Recap: #IMFC vs #Rapids96

Colorado who have fared well as of late with two wins and a tie in their last five came to town to face a soaring Bleu-Blanc-Noir. Historically speaking the Impact has not done well against the Rapids only getting 1 win and none at home.

The Impact came out with a lot of confidence and managed to outplay an opponent that seemed to be sitting back. The Impact thoroughly dominated the first half but they were unable to find the back of the net. They created a few occasions but none challenge American keeper, Tim Howard, enough.

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Coming into the second half, the Impact continued their dominance but changed their style allowing themselves to find more space on the pitch in more threatening places. It didn’t take long for the Impact to get on the board. Silva distributed the ball to Taider between the two defenders who made no mistake and got his close range shot int the back of the net.

Not a minute later the Impact doubled their lead with a similar combination, Silva crossed the ball to Piatti who got the ball to Taider. Taider with a well executed but somewhat difficult control got the ball in front of him and took his shot, scoring his second of the night.

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The Impact continued their dominance but Colorado was able to create a few chances but nothing very threatening. In the 78th minute following a set piece and a scramble for the ball Colorado manage to break the no goal streak record Bush was building.

The Impact walked away with the win and with Chicago losing to Vancouver later on in the night they climbed into a playoff spot. Very few would have predicted that the Bleu-Blanc-Noir would be in this position a month ago but they do looked like a very different club.

3 Observations

• Impact Shine Sapphire Blue: Taider had himself quite a game and was awarded man of the match. Other than scoring he only missed eight of his passes and created two chances. He also imposed himself defensively with one interception, four clearances, and 1 tackle. The Algerian has slowly been establishing himself in the league and in the last few games has become a lot more important to the team success. If he can continue on this track, he will be a valuable piece of the puzzle.

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• Youngsters Imposing Themselves: If someone would have asked me or many other people if they thought Krolicki would be as vital to the lineup as he is now, I would have never guessed it. While he is lacking some reflexes which will only come with time, the more time goes the more we are able to witness little stints of his skills. He has been finding more space upfront creating scoring opportunities and has also stepped up a lot defensively. Shome is another player who has stepped his game up this season and carved his spot into the 18. While he has not gotten a lot of playing time he is still impressive to watch.

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• Silva Deserving of More Credit: Other than the guy who put the ball into the back of the net on both chances, Taider, Silva was extremely important to both goals as well. He had a part in setting up both chances and got some of his own as well. Silva was also much more aware of the types of challenges the MLS presents and he was able to walk away from duel with the ball. It will be interesting to see if he could continue to become more of a threat either it be in setting up goals or scoring them. He does seem more confidence since being given the chance of taking the penalty last week.

Lineups

MTL – GK-Evan Bush; D-Chris Duvall, Rod Fanni, Jukka Raitala, Daniel Lovitz; M-Samuel Piette, Ken Krolicki, Saphir Taider (Shamit Shome, 78’); F-Ignacio Piatti, Matteo Mancosu (Anthony Jackson-Hamel, 67’), Alejandro Silva

Subs not used – Clément Diop, Victor Cabrera, Michael Salazar, Raheem Edwards, Michael Petrasso

KC – GK-Tim Howard; D-Alex Sjoberg, Kortne Ford, Tommy Smith, Danny Wilson; M-Deklan Wynne, Jack Price, Johan Blomberg (Shkëlzen Gashi, 87’) F-Joe Mason (Jack McBean, 70’), Sam Nicholson, Yanick Boli (Dominique Badji, 50’)

Subs not used – Zac MacMath, Bismark Boateng, Marlon Hairston, Michael Azira

GOALS

MTL – Taïder (Silva) 55’

MTL – Taïder (Piatti, Silva) 56’

COL – Badji 78’

CAUTION

COL – Wilson – 90’ +3’