After scoring seven goals in their first three games, leading the league in goals and rising to the top of the Western Conference, the Colorado Rapids had an identity crisis Saturday night against the expansion San Jose Earthquakes. The Rapids were shut out at home in a game that barely resembled the relentless attack of their previous three games.
"It was a total letdown as a team today, and I'm extremely disappointed, we all are," said head coach Fernando Clavijo. "We never got possession of the ball. We started poorly. We were missing passes, not connecting enough. On the 50-50 balls we lost pretty much every single battle. Playing like that you're not going to get many results. We didn't have the same attitude to move the ball quick enough like we did the last three games. San Jose's a good team. You can't give them a chance, they have two guys up front that battle, they're physical. And they give us all kinds of trouble."
The Rapids briefly showed some spark in the second half, but that was partly a result of San Jose spreading out and taking a more conservative approach with the lead. Ultimately, the Rapids never got in their game, allowing the Earthquakes to set the tone throughout.
"They seemed like they were the home team; they were more hungry," Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul said. "They're the ones that set the tempo. We ended up playing at their level, in their style, because from the get-go, they were possessing the ball, moving around, so we end up chasing, chasing, chasing until we were down one-nil."
The loss highlighted the Rapids dependence on Christian Gomez, who was covered closely by San Jose in an effort to neutralize the center of the Rapids attack. With Gomez kept ineffective, the Rapids were unable to find a solution from other parts of the field.
"Today was very clear - they took Christian out of the game, and our attack was not there," Clavijo said. "He was never a factor. They marked him very tight. Not only did they do a pretty good job, but it wasn't Christian's best game either. The touch was not there. He never had a chance to really look at a goal. I don't think he took a shot at goal. You have to give credit to their defenders for doing a pretty good job on him, but also Christian was off. Many of our players were off today."
Part of the Earthquakes success against the Rapids was their ability to share responsibility on offense, turning to Jason Hernandez, Ned Grabavoy, Ronnie O'Brien and Kei Kamara to lead the attack with 10 shots among them, including six on goal from O'Brien and Kamara alone. O'Brien was particularly effective at penetrating the Rapids back line and getting wide open opportunities, finally finding the net on his third shot on goal.
"Ronnie O'Brien is a very smart player," Coundoul said. "We're talking about somebody who plays all over the world. He picks his times. When the team is focusing on somebody else, he sneaks through, and he catches it so many times. Finally one showed up. We need to do a little bit better."
Colin Clark tried to pick up the slack for Gomez on the flank, but with attack out of synch, nothing fell the Rapids way.
"We were just bad today, that's about all you need to know," Clark said. "San Jose played well. We weren't on it. At halftime we went to three backs and started lumping the ball forward. That wasn't the best of ideas, but San Jose played well. You've got to give credit to them."
Saturday night was too much give and not enough take for the Rapids, as they gave the Quakes credit after letting them take a game and three points from them at home. Hospitable as their performance may have been, it was not the identity the club wanted to showcase on their home field.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
