New York Score Four and We Still Win?

Everyone got their breath back? The final whistle blew almost 24 hours ago and I can't seem to shake this game out of my mind. The image of Mehdi Ballouchy's fantastic cross onto Conor Casey's outstretched boot in the final minutes of the game remains largely fixed. It was not that the defenses were so poor on both sides. It just seemed that, after a crazy opening ten minutes when three goals were scored, both teams threw caution to the wind and devoted themselves to playing carefree attacking soccer. Even when the Rapids had to pick themselves up off the floor when conceding the equalizer in the 75th minute to make it 4-4, the boys in Burgundy refused to tighten up and continued to go all out for victory. The Red Bulls, God bless them, did the same and it made for a fantastically exciting game culminating in Casey's poke into the corner in injury time.
Honorary mention must of course go to Casey for his fine, aggressive hat-trick but praise also to his partner up front, Omar Cummings, who not only pounced in the second minute to score the opening goal and set the tone for the match but also probably played his best game in a Rapids' shirt. I hope former England star, John Barnes, was watching Cummings in his new role as Jamaican national team coach. In midfield, Nick LaBrocca and Pablo Mastroeni were everywhere. LaBrocca also caused the penalty which Casey converted to equalize at 3-3 and almost scored twice in a minute in the second half. Mastroeni performed his usual heroics defensively and was unfortunate to give the penalty away. The defense, as you might expect with four goals, was maybe not at its best, but two of the goals came from a penalty and a poor backpass. Preston Burpo, and rarely can this be said for a goalkeeper who conceded four, was absolutely heroic in goal, especially in the second half when he came out time and again to pick up the final ball behind or over the defense. This was truly a performance of great heart. Well done boys! With Chivas and Salt Lake both winning, the Western Conference remains as tight as ever with just four games to go. The Rapids return home next week to play conference leaders, Houston, October 4. Kick-off at DSG Park is 7.30pm.

Injuries Force Changes as Rapids Head East

The Colorado Rapids, unbeaten in the past three games, are now headed to New York for a tough game on the turf against the Red Bulls. Much has been made of the consistency of the team in those recent games. Unfortunately, injuries mean there will have to be some changes in tomorrow night's line-up. Out goes Tom McManus who was injured in the draw against New England and has not trained all week. Omar Cummings and Conor Casey will start up top. While the back four and Preston Burpo will remain unchanged, Terry Cooke will not start given persistent problems with a hamstring injury. Nick LaBrocca will take his place on the right flank with Mehdi Ballouchy coming in to the right center of midfield. Rapids' interim head coach, Gary Smith, said it was unfortunate that Cooke cannot shake the hamstring problem. "Terry has been fantastic at home and the turf will not be good for him," he said. "We know how important those home games against Houston and Salt Lake will be and he should play a big part in those." At the same time, it gives an opportunity for the recently injured Ballouchy. "Mehdi is raring to go after his concusssion," Smith said. "He will be very creative on the turf."
This could be a game for Christian Gomez to maybe shine if he gets enough opportunity to show his skills off as a substitute. Kick off at Giants' Stadium is 5.30pm MT tomorrow night. See you at SoBo.

Spain Calls But Heart Is in Italy

Pablo Mastroeni, club captain of the Colorado Rapids, is getting closer to his dream of playing in Europe. This week, he has received calls, via his representative in Spain and Italy, from two clubs in Spain - Malaga and Seville's Real Betis. The offers are good, says Pablo, but much remains on the table. "We are just keeping the doors open and seeing what comes at the end of November," Mastroeni told me after training today. "I think it's going to be a question of five possibilites and picking what we think is right." Pablo may still remain a Rapids player next season. He says his relationship with Gary Smith is very good and Smith is very keen to hold on to him if the interim coach keeps his job. This would be a great thing for the Rapids fans but you can't stand in the way of a person's dream and Pablo's eyes are clearly on a bigger stage. It may be Spain but he admits that his heart is still set on Italy. But, for now, he is very much a Rapids player and, if today's training is anything to go by, there is increased intensity in the camp as the players head into the last five games. Pablo, himself, and good friend, Mike Petke, had a furious row during scrimmage today but Mastroeni almost welcomed it. "That's what it is all about," he said. "Everyone is increasing the intensity for these last five games and that is what we want. You see a lot of teams giving up in this league at this stage of the season but not here."
There will be some changes in the line-up for this weekend's game against New York and I'll post something on that later.

Resolution Against The Revolution

The Colorado Rapids grinded this one out against one of the league's top teams and were unlucky in the end to only get a 1-1 draw. With Chivas beating Salt Lake, the Rapids are now third in the Western Conference with just five games to go. Gary Smith, head coach, now has one of the nine points he said he wanted from six games but this conference remains so tight, especially with Dallas' surprise victory over Chicago, that it looks impossible to predict what will happen. All the Rapids can do is play tough, especially on the road, and try and maintain the self-belief that has begun to creep into their play.
In reality, this was not a great game to watch. The Rapids didn't really create enough good chances and had to rely on assist God, Terry Cooke, for another serve it up on a plate cross, this time for Colin Clark to head one in. Cooke is playing extremely well right now after the abyss he found himself in earlier this season. Former coach, Fernando Clavijo, was not a big fan of Cooke's defensive prowess but he was all over the field last night, tackling back consistently, including right at the death when New England threatened to snatch it.
Other than that, the defense once again proved to be very solid and that back four with Burpo in goal looks set to remain unchanged. It really is a nice balance. The experience and pedigree of Mike Petke and Cory Gibbs coupled with the exciting attacking play of Kosuke Kimura and Jordan Harvey on the outside. Kimura does make a few mistakes but he is a young player with a great future and he gives it everything.
The Rapids move on to Giants' Stadium to play New York next Saturday.

Rapids 1stXI Beat Dallas Reserves

Well, it could have been a first eleven. With a defense featuring Bouna, Ihemelu, Burciaga and Erpen and a midfield consisting of DiRaimondo, Peterson, Christian Gomez and Dalby, the Colorado Rapids fielded a very strong reserve team today in a straightforward 3-0 victory over visiting Dallas. I only counted two Dallas players that I recognized from the recent Rapids win down there. Ciaran O'Brien, who did play in that opening win against LA, along with Tim Ward and Nico Colaluca, who scored two of the goals today, rounded out the starting eleven. New signing, Kwame Sarkodie, got a run out in the second half and played well, the highlight being a mazy run down the left to set up the third goal.
There has been some criticism that some players left out of the first team have not looked up to the challenge of getting their starting places back. I didn't see much evidence here. Bouna was outstanding in goal. He didn't have a whole lot to do but, when he did, he pulled off some typically athletic saves including a brilliant and courageous dive to stop an indirect free kick opportunity just yards from goal. Christian Gomez orchestrated a number of the attacks and finished very well for the second goal. Facundo Erpen was another who charged around the pitch and seemed to enjoy the second half freedom he had playing just ahead of the back four.
These players - Bouna, Gomez and Erpen - will continue to be in the core group that makes up the 18 destined to launch the final push to the playoffs. Whether they will get back in the starting eleven is another question. Gary Smith confirmed that he likes the settled nature of the current first team and he has good reason to do so. There seems little reason to change something that is not broken and which has momentum. That's hard luck on a lot of players including the likes of Bouna, Erpen and Gomez as well as others such as Ihemelu and Burciaga but, as always, it is the team that counts first. So, expect no changes for this weekend's game against New England. I spoke briefly to Mike Petke after the game and he is fully expecting to be available after limping out in the second half against Chicago. Smith said the team is going to need a minimum of nine points from the remaining six games to challenge for a playoff spot. That does include three games at home but they are against very tough opposition in New England, Houston and rivals Salt Lake. Two wins and a draw would be nice, I would say. That would leave at least two points in the three games against New York, LA and Chivas. I get the feeling Smith is targeting an unexpected win against the Galaxy, which would really help the cause. He knows they score a lot but I think he believes we have the better players overall for that one. One game at a time, as they say.
P.S. Former Rapid and recently waived Crew player, Niko Hernandez, was among the "crowd" watching the game today with his very young family. Did he hear about Herc's move to Kansas and think there may be a need for a backup striker?

Rapids Sign Midfielder Sarkodie

Official press release from the Colorado Rapids:
The Colorado Rapids today announced the signing of midfielder Kwame Sarkodie. Per league and team policy, details of the contract were not disclosed.
Sarkodie has played with the Rapids Reserves in their past two matches both in the midfield and as a defender. He came on at halftime against the Real Salt Lake Reserves on August 30 and played the full 90 minutes against the FC Dallas Reserves on September 5.
A collegiate teammate of Omar Cummings at the University of Cincinnati, Sarkodie played most recently with the Cleveland City Stars of the USL-2. On August 23, the City Stars won the USL-2 Championship with a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Eagles; Sarkodie came on and played the final 10 minutes of the match.

Kwame Sarkodie – Midfielder

Height: 5-11

Weight: 170

DOB: April 27, 1985

Hometown: Dayton, Ohio

Last Club: Cleveland City Stars (USL-2)

Status: Developmental Roster

Blanco Blanked as Rapids Find Rhythm

The Colorado Rapids look a very settled team. Something has happened since the coaching change and the Rapids finally look like they have a rhythm and the personnel to keep that rhythm going all the way to the playoffs. The team emerged victorious yesterday, dousing the Chicago Fire with an own goal and a splendid individual effort by Omar Cummings, both goals coming in the first half. Despite some intense pressure from the Fire in the second half as they chased the game, the defense held firm and Preston Burpo had one of his best games in a Rapids shirt, including two vital saves in the dying minutes.
We certainly didn't dominate this game, especially in the second half, but we took our chances when we needed to and everyone on the team contributed well. Burpo was given the Man of the Match award and he fully deserved that but, for me, the key was in Pablo Mastroeni dominating Blanco. Pablo was fitter, quicker to the ball and more alert than his Mexican counterpart and was just all over him for the whole game. Blanco, cheered by the very large Mexican contingent at yesterday's game every time he touched the ball (and alternatly booed by many Rapids' fans) did play one gorgeous pass behind the defense from where a cross came that was driven too hard for Brian McBride, but he was largely outplayed by Mastroeni. Pablo was equally a contender for MoM. There are some good comments in an MLS article from Gary Smith on Mastroeni and others' contributions (see below).
Cory Gibbs is looking a very sound buy for the Rapids. He was terrific in defense yesterday with one game-saving block at a dangerous time of the game when Chicago were threatening to cut into the Rapids' lead. Mike Petke was very solid and the full-backs defended resolutely and also played some nice attacking stuff, including Jordan Harvey's great running which led to the first goal on a bad handling mistake by the Chicago goalkeeper.
I really liked the way Gary Smith used the subs. It was very good to see Ugo Ihemelu and Mehdi Ballouchy back after their layoffs with concussion injuries. Conor Casey also got on for the last fifteen minutes or so. It looks as if this group of players, barring injury, will likely play the crucial role in the final six games of the regular season. Not good news for the other squad members including the increasingly isolated Christian Gomez and Bouna Coundoul.

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