COMMERCE CITY, Colo.–In the second edition of the “Snow Clasico” at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Jermaine Jones was the headline performer.
Jones contributed the game’s opening goal and assisted on the game winner in his Colorado Rapids debut: Saturday's 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls. He did it all in the midst of a spring snowstorm which brought an excess of 8 inches of snow accumulation in parts of the Northeast Denver area.
“In these kind of conditions you can make so many excuses,” said Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni. “But he was a real leader out there tonight.
“It was pretty sloppy, especially in the second half. This game wasn’t about football. It was about heart and commitment because you weren’t going to be able to play the way you want to.”
Jones played the full 90 minutes despite missing more than four months of action, including a six-game suspension served at the start of this season. But in his return to action, Jones was motivated to put forth a strong showing in front of his family for a club which had taken a chance on signing him.
“I told [my family] that I want to enjoy this game and let everything else go,” Jones said. “I’m really happy. I’m thankful too. [Colorado] gave me an opportunity to prove people wrong. That’s what you saw today on the field, I tried to give back to them and give them that trust back.”
In addition to contributing to each of Colorado’s scoring opportunities, Jones was at the center of the action, committing four fouls and being on the receiving end of six. He also displayed the intangibles, including leadership, which has been praised as his strongest trait by both Mastroeni and teammates.
“He’s got a lot of experience and since day one, he’s been helping me out and a lot of the younger players,” said Rapids forward Dominique Badji, who scored the game-winner in the 82nd minute. “He practices what he preaches; he works hard every day and gives it all he’s got. It rubs off on everybody else.”
With a strong debut from Jones, the Rapids were able to continue their positive momentum. They've now won two straight despite conceding second-half equalizers against both New York and Kansas City.
“I think the most important thing tonight is you continue to build psychological immunity,” Mastroeni said. “Two games in a row, we were ahead, drawn and came back to find a way to win the game That fortifies the brain, belief and all the work that we’ve done to this point.”
