There were positives coach Fernando Clavijo saw during the Colorado Rapids match against the Crew on Saturday night. For one, the attack that had been blanked in its previous match showed a spark in the first half despite the absence of injured midfielder Christian Gomez.
Clavijo also liked the way the Rapids responded to the first goal by the Crew -- a result of a penalty called on defender Pablo Mastroeni in the 53rd minute -- with midfielder Nick LaBrocca connecting on a well-placed strike in the 60th.
What he couldn't stomach was the way Crew midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo went unfettered from the midfield to the top of the box to net the winner 10 minutes later for a 2-1 Columbus victory at Crew Stadium.
"We played hard. We're not playing smart," Clavijo said. "We're competing hard every game. We had chances to win it. We're giving up goals after getting back to 1-1. Ekpo makes a 30-, 40-yard run. He cannot have so much space. We didn't recognize early on the dangers of that goal. It was a great goal but it's not going to happen that often that he's going to have that much space."
The result gave the Rapids three losses and a tie in its last four matches heading into Friday's annual Fourth of July home match against New York.
"We've got to erase the feeling of this game but keep in mind the mistakes we made and regroup as a team and get a win," LaBrocca said.
It won't be easy to forget the one that got away as each side had abundant chances in the opening half.
"It was a very high-paced game. That's the way it goes. Sometimes it could be a 5-5 first half," LaBrocca said.
The Rapids had three shots on goal in the first 45 minutes and Conor Casey and LaBrocca were denied on excellent saves by Will Hesmer. Mastroeni was pleased the team fared well without Gomez, who leads the club with five assists.
"He's a guy who relieves a lot of pressure," he said. "He'll take the pace out of the game, if you will, and slow the game down. We had a good lineup in there as far as making it hard to play through the midfield. We limited their opportunities. As much as it would have been nice having him today making a difference, the guys in there did a good job. It's something to build on."
A slip and a trip and the Crew took a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute. Ekpo sent a through ball to Alejandro Moreno, who gathered it near the end line on the right side then cut back sharply just inside the penalty area. Defender Facundo Erpen tried to make a tackle but slid by. Mastroeni came to the rescue but got his foot on Moreno and sent the forward down.
"Moreno did a good job selling the PK. The referee bought it and that's the game of soccer," Mastroeni said.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto converted but the Rapids got the equalizer seven minutes later on a well-placed strike from the top of the penalty area by LaBrocca for his second goal. Forward Conor Casey made the play with a service to the arc where LaBrocca settled the ball with his first touch then sent a bullet to the upper left corner.
"Conor attracted all the defenders," LaBrocca said. "He made a play right in my path. The first touch didn't let me down. I put it right back across the goal.
Ekpo then notched the winner after a 50-yard run followed by hard drive to the lower left corner.
"We did a good job getting ourselves back in the game but the second goal was a good individual play," Mastroeni said. "It was a bad team defensive play on the flip side. Two plays cost us the game. That's what we've got to work on. There's no rest in 90 minutes. Today we were punished for two decisions we made as a team. (Ekpo) did a good job. His speed was definitely an issue. He did a good with being dangerous and running at our defense."
Casey had a chance to make the score 2-2 in the 76th minute but Hesmer was there for an acrobatic save.
"Conor is an outstanding striker," Clavijo said. "He's coming off an ACL last year. It's taken some time to get healthy. On top of the ACL last year he's struggled with the hamstring. Today he was 100 percent. It's great to see him on the field. You can see what he does. We needed to support him a little more. I thought we created chances. We didn't come here to get one point. We came here to play a good game. We had a chance but we need to finish our chances and do a better job on giving up easy goals."
Although the Rapids have been hit hard and call-ups, Mastroeni said those can't be used as excuses.
"We just have to dig in. There are going to be tough patches during the year. This is a game we're going to wish we had back. Just a point out of it would have been fine," he said. "We have a game Friday so we have little time to sit and sulk. We have to get our minds right and get ready for the game."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
