Bouna Coundoul kept a clean sheet and Nicolas Hernandez's first-half goal stood up as the Colorado Rapids handed the New York Red Bulls their first regular season loss in 2007 in a 1-0 victory on a glorious spring Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium.
The opening 45 minutes were high-paced and highly entertaining, despite the fact that both teams were playing their third match in eight days. After some early Red Bulls pressure, Colorado struck the eventual winner with a beautiful counter-attacking goal clinically finished off by Hernandez in the 24th minute.
Rapids midfielder Kyle Beckerman started the deciding play when he dispossessed Dane Richards on the center stripe. Beckerman then sent a perfect long ball to a streaking Herculez Gomez on the left wing. Gomez cut inside Tim Regan, starting at left back in place of banged-up former Colorado defender Hunter Freeman, and sent a rolling square pass in to Hernandez, who struck the ball first-time past Bulls 'keeper Jon Conway.
The goal came against the run of play, as the Red Bulls had pressed the action from the opening whistle. New York repeatedly got past the Rapids' back four early, getting the ball wide to captain-for-the-day Dave van den Bergh (filling in for the injured Claudio Reyna) and rookie Richards on the flanks.
The home team's strategy nearly paid off inside 10 minutes, when former Aston Villa man Juan Pablo Angel sent a goal-bound header right at Coundoul in the fifth minute. Angel was making his league debut after scoring at Los Angeles in a 3-1 U.S. Open Cup loss Tuesday in his first appearance with the club. Van den Bergh then blasted an effort over the bar from inside the penalty area four minutes later.
The Rapids, with Beckerman and Jovan Kirovski patrolling the midfield and U.S. veteran Pablo Mastroeni in central defense, seemed unfazed. They were content to sit back, absorb the early pressure and wait to spring the counterattack, which they did to perfection on the goal.
The Red Bulls came out flying to start the second stanza, but failed to convert on two golden opportunities early. First, a Richards cross found van den Bergh wide open on the left side of the area. But instead of shooting, the Dutchman laid the ball off to Dema Kovalenko, who sent a square ball to Angel. The delay allowed Coundoul to recover just in time to get a foot on the Colombian's low shot.
Van den Bergh again failed to pull the trigger in the box in the 55th. This time he picked out Clint Mathis, whose shot was saved by the Coundoul.
Colorado almost went up 2-0 after another lightning-quick counter started by Beckerman. The former U.S. U-17 standout again found Gomez with a perfect long pass, this time on the right side, but Panamanian international Roberto Brown put the ensuing cross wide of Conway's net.
As both teams began to tire late, the Rapids were content to put 10 men behind the ball with Brown the lone striker up top. Colorado manager Fernando Clavijo was forced into a change when experienced Rapids defender Greg Vanney had to leave the field with a left ankle sprain in the 60th minute.
Looking for the equalizer, Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena inserted teen phenom Jozy Altidore into the match with 13 minutes to play, bringing him on for defender Carlos Mendes. Clavijo countered by bringing on Ugo Ihemelu for Terry Cooke. But the Red Bulls youngster couldn't produce any late-game magic to earn the home team a least a point.
New York did have a final chance in stoppage time, but Richards' low shot was stopped by Coundoul at the near post. After starting the season with three victories and a draw without conceding a goal, the Red Bulls are now winless in their last three games in all competitions. The Rapids moved back atop the Western Conference, a point ahead of FC Dallas.
Douglas McIntyre is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
