From the reports I got, this could have gotten out of control in a hurry. (I only know up to about the 70th minute). Casey Schmidt scored two more goals before Kingsley subbed for him. 2-0 last I knew. From the reports greenie sent (DANKA!) the Rapids have had a lot of the possession, could have had a PK or two go their way but they weren't called. I don't recall all details (that's what being out near LoDo will do to you) but it sounds like a couple quality finishes for the rook. Beckerman subbed in and almost immmediately got a punch thrown at him. As the mathc got chippy, Santos' "fans" got a little ugly and it started raining bottles, with the players trying to calm the fans down during a delay. And oh yeah, another part of the report, the match got delayed because Santos didn't want to play with a Puma ball. WTF? I was told Santos' manager argued for a bit before it started. Rapids Starters: Vallow Kotschau Fraser Stewart Hart Hendo Grimandi Borchers Chung Schmidt Carrieri
Jeff, thanks for the update! I have been staying awake hoping someone would post something. How does a pre season game inspire a juvenile brand name protest by a coach and fan near riots? Is this stuff people in the know expect at a Santos game? Besides Schmidt keeping on his torrid goal scoring spree, it was also nice to see that Grimandi started and Kingsley came in. Hopefully, they both will now get working toward being in game shape. I really want to see what Grimandi can do. Who's this Nat Borchers guy? I keep checking the Rapids site for information on him and Camillo (I think he goes by one name) and nothing is there. Maybe if some Santos player punches one of them the site will give us some information.
Borchers is a Boulder Rapids Reserve player. I will have transcripts of the PBP up in less than an hour God willing. Stay tuned...
god i wanted to go to that game. oh well. anyways, thanks for the little update Jeff. FVCK MEXICO! Forza Rapids!!!
schmidt with two more goals? that's gettin' crazy... ...not as crazy as a bunch of santos a--hole supporters throwin' bottles. no doubt drunk. way uncool, especially if they were glass bottles. hope everyone got out of there unscathed. hope the rapids get to enjoy the trip actually IN mexico without having bottles thrown at them.
From the convo I had with Greenie earlier most of the agression was directed at Santos by frustrated fans rather than at the Pids.
les miserables... Bienvenue au Concacaf, monsieur Grimandi! That's an odd reaction from Santos. I watch them almost every week in the MFL and saw them in person a few months ago in a friendly against the Galaxy in Houston. That's not at all their typical thing. Does anyone have their roster for this game?
OK kids here ya go. Just got this, this is a summary of the SMS messages I got from Greenie direct from the match. He apologizes for not knowing the Santos players better and there will be more opinion to follow. Greenie says: misc notes made on my mobile during Rapids-Santos. Pardon typos and lack of not knowing Santos players or difference between Foss and Vallon... and other possible inaccuracies. .......... crowd loud, festive and green. Santos green. maybe 8000 people here. got copy of Rapids lineup sheet. Starters: Vallow Kotschau Fraser Stewart Hart Hendo Grimandi Borchers Chung Schmidt Carrieri I just walked by referees.and from the sounds of conversation Santos doesn't want to play with the Puma ball, they want to use their Voit. Are u kidding me? Game on! Schmitt goes down in the box... No PK given 11m - free kick 25 yds out for santos Unmarked santos header in the box on restart... Wide and rapids escape Carrieri shoots from the edge of the 18 scuffs it... Crows boos and jeers Kotschau makes hard tackle... Yellow Long ball to corner for Carrieri... Shoved down... Pulls sants down with him... Tempers stay calm Overall santos started strong but Rapids have most of the attack now Free kick rapids 20yds out... Cross to far post... Grimandi header over net Free kick rapids 20yds out... Cross to far post... Grimandi header over net GOOOOOOOAL Casey Scmitt! Borchers won a tough ball in the middle... Squeezed it through to carrieri, drop pass to Scmitt who whowormburns it far post. Santos players pissd off. Dangerous free kick for santos... Another open headert... Wide. 30m innow rapids up 1-0 GOOOOOOOAL Grimandi from midfield plays through ball to Schmitt, cooly chips keeper far upper 90 Carrieri on breakaway. Pulled down in box. No call. Rapids beating the piss out of santos tho. Carrieri on breakaway. Pulled down in box. No call. Rapids beating the piss out of santos tho. 42m... No big threats either way. Lots of midfield play. Rapids loking great using full width. Grimandi looks very comfortable, great first touch. Some bad Rap communication on D... Lucky not to give up the goal, shot sliced very wide. Fans now jeering santos. Halftime whistle blows. 53m. Great attack and possession by the Raps. Schmitt and Borchers both impressing with their physical never-say-die work rate (Carrieri too). Foss only truly challenged once and he did well. Borchers is the tall blonde viking dude we saw last year during that Raps-BRR scrimmage. 60m. Carrieri subs off, he's been getting pounded. Trembly on and moves to RM. Chung moves up top. Schmitt goes down hard, elbow to the face going for header. No call. Officiating is piss. I've had at lease three clearly wrong calls for GK/corner right in front of me... both teams unhappy. Becks on for Borchers. Physical play in the middle... Steals the ball from santos, santos doesn't like it and takes a swing at becks! No red just yellow. Santos turning ugly as well as all the fans. Wheeee! Henderson off the post! Chung with an incrdiblemove on th sideline makes nice cross near post. Hendo's volley hits post and out. 72m. Hard defensive tackle by stewart in box, fans wanted PK but santos doesn't complain. Raps counter and win foul at midfield. Beer bottles now raining down. Santos all waving at crowd to calm them down. Refs hold ball while a few fans are escorted out. 76m. Rapd Free kick wide of the box. Bad cross to nobody. Schmitt off Kingsley on. 78m. Stewart off D Jackson on. BTW new kits look more dark blue then they do striped, under the lights. Crowd and game pretty mellow now. 84m. Still not much happening. Santos fans shouting Culero at their goalkeeper and whistling at their defenders. This is ************ing beautiful. 88m. Chung carries from midfield, takes on 2 defs shimmies left and fires from 19... Just wide. Great individual effor. 90m. Nice possession by Rapids to kill time. Poor possession by Santos to do god knows what, they certainly aren't attacking. Crowd very silent. Awwww.
Hey, good luck this year guys...the team looked good. I'm glad we finally got a damn MLS team to come here, it'd been a while and having to drive to the Rose Bowl (thanks to St. Phil that won't happen anymore) to see MLS was getting old and expensive. Anyhow, I was hoping the Rapids would win before the ball was kicked, but I was impressed by how the team played. I was actually sitting behind Casey Schmidt's family and we chatted it up the entire time...especially since we were part of the few people there to support the Rapids. Boy, are they proud...it was just a great time. The game definitely got out of hand, partly attributed to a bad ref who didn't have the guts to starting handing out cards and a dirty team (santos) who was throwing elbows left and right the whole second half. I'm just damn happy...maybe MLS will start to get some damn credit from the non-believers now that the beloved Santos Laguna got shut out. Best of luck on your team's road trip in Mexico; hope you see the same results as tonight. Hell, good luck on the season, too, while we're at it...and go Casey Schmidt...except against my Crew.
Great report guys. It sounds like the team has really gelled offensively, but may still be working out some of the kinks on the defensive side. Schmidt is a monster, I really hope this carries over to the regular season. He is certainly hitting his form right now. Favorite quote from the game report.... 84m. Still not much happening. Santos fans shouting Culero at their goalkeeper and whistling at their defenders. This is ************ing beautiful.
I am concerned about our defending of set pieces. This sounds like we got very lucky more than once that the shots went wide. I'm still sceptical of Schmidt, I want to see him knocking in goals against MLS teams during the real season before I get carried away. I guess I'm just a cautiously optimistic Rapids fan.
Rapids Defeat Santos 2-0 in International Friendly Match http://www.coloradorapids.com/site/goal.asp?cid=328 Mod's note: Don't copy and paste articles. Post a link instead.
I remember last year communication on D was a big issue. It sounds like the Rapids played great D in Floriday but maybe by playing against some Mexican teams in mid season form this is going to be exposed again. How can you doubt Schmidt? Give in to the euphoria!! Sure, being cynical or conservative in assessment usually gives a more accurate prediction of future events, but it's the preseason and anything is possible. It sounds like Schmidt is big, strong, and fearless. I am predicting a call up from Bruce next season.
When is Mastroeni finally going to get paired up with Grimandi in central midfield? Is Pablo still recovering from an injury or what?
Greenie (Black & Bluey); Great report. Thanks. Schmidt; Whoa! I can't wait to see the guy. Do we now have four forwards pressing for 2 spots? 2-0 v Santos is a great result, and Spenny, Pablo, et al not playing, well this is shaping up as a season to look forward to.
It's kind of like this team has already hit mid-season form before the start of the season with the results they've been getting. How far along is the Mexican League season? Were we playing a team that was simply in off-season form, or is Santos still in the middle of league play? Does anyone know where they stand in the MFL tables?
http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/futbol/relegation?leagueCup=MEX.1 It looks like the table keeps a three year running total and Santos has been fairly strong for that period. They are nine games into the 2003 Clausura with 15 points, one of the top ten teams.