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The Rapids avoid the Fire's fate but just barely
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Omar Cummings in a race with Kyle Davies
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Back in May, Chivas USA was the number one team in the league. The goats position was not entirely undisputed. Many pundits, particularly eastern ones, argued that Chicago was really the best team in the league.
Chivas had more points, but they were unconvincing. Ugly! Chivas won but luck surely played a part in the success of a team that played so ugly.
Chicago by contrast had won a lot on the road. They played attractive soccer. They have the All-American soccer hero Brian McBride. The Fire feature Cuahetemoc Blanco the Mexican legend.
The match to decide who was better took place on May 28th, a Thursday night, at the Home Depot Center. The match was headed to a 2-2 tie when Chicago were awarded a dubious penalty kick. Chicago won but unconvincingly. Nothing was settled and MLS fans continued to argue about which team was better.
Just three days later Chicago was in action again. This time they were to meet a hapless F.C. Dallas team that the mighty Fire would surely destroy. Dallas did not follow the script, marched into Toyota Park, and beat the home side three to zip.
Playing a game with only a few days rest is hard on a team. Soccer, unlike most sports, only allows for three subs per game, meaning that in each game at least 8 men will have run for 90 minutes. Players have to catch their breath when they can, but often times start running again before they get their wind back. Physically the game is similar to a red-light, green-light game played across seven miles with a sadist calling out the colors. Rest between games is crucial.
That's the trap that Chicago fell into. They beat the tough team on the road. Then lost to a weaker team at home owing to lack of rest and preparation.
The Colorado Rapids came close to being snared as well. The Rapids played a tough opponent on Saturday night. The team played hard in an intense game and beat a good D. C. United team. Four days later the Rapids faced a weaker F.C. Dallas, and the intensity but could not bring the same intensity.
The Rapids certainly had the opportunities to win last nights game. The Rapids out shot Dallas 19 to 8, but it's the shots on goal that made the difference. The Rapids had five shots on goal to Dallas' five. The numbers might suggest that the Rapids were shooting blindly all night from the midfield circle. The team did generate several good scoring opportunities but failed to put them on frame.
Dallas had little going for it in the way of offense, but were good enough to pounce on a Rapids error. The Dallas sequence started with some lazy passes between Mehdi Ballouchy and Ugo Ihemelu. A poor touch on Ugo's part resulted in a turn over that was quickly released to Jeff Cunningham. Cunningham took a few touches and passed the ball to Kenny Cooper who made a neat flick to David Ferriera. With Matt Pickens charging at him Ferreira coolly chipped the ball past the keeper into the net.
The goal was unfortunate coming against the run of play, but one felt that the Rapids would equalize. The team was moving the ball to freely, and getting too many crosses for the equalizer not to come. After watching 37 minutes of the Rapids playing in second gear there was even the hope that the goal would cause the Rapids to pick up the pace.
The team continued to play in second gear. The Rapids still generated shots, but also generated many lazy balls and turnovers in midfield. An equalizer still seemed likely, but the clock began to weigh on the stadium's atmosphere. Shouting from the stands started to reflect the frustration.
Omar Cummings finally in the 84th minute provided the equalizing that would cause the stadium to erupt. Mehdi Ballouchy provided the pass to Omar. Omar shrugged off a bump from a Dallas defender and shot the ball under the charging Ray Burse into the far corner of the goal. The tension in stadium broke momentarily.
After the goal a tie, and the one point reward, seemed safe. The team had avoided the embarrassment that Dallas had doled out to the Chicago Fire. But, with six minutes left the stadium fell back into unease. One point may be enough to avoid embarrassment, but three would put the Rapids into third place.
For the final minutes of the game the Rapids pushed the pace, but never produced the go ahead goal. The final whistle blew and the fans left the stadium rationalizing that one point was better than a loss, but feeling deep down that the Rapids should have done better.
Player Ratings:
Matt Pickens (6) - Distributed well all night. Could he have done better on the goal? Maybe but the odds were against him from the moment Ferreira received the ball with just the keeper to beat.
Ugo Ihemelu (5) - Ugo played a solid game going forward. His turnover started the goal scoring sequence for Dallas. He compounded the error by keeping Ferriera onside.
Cory Gibbs (7) - Aside from the goal Dallas did not test the Rapids defense on many occasions. Gibbs had a quiet but solid night as a result.
Scott Palguta (7) - See Gibbs.
Jordan Harvey (7) - Harvey was solid at left back where he was matched up against Jeff Cunningham. The majority of Dallas's efforts went down the middle, but the attack that went down the right side were quickly stanched by Harvey.
Nick LaBrocca (7) - Nick was subbed at the half, which was surprising. Through most of the first half he seemed to have the fewest turnovers in midfield, found seems to feed Colin Clark, and was able to put a few shots on goal.
Pablo Mastroeni (5) - Was tracking Ferreira on the goal, but stopped running with him as Ferreira headed into the box. Turnovers in midfield were a problem for the Rapids all night. Pablo did pick it up in the second half, but it wasn't one of his better nights.
Mehdi Ballouchy (5) - Mehdi looked certain to be headed for a sub at half time. Mehdi had many turnovers in midfield and never really got stuck in the way he did against DC. A poor night for Mehdi was partially redeemed by the pass that sent Omar in for the goal.
Colin Clark (6) - Clark's dribbling is what gets him the most notice, and on Wednesday night he was shut down on most occasions. He did put in several good crosses that his team mates failed to put on target.
Pat Noonan (5) - Still a step off the pace and tentative when challenging for the ball.
Omar Cummings (7) - Omar's carrying more than his fair share of the load recently. Heading the ball is a clear weakness as Cummings had several good opportunities that he placed wide of the target. His goal though was classic Omar, a quick step and a low shot. The game might have been a certain victory if his team mates played to his stregths rather than sending in crosses.
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- 2009 Superliga Matchday #2 vs. Chicago Fire
- Red-carded New England Revolution tough it out for 1-1 draw with Kansas City Wizards
- Michael Owen on the block, Spain spanked by the States, and Denilson leaves Vietnam
- Busch, Pause named to Gold Cup Roster
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