A second-half lapse in both form and function led to a second consecutive poor result for the Colorado Rapids. After outplaying the Chicago Fire in the first half, the Rapids allowed a pair of goals by midfielder John Thorrington and fell 2-1 at Toyota Park for their second consecutive loss.
Forward Tom McManus, one of three new starters for Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo, got the lone goal for the Rapids in the 86th minute, but Colorado could not score again in the frantic final eight minutes.
"It was a good game except for 10 minutes when we let down," Clavijo said. "They took advantage of our mistakes and finished. I feel we deserved a little bit better. We had the game in hand, but the 10 to 15 minutes we let down transpired and they took advantage."
"One bad play can set a tone," said midfielder Pablo Mastroeni.
The first goal came in the 53rd minute when Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco switched fields from right to left, finding forward Tomasz Frankowski on the left side. Frankowski's centering pass was deflected away from goal but the ball came out to the foot of Thorrington, who hit a strong left-footed shot first-time over Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul.
"They got a goal that came out of nowhere," Mastroeni said.
The Fire got an insurance goal in the 84th minute when Justin Mapp was unattended on the left side and sent a cross to Thorrington charging in from the right side.
The Rapids pulled a goal back in the 86th minute when Christian Gomez's free kick slipped through the Fire defense to the foot of McManus, who was five feet in front of Busch for an easy tally.
For the first time this season, Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo changed his starting lineup, inserting defender Kelly Gray, Mastroeni and McManus into the starting 11. Out of the lineup were Omar Cummings, Kosuke Kimura and John DiRaimondo, who suffered an ankle injury in the last game against the Revolution.
McManus was the most dangerous player on the field in the first half, and was credited with four shots and two shots on goal, including a snap header in the 27th minute that went right at Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.
"In the first half we created a few chances, but couldn't get the goal," McManus said.
"McManus did outstanding," Clavijo said. "He holds the ball, he moves, and he creates chances. He has a lot of energy."
Coundoul faced three shots, two on goal, in the first 45 minutes, but the most dangerous play resulted in no shot. Blanco dribbled into the penalty area, then danced with the ball through two Rapids defenders, changing direction four times before sending an ineffective cross.
After the Fire scored, the game turned more difficult for the Rapids. After playing the first half without a corner kick, the Fire had three in a matter of 10 minutes. They did not score on the attempts but the tone was set.
"We need to sustain our play for 90 minutes like we did in the first two games and for 10 minutes tonight we were not able to do that and it cost us the game," Clavijo said.
Clavijo began to make substitutions to find some offense, putting Herculez Gomez into the game for captain Terry Cooke in the 59th minute. He later used Rafael Gomes and Jacob Peterson in place of Mastroeni and Jose Burciaga Jr.
With the Fire leading 2-1 and the game in stoppage time, Herculez Gomez almost scored on a bicycle kick that led to a rapid Rapids corner kick which Busch had to hit the ground to save.
The Fire ended with eight shots on goal, an indication of how difficult the second half was for the Rapids. The Rapids had five shots on goal and 13 shots for the game.
After the game, Clavijo made a plea for examination of the way Christian Gomez is played by opposing teams, in response to a shoving match that took place between Gomez and Fire defender Gonzalo Segares just before the end of the first half.
"I don't want to say too much because we don't want to get fined, but we are talking about protecting quality players and Christian Gomez was kicked all over the place," Clavijo said. "I don't see anybody getting yellow cards against him. I know that we have good referees in the league so I hope they are looking at the same video and the same tape we are looking at and they will protect the good players, which today was not the case."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
