The Colorado Rapids were determined to make a statement on the road against the high-flying New York Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon, especially after consecutive disappointing results that both came at their newly-minted Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Ninety minutes and an impressive 1-0 win later, Major League Soccer's original Rocky Mountain club had accomplished just that.
"I am happy because not only did we get three points, we played as a team," said Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo after a first-half Nico Hernandez goal made the difference at Giants Stadium.
"Tactically we were perfect for 90 minutes. We never allowed them to get into a rhythm, we scored when we needed to and we created chances while not giving many away. That's what we have to do."
Colorado kicked off the 2007 campaign in fine style, christening its new venue with a convincing win against Supporters' Shield holders D.C. United, and followed that up with a 1-1 tie with the Chicago Fire. But the Rapids went 1-1-2 in their next four games and blew 1-0 leads in their last two.
First, after leading defending MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo after 45 minutes last Saturday, the Rapids gave up three second-half goals for their second loss of the season. Then, on Thursday night, Colorado squandered another advantage, settling for a 1-1 draw against Western Conference cellar-dwellers Real Salt Lake.
The poor outings wouldn't have stung so much if the squad didn't feel that it is among the upper echelon of the league's 13 teams.
"There is a lot of parity in this league," said forward Herculez Gomez, who assisted on the lone tally Sunday. "I think we wanted to come out and prove that we are one of those good teams. To pull out this result on their home turf means a lot to us going forward."
After getting ahead on Sunday, the Rapids packed it in, putting 11 men behind the ball at times - especially in the last 15 minutes when fatigue clearly became an issue. Even in that defensive posture, Roberto Brown kept pressuring the New York backs, while Gomez used his speed to threaten the Red Bulls back four with potential counterattacks. For the Rapids, it was an effort to build on.
"This is only one game but I feel good about this group," said Clavijo. "The players are sacrificing personal goals for team goals, which is crucial. I think a result like this shows we are going in the right direction."
Kyle Beckerman was very influential in central midfield, creating the turnover that lead to the goal.
"We knew we had it in us," said Beckerman. "We needed to get everyone behind the ball on defense. It was good after those two results to get a win here."
During their mini-slump, the Rapids never put their heads down. By all accounts, the chemistry within this year's team is healthy - something that hasn't always been the case in Colorado -- and something might have contributed to two consecutive playoff ousters in the Western Conference Championship.
"It's a real tight group this year and we're not scared to call each other out when necessary, but at the same time we're always there to support each other," said captain Pablo Mastroeni. "This is the best group we've had here in five or six years. There's no telling how good this team can be."
Right now, they'll settle for first place in the Western Conference.
Douglas McIntyre is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
