One Mistake Is All It Takes

One mistake and it ended up costing us the game. The Colorado Rapids competed well with the Columbus Crew for the entirety of this match but where were the midfield and defense to stop Emmanuel Ekpo's marauding run in the 70th minute? The young Nigerian basically walked through the Rapids' back line and midfield before unleashing a powerful shot that Bouna Coundoul could only parry into the net. The goal turned out to be the winning one and all the Rapids' efforts at coming back into the game to equalize with Nick LaBrocca's 58th minute strike came to naught. We have now lost six of our seven away games, not a pretty statistic. Coach, Fernando Clavijo, talked in the week about how the Rapids have competed in every away game and they continued to do so here as well. But the fact remains that we have played seven and lost six on the road. We just can't seem to get it done away. There were positives, there usually are. John DiRaimondo had a far more effective game than against Houston, passing well and almost scoring halfway through the first half after a great ball from Pablo Mastroeni. Bouna was back though he seemed to be lacking in energy somewhat and you have to feel sorry for Preston Burpo who has done a good job while Bouna was away on national team duty. Terry Cooke got a full 90 in and produced some of his trademark crosses and passes. He did, however, perhaps fatally hesitate on one chance in the 32nd minute after Colin Clark produced a great run. But we lost and it is hard to see how the Rapids can dominate a game away from the confines of DSG Park. We need to turn it around pretty soon because no amount of spin can move us up from just above San Jose.

No Job Security Here

The footballing merry-go-round continues. The Colorado Rapids have waived Brazilian midfielder/defender Rafael Gomes to even up their roster given the reappearance of injured defender Mike Petke and their wish to sign Greg Dalby. Always sad to see a player go and everyone wishes him the best. Gomes showed flashes of his undoubted skill in his few appearances for the Rapids since being signed this season. It's a shame that we will never have the opportunity to see or hear a Gomes passes to Gomez who passes to Gomez who scores sentence.

Will He, Won't He?

Bouna Coundoul, the long-absent Bouna, is now back in Denver and training hard with his Colorado Rapids teammates. Does he walk straight back into the team after a month of not playing or will he wait on the sidelines a tad longer? We know that coach, Fernando Clavijo, has not been best pleased with his Senegal star for not being in contact during his time with the national team there. Personal feelings aside, Clavijo is a strong character who will make his decision based on the team's interest. Right now, he is not revealing his decision, if he has actually made it by now. Bouna looked sharp in training today but so did all the other goalkeepers. We do have some good ones, that is for sure. "Bouna is clearly someone the players know well but I have to give credit to Burpo," said Clavijo of the choice he has to make. "We gave up three goals twice on our recent roadtrips and last week's game against Houston with the cleansheet was a good step in the right direction. We have two good goalies who are healthy and that is a good problem to have." The Rapids website (link below) does put Coundoul in having earlier listed Burpo as starting. Justin Hughes, who continues to battle back from a serious hernia injury, is still listed as out injured but is training hard.
Who to pick is not a problem limited to the goalkeepers. Terry Cooke impressed when given the chance last week against Houston and has a "very good chance to play" this weekend, according to Clavijo. Jacob Peterson, who made way for Cooke having injured his leg, had a negative MRI yesterday and may be fit for selection. The other injury worry from last week, Christian Gomez, is listed by the Rapids as questionable. Clavijo said he was confident Gomez could play. Pablo Mastroeni, who was very impressive in central defense last week, has injured his groin in training and didn't look too happy with it today. We know that Pablo can be injured during the week and find it in himself to play at the weekend. He will be very keen to play, that is for sure, and his presence in the team is always reassuring. Other notable injuries to comment on are Jose Burciaga who is now listed as probable and provides the Rapids with great attacking play. Mike Petke, who played for the Rapids Reserves last week, his first match action of the season, was training fully today and Clavijo mentioned July 4 as a possible start for him. There may be increasing competition for places but it is good to see all the players back from international duty and mostly healthy.
http://www.coloradorapids.com/TheMatch/Matchup.aspx

Fab Fab and Superb Senna to Take Spain To Glory?

Predicting results at Euro 2008 is about as useful as a chocolate teapot (I had the Dutch to beat Portugal in the final and look where that got me) but the Spanish midfield duo of Cesc Fabregas and Marcos Senna may be enough for people to take a punt on Spain finally winning a major trophy. Fabregas, who does this week in week out for Arsenal, came on as a sub in yesterday's game against Italy and proceeded to orchestrate just about every attacking move the Spanish made against the resilient Italians. He, of course, also scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out. There must surely be a place for him in the starting line-up against Russia. Senna, a Brazilian by birth, was like an attack dog. He never let anybody through, ran tirelessly all match and also set up many attacking moves. He was a beast and very, very impressive. He may be the man to shadow Russia's playmaker, Andrei Arshavin, another sensational player who some say has been the player of the tournament. Is it any coincidence that Russia looked pretty average without him in the opening two games, including a 4-1 spanking by Spain, and then proceeded to play beautiful soccer in a masterclass of defense and attack against Sweden and, especially, against the Dutch? Arshavin is right now on Chelsea's radar if gossip is to be believed.
It's really almost impossible to pick a winner of this unpredictable tournament and we haven't even discussed the other semi-final between Germany and Turkey. As an Englishman, I cannot pick the Germans for all the soccer suffering they have bestowed upon us. And Turkey have played with enormous heart in this tournament. They seem to be running out of players through injury and suspension and will struggle against the German machine but my heart goes with them. Spain will just pip Russia to the final and go on to win it. But, wait, I said it was useless to predict.

Still Not The Finished Article

The Colorado Rapids once again let themselves down in front of goal, failing to finish off any number of chances as they struggled to a scoreless draw against the Houston Dynamo last night. Many of those chances did fall to Omar Cummings but the Jamaican is finding it tough to net right now and he probably fears his starting place is under threat, only helping him to get more anxious in front of goal. From what coach Fernando Clavijo said after the game, the preferred striking duo would be Conor Casey and the ever industrious Tom McManus who would probably himself admit that he didn't have his best game yesterday. "Omar worked extremely hard but a striker needs to score goals and, right now, he is not." Clavijo was full of praise for Terry Cooke who came on for an injured Jacob Peterson at the end of the first half. Cooke has been controversially left out of the starting line-up in recent games and looked to be maybe even heading for the out door. Last night's performance could have saved his Rapids career. "Terry was outstanding," said Clavijo. "He ran, he participated and he showed me that he belongs in this team. His energy was very good." Whether it will be enough for him to start against Columbus next week may also depend on the extent of Peterson's injury. Clavijo, upset by the match-ending tackles on Peterson and Christian Gomez, was probably exaggerating when he voiced fears that Peterson may have an ACL injury and Gomez a fracture. Peterson told me after the game that he hopes the injury will not force him to miss any games. Gomez, the Rapids later said, may have a shin contusion rather than a fracture.
Cooke certainly did create a lot of chances when he came on, making at least two perfect crosses for Cummings and Clark who headed against the post in the 89th minute. If the crowd's reaction to his inclusion was anything to go by, he will be playing against the Crew next weekend. It was good to see him back and playing well. The Rapids should have had a penalty after a clear handball by Riccardo Clark in the 73rd minute. Justice was done a few minutes later when Brian Ching scored a perfectly legitimate goal for Houston only for it to be called back for handball. A quick word on the defense. Playing with just Erpen, Ugo Ihemelu and Pablo at the back, the defense was the strongest part of the night. They were instrumental in making sure we at least got the tie.

Houston, You May Have a Problem

OK, bit of a corny headline but there is a good opportunity for the Rapids to vent all their frustrations of the past two weeks on the Dynamo this weekend. Coach, Fernando Clavijo, is very confident he will have the squad to roll the Texans over. Back comes a very solid defense with Ugo Ihemelu returning from pseudo international duty with Canada and Facundo Erpen returning from suspension. Jordan Harvey will probably make up the back three with Pablo Mastroeni, released from the national squad after its mauling of Barbados, looking to fill in in front of the defense. Up front will be Tom McManus and probably Omar Cummings as Conor Casey continues to struggle with injury. I would like to see Herculez Gomez given a chance but you have to remember that he is also battling back from major surgery. That leaves a somewhat controversial midfield. Many people are upset that Terry Cooke appears to be sidelined. The second best crosser in the MLS cannot seem to get back into the team. Where mistakes may be made is in equating Jacob Peterson as the equivalent of Terry Cooke. Coach Clavijo explained to me that it is very difficult to play Christian Gomez and Terry Cooke in the same team because of their lack of defensive abilities. Whatever the creative or tactical weaknesses of Peterson or, for that matter, Colin Clark, they will run for you all day and get up and down those lines. Terry Cooke and Christian Gomez are not going to do that. So, who do you build your team around? Terry Cooke is a very good player and offers things that few others can do but he is no Christian Gomez. I hope that there is a way that the two can play in the same starting eleven but it appears some way off for now. Cooke has to find his way back into the team. From what I have observed, for what it's worth, he is still a long way off from that. Don't expect him back in the starting eleven anytime soon. That opening day against LA Galaxy when he and not the other Englishman was gathering all the plaudits must seem some way off for now. For the sake of Terry Cooke and the Rapids, I hope it comes back, I really do.
A quick word on the goalkeeping situation. As you may have heard on the From The Pitch radio show this week, Clavijo is not best pleased with Bouna Coundoul. Bouna has not been in touch with the Rapids during his somewhat wasteful time with the Senegal national team where he has not played a minute on the field. Justin Hughes, Bouna's obvious number two, is getting back to fitness and is highly rated by the organization. Justin is a great team player and a great talent as well as a great bloke all round. Preston Burpo has done well for the Rapids since the trade that saw Kirovski and Gray go to San Jose but he has not brought forward the match-winning save. Don't be surprised, therefore, if Justin Hughes gets some game time even if Bouna is back.
One final thought. We are all Rapids fans. Sometimes, we will get disappointed and frustrated and appear to care more than the players do. We may disagree with selections. But this weekend is a time to get behind our team 100 percent and make sure we give them the support they need to come away with the three points.

Euro 2008 Hots Up as Big Boys Advance

It's taken me a while to write anything about Euro 2008 (please note nice flags). Maybe that is because England obviously are not there and it was just too painful. Anyway, the tournament is now heating up, having already turned in some scintillating games. Tomorrow, we reach the quarter finals with the exciting prospect of the pretty boys of Portugal playing their jogo bonito against the German machine. Italy, very lucky to survive their group, will play Spain while Croatia plays Turkey who, almost unbelievably, beat the Czechs in their last group game to qualify. The Czechs were 2-0 up with 15 minutes left to play and still leading with just three minutes left. Somehow, they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, much to the consternation of the Czech nationals down at SoBo in Denver. Grown men were crying, I kid you not. The other quarter final has still to be decided with the classy Dutch due to meet either Russia or Sweden depending on today's results. My prediction for what it's worth. Holland will beat Portugal in the final June 29.