they could have put anybody out. Our mentality would have been the same."
Despite laughing off any credit he deserves for stepping up his coaching game, Clavijo clearly has found a way to motivate his team, rebounding from a 10-game winless streak to a three-game stretch in which they're playing the best soccer of their season.
Clavijo admitted to challenging his players, including Conor Casey, an early-season acquisition from Toronto, and Casey has met the challenge in recent matches, revitalizing the offense through his aggressive play. The Denver native scored his first MLS goal in front of his hometown crowd to put the Rapids on the board in the 26th minute, energizing his teammates, who continued on to match their season high with three goals.
"Conor Casey has been superb the last two games," Clavijo said. "The last game he was not able to see his name in the scoring sheet, but today he did. He does a lot of stuff: he creates, he holds the ball up front, and that's what why we brought him in. We haven't been able to see him that way.
"I was very upfront with him, I said in the beginning he wasn't showing up very well. 'We didn't bring you here to be on the bench. You have to show me you can do better than what you're showing right now,' and I think the last two games he has done it. He's been around for a long time, but he's a young guy who has a lot of things that we can use and give us to make a good run now for the playoffs."
Casey credits a teamwide "back-to-basics" approach for his own increased productivity on the field.
"The way we've been scoring the last two or three games has been a lot better," Casey said, noting the team's two three-goal performances coming in their last two games. "We've been playing a lot more direct and simpler. It's been fun to play, and that's really the main thing."
He stayed busy throughout the game, sharing chances with fellow Coloradoan Colin Clark, who scored the Rapids second goal, Petke, Cooke, 80th-minute substitute Herculez Gomez, and fellow striker Jovan Kirovski, who fed Casey on his goal.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
