Match Preview: Real v. Rapids, Round 1

By: Ian Rose | April 30th, 2007

The Hondaclasico is over, but another rivalry match looms tonight, as the Colorado Rapids (oh let’s just say CRapids - it saves letters) come to Salt Lake to take on Real. RSL is still a little red in the bottom from the spanking they took last week in their first away match, a 4-0 trampling by Chivas USA that featured such a remarkably bad performance by Nick Rimando that he was replaced by youngster Chris Seitz, and such a lackluster showing by Freddy Adu that I thought he might just be a martian. So, what can we expect from 2007’s first Rocky Mountain derby?

Colorado come in with by far the better record in the fixture to date (5-2-1), and a better-looking squad overall so far this season. Real has looked shaky, and looked downright awful last week, but has managed to avoid a loss in their two league games at home so far, and may be tough to beat for the Crapids.

It will come down to a few things. First, will Freddy Adu do ANYTHING? I’m not asking for a goal, or an assist - I would accept a decent pass. One. Decent. Pass. The Little Prince was WAY out of sorts at Chivas, and has to improve this week. Second, will Seitz be able to handle the pressure of his first MLS start? He did well in Real’s US Open Cup qualifying win, but can he handle this big rivalry match? If he gets the win, the fans will want him to stay, and Rimando is going to warm a bench for at least another week. Last but not least, can Jeff Cunningham take his eyes off the back of the net long enough to realize he has teammates? We love him when he scores, but he has always been an ineffective passer, and that makes the offense one-dimensional and easy to defend. Look both ways before approaching the goal, Jeff.

I predict a 1-1 draw. After last week, Real is out to prove that they don’t belong at the bottom of everyone’s power rankings, but unless something massive has changed this week, they probably still have a long way to go. Look for them to hold onto a point at home.