Tuesday was a night of triumphant returns and stellar debuts for the Colorado Rapids, but more importantly it was the first of several possible important steps for the visiting side.
Behind Conor Casey's goal and Preston Burpo's goalkeeping, the Rapids beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match at The Home Depot Center on Tuesday. With the victory, Colorado moves on to Kansas City for a match on June 4 that will determine a participant in the tournament proper.
"It wasn't necessarily the prettiest game but we hung in there and found a way to win," Casey said. "It was a great feeling to be able to contribute directly to that too."
Casey is recovering from a knee injury and has not played much since the end of 2007. Casey has seen just six minutes during the regular season and in fact was not supposed to have played more than one half on Tuesday, Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo said.
But the former Bundesliga player showed his worth throughout the match.
"We expected 45 minutes to be truthful," Clavijo said. "He might be physically fit to play but mentally it could take a bit longer. He's a completely different player. He holds the ball extremely well and it allowed us to get forward and again we're not in sync yet with him but overall I think he did very well."
For his part, Casey said his fitness held out well despite his long layoff.
"I was tired in the end but just tried to keep working. My legs carried me about 80 and that was enough." Casey said.
If his legs got him to the 80th minute, then his will carried him for two more crucial minutes. In the 82nd minute, Terry Cooke swung a ball into the penalty area from the right flank. The rest, Casey said, was textbook finishing.
"Cookie whipped in a great ball and I was able to get my timing right and get in between defenders and get my head on it, get a piece of it and go to the back post," Casey said. "That's really it."
The match was also the first-team debut for Burpo, who played in a reserve match on Sunday. Burpo was in San Jose a week ago but joined Colorado in a trade that saw Kelly Gray and Jovan Kirovski head to Northern California. With first-choice 'keeper Bouna Coundoul in Senegal with his national team, Burpo seemingly has the reins for quite a while to come.
"That's just the way it goes," Burpo said. "Bouna went to Senegal. I'm expecting to play here the next month. From there we'll see what happens."
Burpo escaped some harrowing moments in the first half. Edson Buddle lined up a shot midway through the first half that forced Burpo into a diving save. Burpo stopped the ball but the rebound hit the right post, bounced off Burpo's back and hit the post again before crossing the end line.
But the Rapids dodged a bullet in the 41st minute when Carlos Ruiz launched a ball from the center circle on goal. The ball carried over Burpo's head but again hit the post.
"There were a couple hectic moments, a couple panic-button moments," Burpo said. "The Ruiz thing, yeah, it wasn't like I was falling asleep. I wasn't asleep. He turned and banged it. As it went past me, I'm thinking 'I could be in trouble.' As I turned around, it hit the post again. That's just the way it goes, luckily."
Despite not having spent much time with the club, Burpo said the move from San Jose to Colorado has been rather effortless.
"I know the guys in the league. I know who they are. It's been an easy transition," Burpo said. "I got a reserve game in against Chivas and played with the first team tonight. The guys have been good with me and they've been accepting. Things have been good so far."
Colorado trotted out just two players who started against Chivas USA on Saturday. Christian Gomez did not travel with the Rapids as Clavijo chose instead to use younger players against Los Angeles.
The move paid off.
"We have a very talented roster. We don't really have a superstar so we have a very hard-working team," Clavijo said. "You look at some of the younger players... that come in from our reserve system, and you give them an opportunity. I thought we put in a very competitive team out there."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
