We all know the obvious. They were directly responsible for all 3 goals by the Rapids. Morrison called for the PK on #1, Behnke and Stone toasted on #2, and Bussey whiffing on #3. Still, EJ did get a goal, and Bussey was credited with an assist on one of the goals as well. Morrison, Behnke, and Stone probably had some positive moments as well. The fact that Colo had to rely on an 87th minute goal at home to get the win is also a compliment to how they played. Did anyone see the game who could comment on these players? The only positive that could come out of this game would be if we could identify any future Broomes or Rhines in the rookie crop, not necessarily rookie wonders like Suarez, but guys who could develop into solid starters in 3-4 years.
This really isn't surprising. Defenders are rated on how close to 100% they perform. Good defending means a flawless performance. Young players make mistakes, and when you make it on defense it will cost you goals. When you make a mistake on offense you simply lose possession. Offense is juged not on how close to 100% you attain, but whether you can make ONE spectacular play (or routine and ordinary play) that leads to a goal. Setting up and finishing goals has a very very low success rate, probably in the single digits percentagewise. So, the fact that our young defense was abused is not suprising. If anything, the fact that our young forward scored is a pleasant surprise considering the amount of rest he has had lately. I didn't see the game so cannot comment on their ratings, but there aren't too many guys like Bocanegra, Suarez and Kelly Gray that can come straight from college and succeed. And for those that didn't have collegiate experience (or the equivalent years of training professionally) there really aren't any successful defenders. I'm glad these guys got some experience, but it would be better if they could be integrated one or two at a time rather than all of them at once. Unfortunately, the scheduling of the Open Cup gave the Burn 3 games in about a week. The question is whether they learn from this experience. -Tron
HA! That would have been EASY! They have 3 games in 5 days. Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday--no Saturday game this week, what a surprise. Fire USSF. My 7 year old could organize better.