Full time. Rapids 1 - Overrated Energy Drink 0. Thanks for watching, now my roomie is dragging me out for grocery shopping, the horror.
We had somewhat rotten luck with weather, balls in the net called back, the 10 man tie, etc.....Nice to see what I have been expecting all season. We have two home games coming up...let's see if we can establish that dominant home turf. Great goal for so many reasons, from the steal, the pass, the patient unselfish hold'n pass, and a finish (something many of us have lamented over the post Spencer era). R
That was an outstanding effort and a sensational three points. I hope Vanney wasn't too badly hurt. His demeanor on the sideline seemed to be okay. Since I have made sure to mention my previous displeasure with Gargan, I must be fair in the other direction, and mention when he does well, and I think he did very well today, not even counting the goal he saved. If Vanney isn't hurt too badly, then I am glad it forced him out for a few minutes, because it gave Wingert an opportunity, and I thought he made the most of it. While Bouna's clearances and his ventures into the outer territories can be scary, he continues to make big saves. A shutout on the road for him is a big deal and can't help but really increase his confidence. Overall, this was an excellent performance by Colorado. With a win against KC on Saturday, we could really put ourselves in a good early position. By the way, would someone please teach the announcers how to pronounce Ugo's name. Regardless of the mispronounciation, Ugo looked great at the end.
Gargan played really good. Looks like his last few games with the first team he has settled in possibly. Wingert also looked solid for the time he was in. Its good to see Niko in the midfield where he can see more of the ball and his work rate pays off. All around good game, go Rapids!!!!
Congrats guys, solid win . . just got back from the match. I wouldn't give your keeper as much credit as I'd give your defense, only because the shots that we managed to get off were garbage. Your defense was great at clearing the ball once we got it back there, you know, just when I thought we'd make something of it...oh well. See ya next time!
I'm english now living in Colorado I follow the Rapids and know a thing or two about the game that you guy's call soccer. There are a few good and experienced players Cooke, Vanney etc... However there are a couple of five minute wonders Gomez is just out to make a name for himself and is ball greedy it in no way benefits the team. The Rapids also play so deep even on home games eg. Salt Lake if they pressed forward more and sent the ball out wide to Cooke it would be a much more entertaining game to watch. Cooke was unbelievable to watch at Man City it seems that the Rapids don't use him to their benefit. This must be so frustrating for the true attacking players that are on the team. Has anyone been down to watch the practice? Do they work on attacking play?? From watching the games it seems that the coaches need to organize the team more. What are the soccer backgrounds of the coaches?
No one disputes that the league needs some time to *pass* the EPL , but the better MLS players have done quite well in the EPL, and not just the goalies. The failures have been the youngsters who got signed, then sat the bench. Gomez is young, fast, and supposed to finish...he certainly showed great team play on the game winner today. He'll improve over time. We all like Cooke's game. He led the league last season in assists, and the other teams overplay him much of the time just so he does *not* succeed as you suggest. Today's game was played on a narrow field, which really squeezes the wings as there's no space out there! Yes, Fernando-The Enigma, likes a defensive game and can be way too conservative at times. Today we had many nice counter opportunities, so I cannot complain. Lastly, we finally have a proper pitch width! Our team, as well as other teams that no longer play on the gridiron, narrow fields, are figuring out the best use of the wings. Give the Rapids some time... RLH
Wow...BIG WIN on the road! Nicely done Rapids. Bouna is probably the man of the match as the entire team does the hard work to hand NY their first loss. Nice job Rapids!
Had to miss most of the match as my daughter and grandkids took me out for a late lunch. I notice in the Denver Post TV guide that Altitude is supposed to show the game at 7p.m. Just hope the guide is right this time, they have been wrong so many times before. Of all the games to miss it had to be the winner! Well, my family is more important. Thanks for all the comments it helped to know what went on.
Bouna, was the man today. He made the big saves, had a few scary rebounds, but his confidence grew throughout the match. By the end he was smothering the ball with no rebounds. Distribution was fine. It scared me to see Vanney go down. He's been unsung and just solid for us. I was thrilled to to see Wingert come in and the defense didn't miss a beat. Gargan was good today. No complaints. Great save. Great battle. Niko in midfield and Gomez at forward looks much better for both. I was down on Petke last year and thought he ought to be cut. So far this year he's been good. Mastroeni has been a solid backup in central defense, but I'm glad to see Ugo on the field. Hopefully Mastro can displace Kirovski who just isn't making mistakes but isn't making an impact. Beckerman had a good game. Great pass. Some solid possession work. He gave several away that were anticipating runs that didn't materialize, they were low percentage passes, but a few will get through. I think with Gomez running he'll get on the end of a few of them. Two shots a game from him is all that's needed to keep the defense honest. Good game all around. Neutral fans will complain about the defend and counter tactics, but as a partisan I'm glad to see the Rapids grind one out.
Just finished watching the match - had to tivo it as I had to leave around the 30 minute mark for Mothers Day festivities. Bouna - couple of grey hair moments and a lot of good saves. Gargan - played a VERY GOOD match (and I kow some of you heard me screaming at him against RSL to play either his position ro the man or anything) - he stuck to his man, his side of the field, made it hard to get by him (only saw him get burned once) - and that was all in the first half, so natually I expected a let down in the second. Nope, he continued to mark people well, and made a great defensive play on a sure goal. Good job Dan, keep this up and I will be breaking out my Gargan jersey for some of the matches. Nico - ran like crazy, came back in D, made a lot of good passes & challenges. The goal doesnt hurt either. Gomez, looked like he was going to break free at any time - just could not get the best service. It'll come in time. Brown - damn is he hard to move. His first touch seems to be getting a little better, and he is just hard for people to move. Also played some decent D. Cookie - this was obviously not going to be a good stadium for him, narrow, freaking feild turf and against a good, defensive minded team. He did well I thought on set pieces and played much more defense than in previous weeks. Kirovski - did well. His passing touch was awry (could be some of the turf as well), but with the ball at his feet he was good, and he hustled. Vanney & Petke - both solid - hard to beat. Hope Vanney is okay, but he looked like he was on the bench anyway. Becks - seemed a bit quiet to me today - probably because of the bunkering going on in the 2nd half. Still - a good performance and I expect him to explode when we have a full compliment of players and Pablo can move back into midfield with him. Pablo - strong. He kept Angel from doing too much, and it's pretty obvious to me taht JPA is going to do just fine in MLS. 3 vital points on the road (wait, did I just say on the road?) against a strong team (wait, did I just say...). Now the boys get a week(almost) before their next match and hopefully time for some injuries to heal up. I'd like to think that the match against KC is going to be a bit more offensive in nature - hopefully at home we will continue to attack if we get the first goal, use altitude, field size and speed too our advantage and develop a killer instinct now so we have it when we need it later. It seems like so far this season the guys have begun to master the bunkering technique when required. Oh, and having the NYRB announce team on Altitude was a bit aggravating (I think they said Mike Haynes had a death in the family?) - but hey, at least it was on. A very happy, Jeff
Just a couple of quick comments for now. - Bouna sure had an interesting game. Took a few strolls and made some outstanding saves. - Gargan was exceptional, by any standards. He deserved credit for the kick save, but before that on the initial cross, did anyone notice him ride one of the Red Bulls past the ball preventing a shot, then of course he got back to make the save. I watched him closely, he also played a very strong game. - One Touch Niko, did it finally. He also was a key defender/destroyer throughout the match, especially in the last 20 minutes. I've got to say, my list of horrible soccer broadcast continues to grow. Every fecking time, after the ball stopped (into touch, etc.) the camera would show a close up of the person involved in the play. It seems about 75% of the time when they finally came back, the ball had been restarted and changed possession. Then the replays, my word, I think I saw more of the game in replays then I did live. The announcers did give the Rapids players a lot of credit, more so then many other broadcast, for that a well done. Well done Rapids!
The commentators are, um, *special*, aren't they??? I am torn between the 'do it better' and the 'bring in more fans by being stupid' points of view, but watch with the sound down, mostly...... Maybe, they'd let you & me call a game sometime.....I did 4 years in radio back in the 70's.....Like that EPL broadcast with one fan from each team ("there's Dennis Bergcamp late in the box, like usual"). RLH
OK just checked out the ESPN Soccernet"report" on the match and 2 GLARING erros jumped out at me. First, they still dont have our logo? Seriously - it was a freaking socerball in the place of our logo. WTF. Second, we won our first match on the road for the year. Really? I think the folks down at Salt Lake will be thrilled to hear that - as I could swear we beat them 2-0 not more than a couple of weeks ago. Come on ESPN, it aint rocket surgery. I realize that some of these things need to go up rather quickly in this day & age but damn that is shoddy. jeff
Hey, I'm going to claim some credit for the win. I was traveling through DIA on Friday evening on my way home (AZ to IA). I was eating at the Mexican place on the upper level at the middle of concourse B and while sitting there, I saw FC. I called out his name and introduced myself as a long time Rapids fan. He seemed truly surprised that anyone recognized him even though he was wearinga shirt with a Rapids logo. I asked what happened the night before and told him they looked pretty bad. He agreed and said they just needed to put that game behind them and go and get three points on Sunday. I wished him luck and to go get those points. I picture an inspirational speach to the team. Lyle in Iowa
Since I've been extremely critical of him....I must give him his props. Gargan won the Rapids 3 pts today -- saved their *sses.