Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Confidence is Key as Rapids Trump LA Again

Gary Smith said on Fox Television's Football Fone-In program Monday night that the key to the Colorado Rapids doing well this season was true self-belief. Something obvious, you might say, but Smith's style and own self-belief seem to be working well on the players as witness an incredibly hard-fought victory over the LA Galaxy last night in the US Open Cup. Consider this. The team played practically a whole normal length game with ten players after Greg Dalby was dismissed for an apparently questionable offense in the 36th minute. There was no corner kick won until late in the second period of overtime. The Rapids also sustained increasing pressure from the closing minutes of normal time right through the first period of overtime. I was following the game on a match tracker supplied through the Rapids' blog via LA and it seemed that Chris Klein or Alan Gordon had the ball in the Rapids' penalty area for a consecutive 30 minutes or so. Then, with the LA players tiring and frustrated, momentum began to change and the Rapids gained, if not dominance, then at least the upper hand. They took that into the penalty kick stage and the belief came shining through. Not only a heroic peformance from Preston Burpo in goal, who apparently guessed right on all four LA spot kicks, saving two of them, but also the penalty takers. Colin Clark, Mehdi Ballouchy, Ugo Ihemelu and Omar Cummings all notched their kicks and the game was over. Now, you would expect a Rapids' press release to say they all calmly and confidently scored those kicks. But I had an LA-based friend at the game (the same friend who called into the Fox show and asked Smith what the key for the Rapids was) and he said there was something about the self-belief with which the players accepted their task. Ihemelu took just two steps to bury his chance for example. By contrast, Chris Klein looked like a deer in the headlights and his body language just shouted out that the LA Galaxy would be letting their fans down. He duly missed as Burpo saved. Real self-belief, so lacking in the Rapids of recent years, may be the key to success going forward. It can't replace talent and organization but it can carry you through difficult times and this is what the Rapids will have to face in a gruelling season.

5 comments:

Scott said...

Great perspective on the team here Nick. Lets hope the boys step up this year. What do you think Smith can do to get the boys to step up regularly?

James said...

Forget about RSL (and the fake rivalry)... I LOVE BEATING LA!!!

Nick Thomas said...

Scott, it's like I said in the post. It may be a bit cliche to say they have to believe in themselves but I think his own self-belief instills that in them. How often have we seen the Rapids go through streaks of losses in recent seasons? Their confidence appears to wane and they slide down further and further. I think if he can get them to keep believing that they will come out of any trough they may experience this year, then they will. They have talent and they are organized so self-belief is an important additional quality to have, especially when you may not be winning so much. My thanks to my good friend Sean for his eyewitness accounts of the game Tuesday.

Chris said...

Hey great write up on the game. Maybe the Rapids are onto something this season!


And thanks for the comments on the FC Denver blog. I've added you to our roll.

Nick Thomas said...

Thanks Chris. Tell all your friends about the blog and come back and visit anytime. Good luck with your games.