Rapids challenge for first place in the West
by William ‘BilFish’ Fisher

Denver, CO. September 06, 2004 (ASN) — Turning a soggy Labor Day weekend game into a win-win-win for the Rapids, 8,931 fans, and new Altitude TV network, Colorado outworked Western Conference rivals Dallas Burn for the 2-1 win, miraculously marking the club's first comeback of the season after being down 1-0 at the half.

Telling of a team moving on up is both registering the win and not being satisfied with the game.

"We're still not at our best, but we're still able to find ways to get the result," said Rapids Head Coach Tim Hankinson.

But first a mad scramble following a Burn corner kick washed away early-game efforts by the Rapids in a blond flash as defender Matt Behncke slipped through to slam home a[nother] brilliant bending cross from Dallas' genius right wing Ronnie O'Brien, MLS' most dynamic winger.

Going into the locker room down a goal was an unpleasant result for the Fortress Fellas, but they showed that they indeed have the game to come back.

In a mid-game interview with Kroenke Sports Enterprises' new television network (KSE also owns the Rapids, Avalanche, Nuggets, Mammoth and possibly the rights to my kid's athletic team), Rapids defender Nat Borchers effectively analyzed their opening play and made a prediction.

"It all comes down to keeping the ball," Borchers said at halftime. So many times (Dallas) was winning the second balls. But, he predicted, "goals will come." Fighting words from a team on track to score fewer goals per game than any MLS club in history.

The first 45 minutes was much as Borchers described, although the Rapids came out firing often and early to dominate the first 15 minutes of play.

From the opening ceremonial kick from a fan to Captain John Spencer, the Rapids presented hard work and decent chances, forcing Dallas on their heels much of the time, and only able to counterattack through O'Brien on the right flank or send useless long balls to big men Eddie Johnson and Toni Nhleko.

Pedro the Playmaker?
Not something a Rapids fan would be expected to read (nor a journalist write), but Jean Philippe "Pedro" Peguero should have been Colorado's Man of the Match, but instead created a new category for himself: VIP, or "Very Improved Player."

From his first major attempt —a hardworking and creative cross against the grain that met Borchers steamrolling head first to the 18-yard box— Peguero showed there was a new man up front.

Known early in the season mostly for his headers and injuries, Peguero came out to prove he had more —much more— to offer the Rapids organization.

Fans were treated to scenic views of Pedro: earning an early header...in the defensive half of the field; hustling to avoid offside calls; winning 50-50s in midfield and rebounds in front of the net;
controlling passes, settling the ball to direct pinpoint crosses to fellow strikers for great opportunities; striking on target when warranted; and whizzing blue lights as he took off the training wheels and his blue shoes sped past Dallas defenders in chasing the occasional long ball.

Ultimately, this pressure overwhelmed a Dallas defense missing Cory Gibbs (playing for the U.S. National Team) and led to the Rapids season-high shots in a game, 25.

Background motivation may have played into Peguero's exceptional depth and breadth of play.

Regarding Peguero coming back despite a lingering abdominal strain, "We don't have time to give in to small injuries," said Hankinson.

"Guys have to play through these issues," he said, unlike earlier in the season when the staff was more willing to rest players.

"Pedro has finally faced the fact he needs to start bringing more of his game. He has the qualities, but he needs to show [them on the field]," Hankinson said.

"[Tonight] Pedro fought harder to take care of the ball, and he played with more emotion. He had the jersey on the for the right reason, to make a career here."

US National Team regular Pablo Mastroeni noticed the difference earlier in practice.

"Last week in training," Mastroeni said, "Pedro picked up his game and has been playing with confidence, knowing that we'll support him. He's a dynamic player, and he and Spencer linked well up top."

Peguero clearly took the coach's words to heart.

"It's been tough being injured for months, now I think I'm at 70 percent," he said. "[My health] keeps getting better, so I should continue to improve and be ready to fight Friday night."

Responding to Hankinson's challenge, Peguero said, "I told the coach I'm ready to help."

The Haitian international indicated that he had more to give than just being a target head in the box.

"I like to hold the ball and I will go one-on-one to create openings and then passes," he said.

To the delight of the fans, he did just that throughout the game, going the full 90 at speed.

The first 15 minutes were all Rapids, but in the 18th minute Goalkeeper of the Year Joe Cannon was forced to start earning his paycheck in earnest, with shots whistling in from distance by Oscar Pareja and headers by Johnson, ultimately weathering another six-shooter chance by the Burn.

The rest of the first half was a quiet game, punctuated by exciting bits of runs up the right flank by O'Brien and explosive, quality tackles as Mastroeni showed his talents as a defensive midfielder for the Rapids, holding the center lanes clear with Kyle Beckerman.

"When facing O'Brien," remarked central defender Ritchie Kotschau, "we had to cut the passing lanes from the Dallas backs through to him. Matt [Crawford, who was tasked with opposing O'Brien from left back] has been a great asset to the team and to himself."

Ending the opening half with some noise, a goal was recorded for the horse or cow of FC Dallas Burn 96 or whatever-they-will-be-but-are-not-yet named.

Dallas' work around the 18-yard box finally proved worth the effort as O'Brien's cross was slammed home by a stretched leg from Behncke to create the game's first goal and lead in the 43rd minute.

Before the start of the second half, Hankinson shared with Altitude that in the locker room between periods there was "a lot of emotion, a lot of anger amongst ourselves for letting in a goal just before the half."

"We kept giving up the ball. In the second half, we passed the ball better and got positive results," said Peguero.

"In the first half, we let ourselves down a bit," admitted Spencer to Altitude's new sideline reporter after coming off in the 87th minute.

But that was then, this is now.

The Rapids came out like a team with no worries to open the second half and delivered their own six-shot round to grind down a tired-looking Dallas defense.

Perennial workhorse Chris Henderson soon pushed forward to take a long crack at goal, which bounced to Burn goalkeeper Jeff Cassar. The speed and low angle caused Cassar to bobble the ball, and suddenly Peguero was again on the scene to win the loose ball and get it back to Jordan Cila, who had come on at half in favor of Beckerman to add attacking flava to the Rapids midfield.

Cila punched a good ball through Cassar's outstretched hand and towards goal. Only perfect defensive execution by Dallas' Chris Gbandi to scoot behind his keeper with an athletic diving foot save kept the ball from crossing the line.

Minutes later Dallas had a chance to go ahead, but Johnson egregiously attempted an overpowered kick on a well-placed back-header from Nhleko in the six-yard box and whiffed, allowing Borchers an easy clearance.

Johnson, temporarily released from US Men's National Team duties, did not show the great form that saw him initially called up by Bruce Arena.

Along with spending the week practicing with the US instead of his Burn teammates, Johnson found that "the flights to and from back East were tough, and getting adjusted to the altitude [here in Denver] has been tough."

Johnson often found himself in a supporting role behind Nhleko and O'Brien.

"I was probably pulling myself back because I wasn't getting the ball where I wanted it," Johnson admitted after the game.

Or perhaps it was just Peguero's night to shine.

Not two minutes later Peguero controlled a difficult through pass from Spencer in the Burn penalty area. With great presence of mind and lightning quick footwork he dropped his defender to the ground. Creating workspace, Peguero casually chipped the ball across the box where it was slightly deflected by a Dallas defender before falling in slow motion at the feet of an unmarked Spencer.

Spencer measured twice and slammed once, right-footing the ball past a wrong-footed Cassar for the result the Rapids had been telegraphing with tough, resilient play.

It was tied 1-1 in the 52nd minute, but Dallas looked anything but a team nearly equal with their rival for Western Conference positioning.

The Burn could not muster much of a response, and it was another aggressive combination by the Rapids that got fans off their seats. Right wingback Antonio De la Torre sent a difficult through ball to Spencer, who's sliding kick diverted the ball just enough for a speedy Peguero to grab it before delivering a long shot that beat the keeper, but not the right post.

Things would settle to a low simmer as each team jabbed and parried for position. Mark Chung played more centrally in the second 45 minutes and a hustling run up the middle in the 73rd minute forced Dallas sub Bobby Rhine into a yellow card foul to slow him.

The last 10 minutes of the game revved back up as both teams got their final wind, trading blows like two playground kids in a slapfest. First, Henderson shot in the 80th, next up it was Gbandi returning the favor, and Spencer with a chip back at ya in the 82nd. Johnson had a dangerous header a minute later, and pressure by Cila forced a Rapids restart just outside the Dallas penalty box.

This was the beginning of the end in a complex sequence that started with a Dallas handball and continued with Spencer smashing the indirect kick off a Dallas defender for a Rapids corner.

With all hands on deck, De la Torre delivered the hanging outswinger into the box. Cila's patented pick-n-roll again served to separate a teammate from his defender, and Borchers rolled through unmarked to slam home his second game-winning goal of the season.

Gary Sullivan replaced an exhausted but exuberant Mastroeni in the 83rd to provide fresh defensive legs.

"It's tough, playing at this level after being off almost six weeks," said Mastroeni. "Training can't replicate the anxiety and adrenaline you feel in a real game."

The all-star player has also been forced to adjust not only to returning to MLS levels of play, but being shifted up to midfield where fitness and mental demands can be even more stringent.

"Being in the midfield you have to have 360 degree vision," Mastroeni said. "You must be aware and focused. I've [worked hard] to get some tackles and distribute. The forwards are getting in great position, we're able to get outside and punch it in. Defensively, I think we're holding down the fort, which helps our midfield [seem quiet and controlled]."

"Right now, we're playing with charisma and determination," Mastroeni concluded of the Rapids effort over the past four weeks. And quality, as demonstrated by several accurate tackles from the central midfielder to stop Dallas attacks cold.

In the final minutes of the contest, thoughts of Dallas' late-game embarrassment of the Rapids earlier in the season infused the club with a manic, almost electronica-style energy as they gyrated their bodies and flung their souls into every final attack and challenge, denying Dallas at every turn.

The Burn's Johnson was drained, and thoughtful, after the game. "I'll take some things away and learn from this and hopefully improve my game," he said.

The Rapids are also thoughtful, and thankful. With a loss by Los Angeles, the free-falling former league leaders, Colorado has amazingly leapfrogged into second place behind Kansas City while putting a four-game unbeaten streak together at just the right time of the season.

And if Hankinson is right, and the Rapids still have more to show, the team could be situating themselves for a strong playoff run — if they keep burning maximum energy.

"Everyone came off drained," said Kotschau. "It's neck-and-neck these last six games. This is the game that really made a difference for us, and we need that final effort every game."