The rivalry in the mountains between the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake continues to grow with each contest where the two teams meet.
With a chance to clinch their third consecutive Rocky Mountain Cup title, and leap up the table into the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Colorado Rapids needed to win against Real Salt Lake at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night.
Considering the Rapids have an all-time record of 3-1-1 while playing in Utah, their only loss coming during their first visit back in April 2005, it seemed like a reasonable task. Even if they had won only twice previously this season away from Colorado. And one of those wins came in Salt Lake.
But, as Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo pointed out, games between the Rocky Mountain rivals hardly ever go according to plan.
"It's two teams that try to win, no matter what," said Clavijo. "Every 50-50 ball they go at it. We couldn't connect, we couldn't possess the ball well. Throughout the year we are a team who possesses the ball well. If we haven't been able to find the net, we can still possess the ball well. Today we didn't do that."
In a waterlogged affair, where heavy rain fell hard for most of the match, the game's lone goal came from a rebound that came off the hand of Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul and was then put in by RSL's Kyle Brown.
"That guy was just lucky," said Coundoul of Kyle Brown. "He was wide open to follow the rebound. [Chris Brown] took a hot shot -- I dove for it and saved it. Right from the ground I had to get up and save it again, but there was someone standing there who had a golden chance. And that's the only thing they got. They shot on goal, a rebound, and they scored just like that. That ain't much."
The goal was just one instance of the sloppy play throughout the match. It might have been easy to point to the adverse conditions, combined with the fact that the game was on artificial turf, as among the reasons why the play wasn't tight. But Rapids midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy said that the rain was falling on everyone, not just the Rapids.
"The conditions were hard on both teams," said Ballouchy. "The rain and all that. It took us 45 minutes to get connected and go forward."
Clavijo also noticed that it took a while for his team to get going in the match.
"I saw a sense of urgency come out the last 30 minutes of the game, and what I said to them is that we need to find the urgency from the beginning," said Clavijo."We were a couple seconds behind the ball at the beginning."
Even with the disappointing result the play of some of the Rapids' young players was a bright spot for Colorado. Two of the Rapids defenders were given the opportunity to get their first starts as professionals. Stephen Keel had seen some playing time in a couple of games this season, but Kosuke Kimura was making his very first appearance with the Rapids first team.
"I played in reserve games a couple of times," said Kimura, "but this game is totally different. In the reserve games, I play against professional players. But, [here] the stadium's huge and loud. People are screaming at you. It's a totally different game."
Having never played in a stadium environment and then getting your first taste in a Rocky Mountain Cup match -- where the intensity is taken up a notch because of the rivalry -- might be a huge adjustment for anyone. But, Clavijo was pleased with how his youngsters performed.
"I thought he did very well," said Clavijo. "We have younger players, Keel had an opportunity -- first start for him. And Kimura had his first game ever. Overall, I thought they did well."
The regional cup competition created by the fans of the Rapids and RSL is all tied up with each side taking four points from the previous three meetings. The competition will be decided when the Rapids plays host to Salt Lake on the last day of the regular season. And although the cup is a nice motivation, the MLS Cup Playoffs are the ultimate prize.
"For me, my biggest motivation is getting my team into the playoffs," said Coundoul. "Of course I want to win the trophy for the fans of Colorado, so they have something to hold on to. But, it would be a lot better to take them to the playoffs and go for the MLS Cup."
Still, the Rapids goalkeeper wants to be sure the Rocky Mountain Cup stays in Colorado for at least another year.
"I can bet you for sure, when they come to Colorado, they're gonna get killed," he said.
Scott McAllister is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
