September 19, 2007
Lightning Strikes!
It's always tough for a player to step back out on the field after a mid-game weather delay. I mean, just look at how well Chivas adjusted! But our players came out of the locker room with some fire in the belly.
Amid flashes from the sky, a new Rapids Hero was born!
Cookie gets the ball to our target forward, Conor Casey who sets up a beautifully-threaded ball. And that's when Lightning Struck! Colin "Lightning" Clark keeps the season alive by tearing through the defense and getting onto Casey's pass to create the Rapids tying goal.
The thunder rolled from the heavens and down through the electrified crowd as Clark stunned the Goats with 1000 Watts of pure energy.
Ahhh! Sometimes it's good to be a fan. Clark's goal highlights two of the reasons the Rapids have a chance to make the playoffs this season.
Casey came to the Rapids described by a team insider as "very out of shape" and sometimes it can take a player time to settle into a team and a league. Though Casey is American, he's never played in MLS, having gone straight to Germany's Bundesliga from college. Hopefully, this is a sign of great things to come from Casey. If he's the target and can combine with a speedy striker, the Rapids offense may finally flourish.
Lightning to the Rescue!
"Lightning" is the kind of guy fans have been calling for since early in the season. Clavijo tried Jacob Peterson and Herculez Gomez early on, but neither player is a true left midfielder and it's been a glaring crater all season. It was a hole last season as well, and the only off season move was to bring in foreign players such as Yherland MacDonald who never saw the field, and was subsequently released, and... We all know what happened to Roberto "El Bombadero" Brown.
The question begs to be asked, why didn't Fernando see he had Lightning in a bottle sitting next to him on the bench?
To Fernando's credit, he eventually stopped playing people out of position, and Lightning was finally given his chance. His play on the left side has taken much needed pressure off Terry Cooke on the right, and opened up a tremendous amount of opportunities on the field. You know, like, 1/3 more!
So hats off to Conor Casey and Colin "Lightning" Clark for putting the Rapids back into the playoff hunt.