Although they were the only team to lose on the Chinese national team's three-game visit to the USA, the Colorado Rapids felt that Sunday's friendly at Dick's Sporting Goods Park was well worthwhile despite the 2-1 defeat.
"Our goals were number one, to give some time to players who haven't played lately," said Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo. "Number two, since we know that Pablo Mastroeni and Kyle Beckerman will be gone for our next game to see how Nick LaBrocca and Daniel Wasson look in the middle; and three, to look at Zach Thornton in goal in a legitimate game against a national team."
The Rapids took the early lead through a Jovan Kirovski goal in the first half, but gave up two quick goals in succession in the second half before the game's quality disintegrated in a flurry of substitutions, fouls and yellow cards.
"In the last 20 minutes it was definitely not a friendly anymore," said Clavijo. "Some of these guys [on the Chinese team] played in the 2002 World Cup and they want to show something. ... They did not want to get out of [the USA] with three losses. It was a good game for us to see where we are with the younger guys."
Preparing for the absence of regular midfielders Mastroeni (to national team duty) and Beckerman (to caution point accumulation) in their next league game against Chivas USA next Saturday, Clavijo utilized the pairing of LaBrocca and Wasson in the center of the field, and the results of his experiment were decidedly mixed.
"I thought that we ran out of gas between Wasson and LaBrocca in the second half," said Clavijo. "I thought that they did outstanding in the first half. They won the ball throughout the midfield very well, they connected and they created a lot of chances."
The effort in the second half was also something that midfielder Terry Cooke feels needs to improve.
"One goal isn't hardly enough; we have to keep going forward and making sure we put teams away," said Cooke. "We were playing little five- and 10-yard passes, and we stopped going forward and going wide with the ball."
The Rapids lineup featured mostly younger players who had seen most of their action with the reserves, sprinkled with a few veterans. The one exception was the back four, however, with a relatively untested lineup of Jordan Harvey, Stephen Keel and Kosuke Kimura, with only Chris Wingert (in his fourth MLS season) providing experienced seasoning. Injuries and the need for experienced backups drove the Rapids to play the group.
"We lost (Greg) Vanney, we lost Prideaux and at times we have lost Ugo [Ihemelu]," said Clavijo. "We had a chance to play Ugo and Brandon Prideaux today but that would risk them for next Saturday."
Clavijo, however, was pleasantly surprised with the play of his young defense, especially outside backs Harvey (making his first appearance for the Rapids) and Kimura.
"Jordan did particularly well against a quality team, and Kimura surprised us," said Clavijo. "Kimura played out of position and played extremely well. Plus he allowed Cooke to play a better game than we have seen in the last three or four games. He opened up Cooke's game and supported and overlapped with him and covered for him and allowed him top play well. Kimura was a big surprise for me."
Harvey was pleased with his first first-team action.
"I think I did well," said Harvey. "It was my first game out there and I still need to feel my way around; there's a lot more space than I'm used to. If they give me a shot I'm going to take it. A lot of our guys are playing well and I think we can continue to do so if we get a chance."
Looking forward, the Rapids travel to Chivas USA Saturday to resume their battle to win the Western Conference. Chivas currently have 14 points, only one point behind the third-place Rapids. Unfortunately, the Rapids will also likely be without the services of Nico Hernandez, who left the game at halftime due to an injury.
"He has a big contusion on his shin," said Clavijo. "It's not his knee, which is good, but we won't know how bad it is for a few days."
Regardless of who plays in attacking role, the Rapids will be seeking to improve their road record, which currently stands at two wins with three losses.
"We know that the road game is going to be hard," said Clavijo. "There are no easy wins in MLS anymore; it is difficult for everyone. It is going to be a long season for everyone and we have to do our job and try to split the points on the road."
Geoffrey Urland is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
