May 28, 2007 6:48 PM

Rapids send 18,458 home happy

I made a big fuss last week about fans filling the stadium and the Rapids sending them home unsatisfield. The team could manage only a tie against Kansas City.

Well, the Rapids beat the Galaxy 1-0 this week, and it was a case of good timing. Even more fans showed up: a record 18,458.

It was a deserved victory against a marquee team filled with some of the league's biggest names. There was no Beckham on Saturday, but there was Landon Donovan. And Cobi. And Nate "Elbows" Jaqua. And many of the usual Galaxy suspects (minus Kevin Hartman, who was here last week).

Basically, this is just a big attaboy to the team. The Rapids will need to reproduce this type of outcome if they hope to overtake West-leading FC Dallas. The Hoops have played one more game than the Rapids, and Dallas has a one-point lead in the standings.

THE OPPOSITE OF AN ATTABOY: Now for the venting. After Kyle Martino got a red card in the 25th minute, the Rapids played the rest of the game with 11 men to the Galaxy's 10, generating many scoring chances and converting one. Herculez Gomez scored on a header in the 71st minute. But after that, the Rapids backed off. Way off. The short-handed Galaxy had so many chances to score in the waning minutes that Los Angeles looked like the team with the extra player. It was like watching a power play in hockey. It would've been good if the Rapids could've converted more than just the one chance, denied the Galaxy any scoring chances and turned the L.A. pressure into a transition goal. Should the 18,458 simply have been happy with the 1-0 victory? I just can't shake the feeling that the Rapids escaped with the victory, even though they had the extra man. I'd love for this team to find the will to punish other teams, to set the terms of the game, to force the other team to stick to those terms. I'd love to see the Rapids figuratively put their boot on another team's figurative throat and figuratively stomp the life out of that other team. Figuratively, of course. The Rapids need to find that killer instinct and feed off of it.

YOU CAN'T TELL THE PLAYERS WITHOUT A PROGRAM: Finally, the Rapids had a roster for the visiting team. I'd much rather have one 8-by-11 sheet of Xeroxed paper with the visiting team's roster on it than the free program that has no visitors roster.

SAVE OF THE GAME, PART I: In the 63rd minute, Niko Hernandez sprinted in alone on the Galaxy's Joe Cannon. Cannon committed to his right, and Niko shot to Joe's left, picking out the far, lower corner. Cannon, somehow stretched his left leg out behind him and just got the tip of his yellow boot on the shot, redirecting the ball away from the goal and up into the air. Unbelievable.

SAVE OF THE GAME, PART II: As the desperate Galaxy pressured the Rapids in the final minutes, Jaqua ripped a low line drive to the right of Rapids keeper Bouna Coundoul. The ball was bound for the netting inside the post, and it appeared Bouna had no chance to get there. But before you could say "Bouna time," the keeper's big, gloved paw stretched out and blocked the ball. The shutout was Coundoul's third of the season. We've included a great shot of Bouna right after he made this save in a slide show of photos from the game.

REF WATCH: Referee Baldomero Toledo had a fine game. The ejection of Kyle Martino was the right call, as was Herculez's caution for retaliation. Martino, Major League Soccer's poster boy for unfulfilled potential, tackled Gomez from behind in the 25th minute. It was an ugly tackle that could've seriously injured the Rapids midfielder's knees. Toledo's only option was the red card.

TEMPER, TEMPER: Near the end of the game, Coundoul intercepted a ball meant for Donovan. As the field players turned and headed the other direction in anticipation of Bouna's punt, the keeper gave Donovan a couple of friendly pats on the back before the striker cleared the penalty area. Donovan swatted at Coundoul's arm, as if to say, "Don't touch me." It appeared to be a petty reaction, but after the game Donovan went out of his way to congratulate Coundoul.

JOE ON BECKS: If the Galaxy had any questions about how much soccer 32-year-old David Beckham has left, his appointment to the English national team probably erased it. “I never doubted it,” Cannon told The Associated Press. “I don’t think anyone in our clubhouse has. The guy’s only one year out of being captain of a World Cup team, for crying out loud. It’s funny how people write him off. I think a lot of people think he’s coming for his swan song or whatever. That’s why this ... is so huge.”

IDEA IN RESERVE: The Rapids Reserves, basically the Colorado Rapids' junior varsity, usually play on Sunday mornings on the Rapids' practice field, due east from the main stadium. The games are free and open to the public. But here's a novel idea: Instead of scheduling these games for the morning after an MLS fixture, make it a doubleheader. This Saturday, the Rapids Reserves will play in a doubleheader at Toronto. That's a great idea. I hold Rapids season tickets, and I travel about 100 miles round trip to Commerce City. I just can't make the trip Saturday night for the full squad, drive home, sleep, get up, drive back to Commerce City for the reserve game then go home again. In less than one day, that's four hours in the car to watch three hours of soccer. It struck me on Saturday night that my family drives one hour to the game, watches for about two hours (halftime included) then spends another hour on the way home. A doubleheader with the Rapids Reserves would be a better value for our two hours of quality time in the Honda Civic. And I'd bet the reserve players would rather play in the stadium and in front of a crowd.

RESERVES UPDATE STRAIGHT FROM THE RAPIDS: Daniel Wasson, Jacob Peterson and John DiRaimondo scored as the Rapids Reserves blanked the Galaxy's reserve squad 3-0 on Sunday at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park complex. The Rapids Reserves, behind the goalkeeping of Zach Thornton, improved to 3-0-1. Omar Cummings created problems for the Galaxy Reserves throughout the game and finished with two assists. The Jamaican had chances in the 21st and 27th minutes, but it was in the 15th minute, when he was fouled by Andy O’Shay, that he earned a penalty kick. Colorado Springs native Daniel Wasson put the PK past goalkeeper Lance Friesz for the early lead and his second goal of the season. Jacob Peterson extended the lead to 2-0 after passes from Cummings and Nico Colaluca. In second-half stoppage time, John DiRaimondo headed in another Cummings assist.

Scoring Summary
COL – Wasson (Penalty Kick) 15
COL – Peterson (Cummings, Colaluca) 62
COL – DiRaimondo (Cummings) 90+

Colorado Rapids Reserves – Zach Thornton, Jordan Harvey, Brandon Prideaux (Kosuke Kimura 55), Stephen Keel, Dan Gargan, Nico Colaluca, Daniel Wasson, Nick LaBrocca, Colin Clark (John DiRaimondo 69), Jacob Peterson, Omar Cummings
Substitutes not used: Justin Hughes, Conor Casey, Jose Cancela, Galen Thompson

L.A. Galaxy Reserves – Lance Friesz, Ian Russell, Kyle Veris, Andy O’Shay, Gordon Kljestan (Wilmer Lopez 63), Johnny Bravo, Taylor Cancel, Josh Tudela, Mike Randolph, Mike Caso (Santino Quaranta 63), Jason Boyce (Robbie Findley 46)
Substitutes not used: Steve Cronin, Ty Harden, Nate Jaqua

Posted by George Tanner at 6:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack