Well, the Rapids absolutely had to win vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps on 7/9 at home and thankfully, they did. It wasn’t pretty at times, Pablo Mastroeni, Koske Kimura and Jamie Smith all getting beat up a bit, but Colorado powered through. The Conor Casey goal showed he was back in his old form and very smooth. Casey was nominated for goal of the week (though, going up against Beckham is a sure loss for votes). Scoring 6 times in the last 7 games, Casey is certainly carrying the team these days. I would have loved to see Omar Cummings or Caleb Folan get good finishes as Coach Gary Smith was trying out 3 strikers up top, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The team and the fans desperately needed a win at home, and the Rapids delivered.
Looking forward, we have a hard fought game away at Seattle this week. The Rapids better leave Brian Mullan at home, since Seattle fans now absolutely hate us for the Mullan/Steve Zakuani incident earlier this year where Mullan broke Zakuani’s leg and was suspended for 10 games. Seattle is always tough at home, from their 30k+ fans and their terrible condition turf, and having a good opponent thrown in means I would certainly be happy with a tie. The Sounders do know how to fight back, coming back from 2-1 to win it 3-2 win over their fierce rivals the Portland Timbers.
We then face a quick turnaround and play the Red Bulls next Wednesday at home. Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers come to town and will likely give us a hard fought battle on home turf. I’d be happy for a tie in both these games, though beating Seattle away would be amazing.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
