Friday, August 17, 2007

Not Down and Out: Colorado 3, New England 0

I really find myself baffled by this score-line. Is it competitive parity? Or just a by-product of the scrappiness and occasionally ugly play that Major League Soccer presents sometimes? Regardless, the Revolution were soundly beaten by a Colorado squad that out-shot, out-hustled, and thouroughly out-played the fading New Englanders.

Jovan Kirovski put away both his best chances and nearly added a third when he hit the post late in the game. Colin Clark was solid and is quietly becoming a Beckerman-like injection for the Rapids, who just can't seem to figure themselves out. The Rapids didn't escape without a scare though as Dan Gargan was carted off in just the 23rd minute. Fortunately, they had secured the signing of former US nat Tony Sanneh right before the game giving Gargan a fitting replacement. All this was done without the services of recent signing and former Mexican international Daniel Osorno. Either way, that is a 2 game win streak for the Rapids against the two top teams in the league. Are they decisive or flukes. Goalscorer Jovan Kirovski seems to think otherwise:
“The team played really well from the first minute. Tonight was a great night
for us. We are not afraid of anybody. The last two games we have played the best
teams in the league, and we’ve beat them both. We need to win the next game, we
are still out of the hunt a little bit and we need the three points at home.”

Do you Rapids fans feel that this is just delaying Fernando Clavijo's inevitable sacking? Or does it make you want to give him another chance?

MLSnet.com's game recap

Top Drawer Soccer's game recap

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a Rapids fan that was at the game last night and has tried to stay as objective as possible about this situation, I think FC should be fired at the end of the season irregardless of the results of the rest of the season.

His six year MLS career speaks for itself. Everyone has said things like: "he's a nice guy", "a personable guy" , and he sure "has an eye for talent", and he has put together some talented rosters in both of his MLS head coaching forays. He hasn't been able to turn those talents into on field successes because he is not a great coach, in my opinion. He has had his opportunities and through one reason (not developing a strong team chemistry) or another (relying too long/often on defensive tactics), he has not delivered results and the Colorado fans deserve better.

Even if the Rapids were to make a late season surge and make the playoffs and get some lucky bounces and win the MLS Cup, I would still want FC to be replaced, as he has lost my confidence in his coaching abilities (although he would be a great scout for us though).

Anonymous said...

From a revs fan: the revs displayed a familiar weakness namely defense with defenders losing composure when the oppsing team throws pressure in front of the net. Reis is plenty good enough to win with any team in MLS, but the supporting cast is not. Time after time this season opponents show up unmarked in front of the net. They need 3 Parkhursts but have only one.