Rapids Trade Ty Harden to Toronto

No huge surprise with this one. The coaching staff said all the right things about Harden when he was signed last year but his fate was somewhat sealed when he got injured in the early season game against Columbus and was replaced by Scott Palguta. Palguta cemented his place in the team thereafter and there was no room for Harden. His trade also frees up some space for the expected signing of central defender, Oscar Murillo, from Colombia. Harden was traded in exchange for a draft pick.

Team in Reasonable Shape as New England Awaits

Apologies for the lack of posts this week. Annual work conference for three days this week, coincidentally here in Denver. There was a lot of work and a lot of drinking. It meant I couldn't get up to training to check on how things are going after a week off last weekend for the Colorado Rapids. What I can offer are some thoughts fom Gary Smith both on new boy, Rob Valentino, and where the team is after a tough opening stretch of games. Smith said he would have been happy with the current position of the team if that had been offered to him at the start of the season. And he didn't just mean where they are in the league. "If I could have had a picture of where the team is in terms of points, physical state, form and consistency, I would have taken this at the start of the season," he said. With the tough opening of all those games on the road, Smith said his team is one that is in "reasonable shape" in terms of finding the form needed to make the playoffs. He is particularly happy with the improved defensive ability of the team. "I have been more pleased with what we have been able to achieve in terms of clean sheets and being frugal," he said. Tomorrow at New England, injuries and form aside, will be a further big test of that defensive strength. The game kicks off at 5.30pm Denver time.
One player unlikely to be traveling, unless there are any last minute major injuries, is new signing, Rob Valentino. The former New England player was due to be training with his new teammates this week in Colorado but, with first choice players like Cory Gibbs and Ty Harden appearing to be back on the mend, there is not much room left on that bus. The week off has given players like Gibbs a great opportunity to get back to fitness and it would seem he will play some part in the game tomorrow. Smith sees Valentino as a player with great potential but one that is unlikely to be called on that much this season. What he wants is a "little bit of a conveyor belt" of central defenders coming through. He certainly seems to have that now as he concentrates on defense and getting a new striker, his midfield core apparently pretty settled. Tomorrow's game will be hosted by GB Fish and Chips on South Broadway. See you there.

Rapids Take Another Step Forward

Another big step on the road to playing with real confidence. The Colorado Rapids picked up a brave point away at Columbus, riding their luck against the defending MLS champions, especially in the closing minutes, but coming away with a precious 1-1 draw courtesy of a Conor Casey equalizer in the 82nd minute. Casey took his chance very well following a nice pass over the top of the defense from Pablo Mastroeni. Casey and Omar Cummings, who posed plenty of challenges all night for the Crew defense, are really establishing themselves as a very fine attacking partnership.
Coach Gary Smith sprung a surprise or two with the starting line-up, relegating Kosuke Kimura to the bench and playing Ty Harden in central defense with Cory Gibbs and moving Ugo Ihemelu out to the right. In truth, this was an option that Smith had readily discussed at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, it did not last long in this game as Harden limped out with an injury within the first 20 minutes and was replaced by the inexperienced Scott Palguta. Palguta did well, forcing Alejandro Moreno out wide in the second half at one point and cutting down the angle for the dangerous striker. It makes perfect sense to try the experiment at this early stage because you don't want players coming in solely in emergencies and not having had any experience during the season. Kimura will play many times more for this team, of that you can be sure. Harden may not have had much time on the field but at least it did give the opportunity to Palguta who will surely be called upon again. In another slight surprise, Preston Burpo maintained the starting goalkeeper spot ahead of Matt Pickens who looks to be recovering from his back injury. It will be very interesting to see who plays in goal against Houston next week.
The Rapids will be mighty relieved after their game against Houston because it will mean the end of a big road trip and two home games in a row against LA and Real Salt Lake. If they can get something out of the Houston game next weekend, those two home games will look increasingly appealing.

Conor Casey! Clap, Clap, ClapClapClap!

Big Tall Bald Guy! Yes, indeed, Conor Casey came up with the goods, notching a hat-trick to take the Colorado Rapids to a 3-2 victory against LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. In truth, they weren't the hardest goals the big fella will ever score but he took all the chances perfectly, including the opening goal 17 seconds into the game, and the Rapids came away with a vital win at a place that has so often been a major disappointment to them. The first two goals were very similar as Omar Cummings exploited the acres of room presented to him to use his pace and cross perfectly for an unmarked Casey to slide the ball home. The winning goal, just a few minutes from the end of the game, saw Colin Clark rob the ball on the counter attack and put a perfect pass behind the defense. Casey had more to do this time but kept his composure to round the keeper and slot home.
The Rapids really had few genuine chances on the night but, the few they did, they managed to score. The team worked very hard and maybe their relative youth compared with the ageing Galaxy and their extra fitness ground out the deserved victory. Nobody worked harder than Casey. I really felt it was time for him to be subbed before that winning goal and let Gregory Richardson's pace torment the tiring center backs for the remaining minutes (turns out Richardson was not actually on the bench this time). It would be nice to see Cummings and Richardson interact at some point this season but, for now, we all pray that Casey and Omar don't get badly injured. They complement each other very well with the their respective strengths and they have now managed five goals between them in the opening three games as well as Omar's two assists yesterday.
Talking of subs and watching the game at the British Bulldog, there was no doubt who the Class VI fans wanted to come on after his blistering performance last week against the Wizards. Terry Cooke duly came on at what seems to be his normal time with about 25 minutes to go, replacing a tired Pablo Mastroeni after the captain's exploits for the US during the week. Cooke wasn't able to repeat last week's virtuosity but the fans were happy to see him as witnessed by the chants in the pub. Jacob Peterson and Ty Harden also got some gametime towards the end. Expect increasing time for Harden in central defense as he works his way back into fitness after such a long break from the game.
I can't honestly put my hand on my heart and say this was a great performance. We didn't create that many chances and we let LA into the game on at least one defensive mistake. Maybe we didn't control the midfield as much as we should have done. However, you cannot fault the effort of the team and the skill of Casey to finish so well. The Rapids now stay in LA for Tuesday's Open Cup game. I'm sure the likes of Casey, Cummings and Mastroeni will be on the flight back to Colorado today but the bulk of the squad will remain in LA awaiting some reinforcements from those players who didn't travel for yesterday's game.