their longest of the season -- while the Revolution had three wins and a tie in their last five games.
• A dour match was sealed two minutes from the end with a bit of brilliance. Shalrie Joseph played a through ball inside Rapids defender Ugo Ihemelu that Khano Smith was able to latch onto, and after haring into the box he poked a low shot through the legs of Colorado 'keeper Bouna Coundoul for the victory.
• Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Real Salt Lake in Utah the weekend before. Facundo Erpen and Mike Petke both returned to the back four, in place of Kosuke Kimura and Stephen Keel, and Pablo Mastroeni returned from suspension, for Mehdi Ballouchy.
• Here's Clavijo's team (4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul - Ugo Ihemelu, Facundo Erpen, Mike Petke, Brandon Prideaux - Terry Cooke, Pablo Mastroeni, Tony Sanneh (Mehdi Ballouchy 13), Colin Clark (Omar Cummings 62) - Jovan Kirovski, Jacob Peterson (Nicolas Hernandez 90). Substitutes Not Used: Jose Cancela, Stephen Keel, Daniel Osorno, Zach Thornton
• "They tried moving people forward, they tried to counterattack with one, but some men were attacking more and never really created clear chances. They moved forward but never really created any quality chances to score," Clavijo said. "The one goal that they scored is not what they do, if we just cleared the ball out of bounds nothing would've happened. Just one mistake cost us the game, unfortunately."
TEAM NEWS
• For Clavijo, a major turning point in the game came when Tony Sanneh was forced off after just 13 minutes with a hamstring injury. The Rapids boss brought on Mehdi Ballouchy, and with the change in tactics he said it took his team another 10 minutes to find their way.
• "We just couldn't secure the midfield and that's what happened in the second half ... the defensive midfield was left alone there and they're fighting three guys so it was kind of hard," Clavijo said. "Even then, we managed well to minimize quality chances and at the same time create some of our own."
• Said Pablo Mastroeni: "I think Mehdi (Ballouchy) did a good job coming in and bringing the good attitude and finding the ball, and controlling it. It's tough to lose the subs early, but more importantly, Mehdi came in and did a good job of finding the game early and getting involved, so we can't make excuses. But we didn't capitalize on our chances, and there were a few mistakes defensively that they eventually capitalized on."
• The Rapids also tried to change things over the final half-hour when Omar Cummings came on for Colin Clark on the left side of midfield. "Omar scored when we played New England before. Every time he comes in he creates something. He has a lot of energy, and is a change of pace," Clavijo said.
• While the Rapids lost, none of the teams around them took advantage. The Chicago Fire were pulled back into a late draw by Chivas USA, while the Columbus Crew saw the LA Galaxy claim a 2-1 win in Ohio. The Rapids are still four points behind Chicago for eighth place overall, and two points behind Columbus.
• "We need to win. Forget about the points right now. We just need to win. At the same time, if Chicago doesn't do their part or Columbus doesn't do their part, but there's nothing we can do right now so it's going to be a dogfight all the way to the last game of the season," Clavijo said. "There's nothing that we can do. We were in it for 88 minutes. Concentration is to be for 90+ minutes. Just one silly mistake, but I can't complain with effort."
• Of the three, the Rapids could have the most advantageous schedule remaining. Columbus faces FC Dallas at home before trips to D.C. United and New England to finish the season, while the Fire also must take on United and the Revolution before a season-concluding trip to the LA Galaxy. The Rapids end the year with games at Chivas USA and home to Real Salt Lake after the Toronto match.
• "We need to find a horseshoe and a little leprechaun. I don't even know if three wins will get it. It's so easy to sit here and say three wins, but that's why we're in the position we are, because wins aren't easy to come by. We need a lot of luck," Mastroeni said. "We need to keep working. We need to keep the same mindset, where we're coming in and working hard for 90 minutes. Like I said, we need to find a horseshoe somewhere on the field, if not, we need to find a pot of gold."
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC finally put an end to their 12-game winless streak, holding on for a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls on MLS Primetime Thursday at BMO Field. With 24 points on the year and three games remaining, the Reds are still mathematically alive for a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the moment, now nine points behind the Chicago Fire heading into the weekend's games.
LAST MATCH
• Toronto FC's last victory had come on July 4 at Real Salt Lake, having lost eight games and tied four since. But the Red Bulls were enduring their own rocky patch, with just one win in their last seven games, including three consecutive 2-2 draws.
• After their 824-minute MLS-record scoreless streak had come to an end, TFC had made it a habit of scoring early, and it was no different this time. 2006 No. 1 pick Marvell Wynne moved forward from a midfield restart and slipped a through ball into the path of Maurice Edu as he cut into the area, and this year's No. 1 pick rolled an angled shot past goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus inside the far post for the 18th-minute opener.
• Toronto FC doubled the lead in the 66th minute while playing a man up. Joe Vide was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 64th, and then Wynne charged up the right flank before driving a low cross aimed for Jeff Cunningham at the back post. Defender Chris Leitch got there just before Cunningham, but in trying to clear knocked the ball into the back of his own net.
• Andrew Boyens was sent off with a straight red card just a minute later, and the Red Bulls pulled level with a quarter-hour remaining. Dave van den Bergh curled in a corner from the left and Dane Richards escaped notice, cleanly heading home from inside the six for his second goal on the year, but New York could get no closer.
• Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston made two changes to the team that lost 4-1 to D.C. United the weekend before. Tyrone Marshall was suspended and Chris Pozniak returned to the substitutes' bench, as Gabe Gala was given his first professional start and Jeff Cunningham returned to the starting lineup.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Kenny Stamatopoulos -Adam Braz (Tyler Hemming 76), Andrew Boyens, Jim Brennan, Todd Dunivant - Marvell Wynne, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Gabe Gala (Chris Pozniak 70) - Jeff Cunningham, Collin Samuel (Andrea Lombardo 92+). Substitutes Not Used: Miguel Canizalez, Srdjan Djekanovic, Joey Melo, Cristian Nunez
TEAM NEWS
• After getting the early goal, TFC head coach Mo Johnston made it a point to ensure his team wouldn't try and sit on the advantage.
• "I said at halftime, 'Guys we're in the exact same position -- we're 1-0 up. We've got to be tight, but we can't sit back.' If you look at it and analyze it, we were the ones who had the shots," he said. "[Collin] Samuel, Cunningham, we were getting some shots in. Even Gabe Gala tried to sneak in and get one with his right foot."
• But that couldn't mean they would neglect the defending end. While TFC was outshot by the Red Bulls 8-4 after the break, there were few real chances of note beyond the Richards goal and couple of late scrambles.
• "The whole game we dug in, especially in the second half," said defender Jim Brennan to the Globe and Mail. "We didn't want it happen again where we go in at halftime 1-0 up and we lose the game. Most times in the second half, we go through a 10- or 15-minute spell where we struggle for a little bit and we lose concentration. But I felt we kept it all game today."
• With injuries, Johnston played two nominal defenders as wide midfielders - Gabe Gala on the left and Marvell Wynne on the right. It wasn't the first time Wynne had lined up as a midfielder, and he said he's starting to feel better in the role.
• "I'm happier than before," he said to the Toronto Star. "Getting an assist and playing a dangerous ball that created an own goal, you feel pretty good about yourself. I'm getting more confident on the ball. That's something I definitely needed to work on. I think this could be a future position for me."
• Wynne laid on the ball that Edu knocked home for the first goal, then his cross led to the own goal. "Marvell played a great ball across," Jeff Cunningham said. "I was in position to have a tap-in, but the defender ... put it in the back of his net. Marvell did a great job of getting by his defender and putting the ball in the box. Credit Marvell for playing a good ball that [Leitch] had no chance to play. Either that [own goal] happens or I have a tap-in. Marvell put him in that position."
• There were some tense moments at the end after Andrew Boyens sent off. With Tyrone Marshall already out to suspension, Johnston brought on Tyler Hemming for Adam Braz in the back - it was Hemming's league debut.
• "That's when you see our bench was tested," Johnston said. "That's when you see the lack of depth. Carl Robinson had to play the back with Tyrone [Marshall] suspended. You take [Adam] out and put Hemming in. It was a very testing time."
• The win gave Toronto a much-needed boost of confidence going into its last two games of the season. "We knew it was going to be a matter of time before luck started to come out way," Cunningham said. "It's unfortunate it happened this late in the season, but we'll take tonight's result and try to finish the season on a positive note."
