I think the LA goal can be blamed on the Sjoberg injury. Ford and Smith were obviously not on the same page probably because Ford was playing RB not CB 5 minutes earlier. Ford isn't completely blameless on the goal as he had an opportunity to clear but it could have been very dangerous had it gone wrong so letting it go to Smith wasn't totally the wrong play. Smith clearly wasn't expecting it though. That's the lack of communication and playing time between them.
I have way too much booze in me give a whole spiel on the match so I’ll just say this.......that Sam dude......he aight. Mr FCD Castoff.....he aight, too. Suck it LA Gals!
Rapids actually played really well. Love Acosta's swagger. McBean is such a black hole, though. On the LA goal, it looked to me like Hairston could've done better to close down the initial cross too, but I didn't get a look at the reverse angle on the play.
BTW with their goals tonight Acosta and Nicholson move into a 4 way time for the lead in goals on the current roster (Castillo and Smith are the other two). Mason took 3 back to England with him and the current Golden Boot leader is Badji with 7 goals in his carry-on to Dallas.
Wasn't in Boateng that put Castillo though on the the winning goal? Boateng played very well tonight - and not just on that pass. I was concerned when he replaced Blomberg, as I thought the correct selection would have been Serna. Don't know what to saw about Acosta. He really makes a difference. His work rate is tremendous and he can play one touch very effectively. Once his teammates get accustomed to how quickly he passes they should be able get behind the defense with a through ball. How about the 50ish yard daisy cutter he hit to Hairston in the first half? It was a few inches away from being successful.
Wow, that was a enjoyable game. Attacking, pressing, and dangerous all night. Obviously (as a friend from LA watching in a pub there noted) they were without Ibra but the 'Pids always seemed to have the upper hand, even when behind. Like others noted, Smith should have gotten credit for the assist on the LA goal and was Da Fonte lineal game. However, Boateng and Martinez showed improvement. Castillo is still a beast (I would've named him MOTM vice Acosta) and Howard had some big saves.
Guess I’ve mostly turned lurker. 3rd row seating in 114 is too low, damn it was crowded... not used to that. Loved Castillo and Nicholson last night. Boateng more imactful than I expected, Hairston doing a lot of attacking from RB (tho his final move, strike or pass, needs refinement), Acosta ... tehe, not missing Badji as much as I thought I would.
Enjoyable night! I am surprised not more mention of Price; I thought he was outstanding- back and forth support and switching the point of attack. . Acosta played further inside in the second half, got more of the ball, and made more impact on the game. Agree about Costilla, good player. And agree with JasonMa about the goal, Ford had just switched positions due to the injury, and got his role wrong. At least he was OK after that. That LA team is poor. They need Zlatan to perform miracles every round of the play-offs they are to go anywhere. Also, I found myself caring, wanting the Rapids to win. LA, with big stars, are often my MLS team once the Rapids are out of it (usually early, sic), but I don't like this team; they don't impress. Glad we won.
I agree, Price was really good. He's been solid this season. He's just got to get rid of the stupid yellow cards. Don't kick people in the back of the leg, especially when you have no shot at the ball. Ref's don't like that. Has anyone heard anything about Boli? Pretty weird that they're down two strikers and have to recall a guy from the Springs and he's not in the 18 and no other word. Pretty damning about the high priced acquisitions other than Price. I think Smith might be salvagable but didn't miss Wilson. I wonder if Smith should play McBean's role, or even left mid in the 4-4-2 diamond. He's pretty good with the ball at his feet and is good at aerials. I'd have to think he could be a better hold up guy than McBean. If he has a brainfart on D, well, there's a couple rows of defenders behind him.
Finally we looked like a side that belongs in the MLS. Castillo & Acosta are basically the Attack, so hopefully more can step before MLS understands this and shuts it down.
I didn't count him as a high priced acquisition since he's apparently being paid $130,000 or something.
It would be very hard to forget about him given his play this season. Hopefully this won't be his last in burgundy. Asked my family last night how old they thought he was and their reply was early twenties. Couldn't believe he's 31. Hope the Rapids have the option of acquiring him from Monterrey. He's got some years left in him.
About as much as I've found on Boli is Matt Pollard tweeting he wasn't training during the week. With Badji being traded, you'd think we'd have heard this somewhere earlier: 1025928880236851200 is not a valid tweet id
By the way, in a game nearly all positive, someone please tell Martinez that you can make a forward pass. He is this year’s Miller. Until someone stops ball, go forward.
I noticed several times in the second half his first touch was away from any pressure which meant going backwards. This seemed to slow the attack down a bit. At the same time, his energy fit in well with what the Rapids were doing.
They looked pretty decent. I guess there’s a reason why most teams in the world play 4 in back. Still don’t think Nicholson is answer at forward. Nor is McBean. Midfield looked good, good interchange.
FYI. In addition to Boli not appearing on any injury report and Pollard's comment about not seeing Boli at training, I can add that Yannick posted a clip on Instagram Sunday of him and his wife and child boating in rather semi-tropical coastal setting. Let's just say it wasn't Cherry Creek Reservoir. Appears to be out of the country. Because the Rapids are so transparent with club info, we all should clearly know that this could mean one of two things: 1. Due to possible disagreements with Hudson and/or vice versa, he's checking out and going the route of Aigner... seeking to bail. The Instagram clip reminded me of Aigner posting the same on Instagram (relaxation pics in the mountains, at the Broadmoor, when you'd think he'd be in Denver for practice, etc.). 2. He went back to Europe (France) to work on green card paperwork (much like Aigner did in February). I'd wager on #1. And again, thankfully the club is uber-transparent so all of us die-hards don't have to speculate about what happened to another of our TAM attackers. You'd think the club would have learned a communication lesson from the Aigner disappearance debacle... you know, a highly publicized TAM attacker acquisition who mysteriously disappeared from Hudson's surroundings. [SPOILER ALERT: They didn't learn a thing.]