Sloppy Weather and a Few Sloppy Goals
An early Colorado goal on a rain drenched night was not enough for Fernando Clavijo’s men to see of the Houston Dynamo.
The opening five minutes of this game were the most exciting of the first half with Kyle Beckerman and his hippie-dreadlocks picking up a yellow card for a semi-rash tackle two minutes and twenty-four seconds in. In Beckerman’s defense, the tackle wasn’t nearly as bad as teammates Jovan Kirovski in the first minute of play. The early stages of this game were peppered with harsh tackles: professional and reckless, but it wasn’t until the end of the first half that referee, Andrew Chapin, would feel the need to brandish it again.
The first goal of the night came to the Colorado Rapids a bit freakishly mid-way through the fifth minute. A Greg Vanney free kick from just outside the area was deflected into what looked to be the path of a Houston defender who unfortunately turned around looking for the ball, only to knock it backwards to a waiting Roberto Brown who could do little else but slot home for his third of the season.
The remainder of the first half saw Colorado being a bit dominant, until the final ten minutes or so when the Dynamo began to open up and play the football they’re capable of. For reasons unknown, it seems as if Houston has had difficulty getting into games early on. They play sluggishly for most of the first half, but then seem to pick things up going into the second half.
Colorado’s twenty-five year old Senegalese doorman, Bouna Coundoul, showed some very intelligent decision making coming off his line at the appropriate time, and reading crosses as well as any goalie that has been in the game for numerous years. The Dynamo didn’t do much to test Coundoul in the first half, but none-the-less he looked good in net. Unfortunately for Coundoul and the rest of the Rapids, the second half would see them unravel.
Colorado came out ready to go as did Houston, and the tempo of the game picked up quickly with the ball skidding across the wet turf. It appeared as if Colorado were trying to slow the pace, but were unsuccessful in doing so, as shortly in Brian Ching would link up with Brad Davis for his second of the season. The ball was played in long to Davis who’s low cross found a sliding Ching who just slipped it into Coundoul’s near post. The goal was a bit sloppy and it was evident in the lack of celebration from the Dynamo players who did little to congratulate Ching.
Houston were not done scoring, and they would strike again through Dwayne De Rosario eight minutes later. De Rosario who has recently been out of form, performing poorly against Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup and in previous MLS matches, looked much better today as he knocked in his first and second of the season. DeRo who had been eyeing the goal all night carried in and cracked a bending left footed shot from the arc into the upper nintey. Unlike the first, this was a goal of class, and no one could be happier than DeRo himself as it would appear that he had finally found where he left off last season.
DeRo struck again five minutes later in the sixty-eighth minute, however this time it was simply another goal from slop. A few errors, miscommunications, and falling bodies allowed DeRo to sweep the ball into the net as it was rolling along the goal line, but it was a goal all the same.
The game finished in similar fashion as Houston dominated the pitch. If Houston hope to do anything this season, they need to begin playing at least seventy-five minutes of each game. It’d be nice if they could play the whole ninety, but as of late they really only seem to be available to play sixty or so minutes of quality football. Perhaps this is due in part to the lack of form from their two striking figure heads: Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario. Ching who netted four in Houston’s opening game last year has only scored twice so far this season, and De Rosario was looking poor before tonight. They are a capable team who has played together for sometime now, and they shouldn’t be too pleased with the way they had been playing.
Colorado is doing well for themselves. They are a team that finished poorly last year, and no one really gave much thought to this year. The Rapids were near the bottom of everyone’s list with the exception of Real Salt Lake, and although the season is only five games old, the Rapids sit proudly atop the Western Conference with Houston and FC Dallas. Roberto Brown has really made his presence known, and the recent signing of Connor Casey from Toronto FC only gives their forward line more depth.
Attendance: 10,719
