Rapids Class VI

Real vs Rapids May 15th, 2008

by Geoff McPherson

First of all for the two people that read my match reports, sorry for the lack of posting last week things just didn’t pan out the way I expected. Thursday night prime time viewing on ESPN of which the pregame entertainment was watching a 3 year old and 18 month old trying to view ‘Dora the Explorer’ and eat chocolate ice cream at the same time, for the first time, they adjusted on the fly and by halfway through the ice cream they had worked out that it was possible to do both activities at the same time.

There are many in Rapids fan contingent that disapprove of Clavijo management style, for me tactically he has got it right for every game this season while the team may not have always executed 100% to our liking. This week we go for a 3-4-1-2 formation, which is fantastic for those of us that want to see the full potential of our attacking ability, a little concerning whether we have the defenders that can pull off three at the back, Kimara and Ihemelu, yes, Erpen is where I have the question mark.

The Beckerman lead mob crosses the continental divide for the first time this season to defend their Rocky Mountain Cup title, it will be interesting to see if the Argentina influx at Salt Lake has developed, or plateau.

For the 15 minutes the yang of the Rapids arrives in waves; pace, passing, off the ball runs is all the elements that has got us energized this season. The high energy up front of Herculez is complementing Cummings central more structure positioning. Gomez is just the artist that’s a joy to watch, a turn here, flick here, quick acceleration, you know if you make a great run he’ll pass and the ball will end up 9 times out of 10 on your preferred foot.

The opportunities are coming thick and fast but we are just a little disconnected in the final third with the execution not quiet there. You feel if we get the first goal the game will be over.

We are playing more of a 3-3-1-3 with Peterson staying very high on the right, as a result giving Beckerman a little too much space as he is running the majority of the creative midfield proceedings. Once the so called ‘Dr Goals’ and crew get to the 18 yard box all their creative build up fades away quickly, the scoring opportunities they do have are all coming from set pieces which we dealing with effectively.

Kimara on the right just continues to grow every game and tonight is no exception making a superb clearance off the line in the 41st minute, Bouna was in two minds and only half came for the ball.

Clark and Peterson switch sides at the 33 minute mark, giving a more defensive factor to the left and also the chance to use Clark to attack the box and take on the first defender. The formation is giving us the ability to break quickly against a Salt Lake midfield that doesn’t seem to enjoy tracking back.

0-0 at the half but it could have easily been 2-2.

Clark after some penetrating runs on the left delivers two great balls but the front two aren’t make the runs, we could have easily been up by a couple by the 50 minute mark. And then 3-0 if Clark had literally used his head on a well worked cross from Herculez.

With even three at the back Kimara and Erpen both make attacking runs forward that provided more space, options and confusion for the Real defense. It must be said that Matorani is playing a great role as a defensive holding midfielder in front of the back three.

Talk about a team that needs to learn, as the second half proceeds the team shows that they have learnt from the disconnect in the first half and made the required changes. Cummings finally gets the right side of his defender and we go up 1-0, magic stuff. The back three tighten things up; basically game over if we can continue to defend well on the defensive plays. Erpen is proving me wrong in that he is showing that he has the range and flexibility for tonight’s formation.

We take more control of the game, slow the pace in the transition from defense to midfield but are still attacking with pace in the final third. Penalty in 81 minute, Gomez slots it with class, 3 points to the Rapids, and another step to being very competitive team this year.

Tonight we got our tactics right, made minor adjustments at half time, our potential continued to flourish, with multiple of options and we still have McManus, Cooke, Burciaga, DiRaimondo and Casey in the wings. If we keep playing different formations, and interchange players the options that we will have in the second half the season will be a smorgasbord of scoring options.

…..does anyone know how to chocolate ice cream out cream colored carpet?

Posted by mark at May 19, 2008 10:33 AM