Saturday night's meeting between the Colorado Rapids and Chivas USA was the third match for the Rapids in a week. And it showed.
Chivas USA routed the Rapids 4-1 at The Home Depot Center and it was evident that the visitors were running on fumes entering the match just three days after earning a hard-fought win against the Los Angeles Galaxy in Denver.
"We just didn't have our legs from the beginning," said Rapids boss Fernando Clavijo. "We weren't competitive tonight."
It took the Chivas only six minutes to go ahead on the scoreboard after Rapids defender Mike Petke knocked a ball into his own net.
"They surprised us right away and we were chasing the score," added Clavijo.
While Petke's own goal put the Rapids in an early hole, there was no blame placed on the veteran defender.
"He was trying to do something good but it didn't happen," said Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. "We're not going to blame him, we're not going to point any fingers, especially because he's been playing for so long."
Then Chivas took a two-goal lead midway through the first half before Dedi Ben Dayan cut the lead in half just after the half hour mark.
Ben Dayan's goal appeared to energize the Rapids and they controlled the pace of the match through the final 15 minutes of the first half, creating several quality scoring chances.
The fatigue, however, came back after halftime.
"We played well for 15 minutes in the first half," said Clavijo. "We moved the ball well and created some chances and then we came back out in the second half but we were flat again. We tried to put a little bit more pressure on them but the legs went out, simple as that."
The Rapids outshot Chivas 9-4 through the first 45 minutes. The second half was a different story, though, as the home side had eight shots to the Rapids four, including two goals.
Coundoul, who has done an impressive job in place of the injured Joe Cannon, faced a flurry of Chivas shots in the contest and did well on several attempts. However, he was left alone against a Chivas attacker in two of the final three goals.
First, Ante Razov raced unmarked from midfield before shooting past Coundoul from 18 yards out in the 24th minute. Then late in the game, Palencia slipped through two Rapids defenders and converted his point blank attempt past Coundoul.
"Everybody stopped on Razov's goal because we thought he was offside," said Coundoul. "All we can do now is learn from that mistake."
Cannon is now recovered from his injury and it is unclear who will be between the posts when the Rapids take on Real Salt Lake on Friday.
"Hopefully Cannon will be ready to go, but one game cannot dictate how it's going to happen," said Clavijo. "We're happy that he's healthy again but we're going to go day by day for now."
Coundoul knows the decision is not his but regardless, he is happy with the playing time he's had of late.
"I'm just going to go to practice and work really hard and when that day comes the coach will have to make a decision," he said. "Being a goalie is tough but everyday I'm learning and getting more experience and I'm getting more comfortable as the days go on."
The Rapids will look to rebound as they head home for two matches in a row, starting with Friday's match against Real Salt Lake. Then they will have a rematch with Chivas on June 21.
"There's nothing we can do (about tonight's loss)," said Clavijo. "We have to get back and keep trying and we're going to be waiting for Chivas when we get back home in Colorado."
Danny Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
