E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Clint Mathis said he wasn't looking for excuses. But the Colorado Rapids had no problem blaming their 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls on the conditions at Giants Stadium Friday afternoon.
It was the first game played on the newly installed FieldTurf, which was softer than the old, more worn out surface. But it was still turf and it was still a hot and humid summer afternoon in New Jersey.
"You can't make excuses but it's tough to play on a 120-degree field in the middle of the afternoon," Mathis said. "I think that took a toll on both teams and when people are tired and it's hot like that, people make mistakes that they're not used to making."
And that was the Rapids' focus after their two-game winning streak was snapped. It wasn't so much about a few defensive breakdowns in the first half that, if Amado Guevara was even 20 percent accurate on, would have put them behind by a couple of goals. It was the surface and the conditions inside the stadium.
"It was what it was. It was a crap field, it was a two o'clock in the afternoon game," Pablo Mastroeni said. "It was just a crappy game altogether. We made some mistakes and it ended up costing us the game but it could have gone either way."
Mastroeni was one of the players who made an uncharacteristic mistake in the first half, getting stripped by Guevara at the half hour mark, but the Honduran international chipped the ball over the bar on a breakaway.
Four minutes later, pressure by Mike Magee and Chris Henderson resulted in another defensive miscue and the game's lone goal. Henderson dispossessed Eric Denton, who then pulled down Henderson. Referee Jair Marrufo pointed to the spot and carded both Denton and Dan Gargan. Guevara beat Joe Cannon, who guessed the wrong way, to his left in the Red Bulls first penalty kick attempt of the season.
"I think on the PK, I think we were a bit unfortunate not to get the free kick before that scenario happened," Mathis said. "For us to lose on what I feel is a soft PK, I think it's OK. I wish we could have played better soccer, but under the circumstances, it was just an ok game for both sides."
Two minutes before the break, Guevara again had a chance, this time after he took the ball away from Mike Petke. But his attempt again went over the bar.
"Unfortuately we were not able to get three points like we intended," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. "It was hard to get things going because of how the field was. They are used to playing on turf, unlike us. The conditions were simply awful for us."
Added Gargan: "I think it was the fact that we were playing on the new turf. The new turf is full of the black rubber which makes it so much hotter on your feet. Plus, you have to battle the sun. It was pretty hot."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
