May 5, 2007 10:55 PM
George's game notes: Houston soaks Rapids
Dwayne De Rosario scored twice and Brian Ching added another as the Houston Dynamo scored three second-half goals in a 3-1 victory over the Rapids on Saturday night. The loss was the Rapids' first at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Although Bouna Coundoul allowed three goals in the game, this may have been the Rapids goalkeeper's best game of the season.
He was poised, he was aggressive on crosses in the box and, most importantly, he was sure-handed on a wet, windy night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Coundoul could've done nothing about Ching's goal, which the national-team forward deflected into the short side of the net on a hot, low cross. Ching simply got to the ball before the defense. It was the type of play that happens more often in hockey than in soccer, but the result is the same: goal.
The second goal was a deadly strike by Dwayne De Rosario, who worked and worked to find a clear look at the net. As he cut across the field right to left, he made the space for himself and bent a wicked shot into the upper left corner of the net. It would've been a goal in any league. Don't be surprised if it's considered for MLS goal of the week.
And Coundoul was hung out to dry by his defense on the third goal. Absolutely not his fault.
No, this loss was not Bouna's fault. He was steady and reliable in very poor conditions.
IHEMELU MIA: The team did miss central defender Ugo Ihemelu, who did not play. Defender Dan Gargan had a good game on the wing, especially in the first half, filling in for the injured Brandon Prideaux. But Ihemelu's absence kept Pablo Mastroeni on the back line instead of in the midfield. Although Pablo isn't considered a playmaker by many, he often is the distribution engine that drives the Rapids offense. On Saturday, he couldn't be, and that hurt. More than once in the second half, with Houston in the lead, the Rapids had control of the ball and could not decide what to do. The reluctance to move forward left the team looking confused and disoriented, and the long wishful passes up the field left Houston with the ball.
ADAPTING TO THE CONDITIONS: Oddly, Houston adapted to the rain and wet field quicker than the Rapids did. Although the home team enjoys playing on a wet field to quicken the pace, the Dynamo began to use short passes along the turf to move the ball slowly and deliberately up the field. The wet field helped the Rapids when they had the 1-0 lead (after Roberto Brown's early first-half goal), but when Houston tied the game and eventually went ahead, the rain and the wet field worked against the home side. There was one exception: In the first half, the Rapids mounted an impressive surge that must've included 30 touches or more. Unfortunately it ended without a shot when the wet ball skipped out of bounds on a lateral pass. But the possession was masterful, a performance that would serve the team well in the future, if it can duplicate it.
CINCO DE LLUVIA: A buddy of mine from work, his name is Tommy, and I have a joke: On any given week with a Rapids home game, six days of the week will be lovely, but the seventh will be awful. We call it "Rapids Weather." Well, it happened again. The rain on Saturday was amazing, coming down in curtains. It started in the first half and got increasingly worse before halftime. It was so bad that the halftime Cinco de Mayo festivities were held behind a wall at the north end of Dick's Sporting Goods Park, shielded from the rain. The Rapids can't buy a break with the weather. The opening game at the stadium was played in the snow, with the temperature below freezing. The next game was played against a wind that I'm just going to guess was 50 mph or more. Then the downpour on Saturday night. FC Rocky should start a contest to guess which home game will be the first that doesn't have some type of foul weather.
AND SPEAKING OF FOUL: What is it about Dick's Sporting Goods Park that brings out the worst in referees? Andrew Chapin and his crew were terrible on Saturday, following a brutal performance by Jair Marrufo and his crew in the Chicago game. The Rapids deserve better from the weather and from the refs. Unfortunately, nobody can do anything about the weather ...
NOTE TO SELF: Put "Dick's Sporting Goods Park" on a save/get key.
SUBSTITUTES: Conor Casey came on in the 61st minute and looked awful. Granted the Rapids did little to make him a target in front of Pat Onstad, but his first touches were terrible and he gave up the ball almost every time he got it. Rookie Nico Colaluca, on the other hand, entered the game almost 10 minutes later and looked like he wanted to be there. He brought fire and energy with him from the bench and even created a scoring chance.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Other than the weather, the thing that stands out about this game is the way Houston played in the second half. Down 1-0 at halftime and playing on the road in the cold and rain, there was little reason to expect this team would put up any fight in the second half. But that's all it did. The Dynamo fought back and dominated play on offense and defense. When was the last time a visiting team put up three on the Rapids in the second half? It was a surprising turn on a night that seemed like a 1-0 lead could've held up.
May 6, 2007
4:16 PM
Allen writes:
The Rapids were pretty flat. It's hard to be upset with things like the ref when it doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference. I hope this shakes them up a bit and they get things done thursday night.
Gargan's done better at not getting beat but I swear he still gives up the ball on 1/2 of his passes. Then again, dollar for dollar the player that gives the Rapids the least return on their money is Kirovski. Is it possible we'll see Cancela start thursday night?