrender the ball? I know Boatang came on for Price, but for the life of me I can't think of anything he did in the game.
I think he's been their best player this year, though Badji's work and goals in a very difficult attacking context deserves praise as well. I have no idea how Castillo's loan works but if the cap hit is anything close to the $130,000 the MLS players association website lists for him, that's amazing. Among outfield players, it's almost a rule for this roster that their contributions on the field are inversely proportional to their salary. Code: $1,668,750 Gashi $ 907,500 Boli $ 845,885 Aigner $ 682,500 Mason $ 640,000 Smith $ 407,500 Price $ 540,000 Wilson $ 361,250 Boateng $ 311,456 Nicholson $ 239,808 Blomberg ----------------------------- $ 194,996 Sjoberg $ 168,750 Badji $ 144,996 Hairston $ 131,625 Azira $ 130,000 Castillo $ 95,000 Serna $ 89,500 Ford $ 68,906 McBean $ 67,500 Martinez $ 67,500 Wynne I think I got everyone besides the guys farmed out, 20 names. Give both teams the same handicap (coached by Hudson), which team wins? If tied 0-0 assume unlimited 30 minute extra time periods until there's a winner. macmath hairston-ford-sjoberg-wynne serna-azira-martinez-castillo badji-mcbean howard nicholson-wilson-smith-boateng blomberg-price-gashi-aigner boli-mason
What a difference a weather delay makes. Had that not happened the tactical change wouldn't have taken place until the half making it much harder to make the comeback. Still, it was quite a change, not only in tactics, but in attitude. For much of the time after the break the Rapids were bossing the match, in a way that's been rare this season. We almost gave up after the second FSL goal as it looked at that time it was game over. Glad we stuck with it as it was a compelling match. It will be interesting to see how the Rapids come out for the DCU match. 4-4-2 or back to the 3-5-2?
Spot on. I wouldn't have been surprised to be down by 3 or 4 at the half, the way the Rapids were playing. Even in this wretched season, the first 22 minutes was particularly bad soccer. I found it interesting that the RSL announcers continually called out Hudson for his lack of tactics. They even noted after the tactical change that it just underscored how wrong he had been about the game in the first place.
The long delayed update of the RMC stats, encompassing both games so far this season. No significant changes from a Rapids standpoint. Records Overall (W-D-L) Real lead 18-11-13, 54 GF, 40 GA Games in Colorado Rapids lead, 10-5-5, 25 GF, 18 GA Games in Utah Real lead 13-6-3, 36 GF, 15 GA Margin of Victory, Real 4 Real 5 : 1 Rapids, 2014-09-19 Margin of Victory, Rapids 2 Rapids 2 : 0 Real, 4 times; Rapids 3 : 1 Real 2015-07-11 Scoring, Career Total Goals, combined 6 Saborio Goals, Real 6 Saborio Goals, Rapids 3 Casey, Cummings Assists, combined 4 Morales, Plata Assists, Real 4 Morales, Plata Assists, Rapids 3 Cooke Scoring, Single Season Goals, Real 3 Cunningham (2006), Morales (2014) Goals, Rapids 2 Ben Dayan (2005), Hernandez (2006), D.Brown (2013), Gatt (2017) Penalty Kicks 2006 Game 1 Cunningham 2006 Game 3 Cunningham 2008 Game 1 C. Gomez 2010 Game 2 Saborio 2013 Game 3 Saborio 2014 Game 1 Morales 2017 Game 1 Movsisyan 2017 Game 2 Silva 2018 Game 1 Plata 2018 Game 2 McBean Goalkeeping GAA, Rapids 0.86 Coundoul (Minimum 5 apps) GAA, Real 0.77 Rimando (Minimum 5 apps) Shutouts, Rapids 3 Cannon, Pickens Shutouts, Real 10 Rimando Shutout minutes, consecutive, Real 331 2007 Game 2 through 2008 Game 1 Shutout minutes, consecutive, Rapids 438 2010 Game 2 through 2012 Game 3 Appearances Appearances, combined 35 Beckerman (10 Rapids, 25 Real) Appearances, Rapids 14 Cooke, Cummings, Mastroeni, Moor Appearances, Real 29 Rimando Starts, combined 34 Beckerman (10 Rapids, 24 Real) Starts, Rapids 14 Mastroeni, Moor Starts, Real 29 Rimando Minutes, combined 3065 Beckerman (871 Rapids, 2194 Real) Minutes, Rapids 1260 Moor Minutes, Real 2555 Rimando Appearing in RMC for both teams Ballouchy, Beckerman, Borchers, Cunningham, Gil, Harris, Kotschau, Mathis, Wingert RMC Titles Won 10 Beckerman RMC Titles Lost 6 Casey, Cummings, Mastroeni Discipline Ejections, Rapids 1 Denton, Gordon, Howard, Watts Ejections, Real 1 Acosta, Russell, Olave, Harris, Sequera, Jaime, Maund, Cassar (HC) Cautions, total 9 Beckerman (3 Rapids, 6 Real) Cautions, Rapids 4 Burling, Freeman Cautions, Real 6 Beckerman Most cards, single game, combined 10 August 8, 2006 (6 Rapids, 4 Real; 8 yellow, 2 red) Most cards, single game, Rapids 6 August 8, 2006 (5 yellow, 1 red) Most cards, single game, Real 4 5 times (4 times 3 yellow 1 red, 1 time 4 yellow) Most consecutive games with a card, Rapids 4 Burling Most consecutive games with a card, Real 3 Espindola
One oddity due to Howard's red card in the first game. Since it went to VAR Howard was ejected in the 20th minute, but MacMath officially didn't sub in until the 22nd minute. So the Rapids technically played 2 minutes without a keeper.