sounds like a VERY physical match; either that, or the ref didn't know what s/he was doing. and Schmidt continues to sparkle like Florida sunshine. what a pest he made of himself this game!!!
The Ref was the biggest idiot in the world. Every time the crowd make noises after a tackle he was pulling his red card. The crowd were making fun of him all the time and he thought he was smart.Anyways, The Rapids youngsters showed some great effort and i can tell you from now...this young team is going to be very dangerous in the future. I was really impressed from what i saw. Another good thing was happening for the Rapids, a huge floridian family was supporting the Rapids like it was the MLS cup game, they were all wearing the Rapids jerseys and hats... i just thought it was strange that a floridian family like the Rapids that much.
I've got to admit, those jerseys look pretty sweet. And Schmidt scored again. So, what worries do we have coming into this season, again? I'm hardly seeing any...
Just like players, refs are evaluated too. With this many cards issued, I can only assume that he will be evaluated and most likely left out of the upcoming MLS season. That is what should happen (ex. Lopez Nieto, Spanish referee, issues 16 cards in the first round of the World Cup, and is promptly sent home), we shall see if the MLS brass and those who assign refs were paying attention. Good news that the Rapids scored 3 on the Gals though, last year we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn against them, especially in the playoffs.
Huh the LA kits look awful. On another note see who the loosers started Hartman Scot Thompson (Isaias Bardales 69) Danny Califf Alexi Lalas Hong Myung-Bo Simon Elliott Ezra Hendrickson Cobi Jones (Jason Moore 84) Sasha Victorine (Jesus Ochoa 72) Chris Albright(Alex Pineda Chacon 76) Gavin Glinton (Carlos Ruiz 62) Pretty much all of their starters. and we were missing... Hendo, Gilles, Spenny and Zizi! OK, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I don't care even if it's just a preseason game. Maybe this is a new start in many more victories over LA.
In reading the report on the MLS web site I thought it was great that both Carrieri and Schmidt scored by pressuring the defense deep in the LA defensive third. If we can do this with our strikers backed up by our solid midfield, we can really rattle defenses. Also on the Becks and corner kick watches, we get: Becks scores off a corner kick. Good things are happening with Becks scoring corners (missing penalty shots) and running a "fluid attack." Rapids set pieces may not signal a chance to get a beer at Invesco this year.
Still haven't read that Gilles has gotten into a game yet. I'm happy about everything else, but somewhat concerned that I haven't read anything about Zizi and Gilles. I hope they'll get some time to mesh with the team. On the other hand it wouldn't be the end of the world if our youngsters came out and kept those guys on the bench. Anyone know by the way, if they played a 352 or a 442. I'm curious because in would mean Hart played as an outside defender in the latter.
Yea, where is Grimandi? I knew Zizi had a lingering injury, but I hadn't heard anything about the Frenchman. Anyone know?
Another nice write up on the Team's page: http://www.coloradorapids.com/site/goal.asp?cid=322 I like how Hankinson is doing a little name dropping about his collegial soccer discussions with the great Arsene Wenger. Good for him, I guess we'd all like to bring up how we were chatting with him. I also saw that Becks does not expect to start. Don't give up yet, I'm pulling for you! Anyone know who Camillo and Borchers are?
Demoted to AR then? This was a friendly, and he still issued that many cautions and the game ended 9v8? I realize there may be some bad blood between LA and Colorado, but this ref should certainly be facing some consequences as a result of a poor game like this.
well, Hankinson agreed with all the cards, and he actually saw the game. It was either Bradley or Connolly who said in their last column that it's always surprising to see the players play with the intensity of an MLS Cup in these pre-season games, so to assume that just because it's a "friendly" that the game isn't highly physical and there shouldn't be any cards doesn't square up with reality.
You can also make an argument purely on experience in watching many games. How many times have you seen a game, even a physical one, with five players sent off? The only time this typcially happens is when it is an all out brawl. Hankinson is not going to start a war with a ref in the preseason over a game that does not count in the standings so he is going to be nice about the whole thing. But you can see a lot of intense games and not see five players get tossed. So it is not an illogical to assume this ref lost total control of the game.
And having not seen the game in person, I have no idea if the ref lost control or not, but it is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. It may be rash to say that the ref should face consequences (I just got out of my ref recertification course a couple of nights ago, so it was on my mind), but certainly, if the teams ended up 9v8, he didn't have a good night. It's good to see that the Rapids performed well though against what could be considered a mostly starting side for the Galaxy. Didn't Hankinson mention that Gilles was still adjusting to the pace of the game (getting back in shape) a couple of weeks ago? I certainly hope we see him in matches soon. Not that these preseason matches matter and maybe Hanki is just trying to figure out where to put people when the season rolls around. Certainly, Spencer, Hendo and Gilles would have to be considered starters on opening day, and Zizi's hype and reputation alone could place him there too, but I am surprised that our two international additions aren't getting more PT yet.
I know there have been some stinkers by ref in MLS, but the absolute worst I ever saw was a Metro/United brawl at the end of last season. St. Silva totally lost control of this game. It got to the point where some of the players were just laughing at the calls. I was embarrassed for the guy. One particular moment sticks in my mind where Ramos and a United player got tangled up near the top of the United box. St Silva blew his whistle, but didn't know who to call it on so called for a drop ball. Ramos just threw his arms up and starting laughing. If that call had been made at my 10 year old son's game, I'd have to say it sucked, let alone at the MLS level. It is entirely within the bounds of possibility that St. Silva lost control in this one too. At this point, I'm sure both coaches and players in MLS have no respect or confidence in St. Silva. I sure hope he doesn't do any more MLS, or players are likely to get injured.
well, i don't know St. Silva from St. Bonaventure, so i will gracefully bow out of this debate. (is he the black ref that i see sometimes do games for MLS?) i guess my only point was none of us saw the game so it's hard to judge. i certainly admit that finishing a game 9 v. 8 is pretty extraordinary under any situation. as far as grimandi goes: hanki says he has a tear in a muscle and hopes to have him back healthy next week (or something like that). not a particularly good sign considering he hasn't played competitive soccer in a good long while, is getting up there in years, and is trying to get back in game shape.
Here's Mr. St. Silva I remember watching matches where he was in charge and that's not a good thing. The only MLS referees I can name off hand are Brian Hall, Noel Kenny and Gus St. Silva, so naturally I cringe any time I see their name on the lineup sheet.
4000 in attendance. Not bad for a preseason matchup when neither team is from that area. I wonder what baseball spring training draws and how this compares? Seems like a decent number though.