The Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake battled to a 1-1 tie on Thursday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, but the irony lay in the fact that neither team was able to score a goal for themselves, depending instead on opposing defenders deflecting the ball past their own goalkeepers.
The Rapids initiated the pattern on a beautifully placed center from Herculez Gomez -- a perfect assist except for one small fact: there were no Rapids in front of the goal to finish it off.
Kyle Beckerman and Gomez first combined on a one-two, then Beckerman found Terry Cooke on the right side, who sent it on to Gomez. He then outmaneuvered his defender to center the ball hard enough that Stewart couldn't control his deflection.
"I tried to use my foot skills to my advantage," Gomez said, describing how he fooled the defender. "I got him leaning one way like I was going to bring the ball out from my left to my right foot, and then I just did a little cut with the inside of my right, kind of pirouette, cut sharply inside, making him decide. He dove in the wrong way, and I got the space. I got a step on him and I whipped it in.
"I'd like to think we earned that one," Gomez said. "If I get wide somebody needs to come in. Unfortunately nobody was in there, but fortunately for us it was dangerous enough of a cross that it gave Real Salt Lake some problems."
On the other side of the field, Freddy Adu led the charge for Real Salt Lake, and defender Dan Gargan drew the task of matching up against Adu on the left wing for most of the game, though Adu switched to the right wing briefly late in the first half.
"I like going against Freddy," Gargan said. "It's a challenge. I shut him down tonight."
Adu didn't get credit for the RSL goal either, but he saw a lot of activity and a lot of green playing on Colorado's wide field. Just as Gomez's cross forced a goal off Real, Adu's center on the other side of the field forced a similar goal off Rapids defender Pablo Mastroeni. Adu matched Gomez's five shots and led all players with four shots on goal.
"We're still getting used to the size of the field," Gargan explained of the delicate balance in defending against a player like Adu. "I have to do better with shape, and I think that's why they were able to put a couple balls in there in the first half. [Adu] was able to bring it down and go at me. One-on-one defensively I thought I was fine, but in the second half coach [Fernando Clavijo] pointed out that I was maybe pinching a couple yards too far in and just leaving that, tempting them to put it out there.
"On this field, there's too much space to cover. In the second half, our back line was pretty solid in its shape and I was better with my positioning and I don't think they could play that ball. It's just a small adjustment; it's a matter of a couple yards. On this field, I have to get used to it. I'm still getting my bearings with the first team. It's a matter of spacing, that's all it really is."
Gargan was making his second start of the season, filling a void left by two absent starting Rapids defenders, Brandon Prideaux (right knee meniscus) and Ugo Ihemelu (left knee tendonitis). Ihemelu was available Thursday, and should be able to play Sunday in New York, though the artificial turf could be problematic for him.
"In the first half we didn't play well, simple as that," said Clavijo, contradicting his players who thought the Rapids "dominated" throughout the game. "The second half we moved better. We sent people forward, we attacked. We were playing too conservatively in the first half. In the second half I think the change of Jose Cancela [a 57th-minute substitution for midfielder Jovan Kirovski] changed the game. We started attacking with numbers, creating chances. We created chances, but we didn't come up with the goal that we needed."
Cancela was making his first appearance of the season, and his presence spurred a more aggressive approach to the ball while freeing Beckerman up to be more central and more defensive.
The Rapids were at their best in the second half, controlling the ball and forcing RSL into a reactionary mode of play, making them chase across the large field as the Rapids used the whole field to their advantage.
"If you can keep the tempo through possession, you're going to be able to make teams run," Clavijo said. "We need to do a better job on this field possessing the ball, and the first half that was not the case. But the second half I thought we did well. We moved the ball around, we created chances, we overlapped on the left, we created on the right side.
"I'm pleased with the way we played in the second half, but we need to play 90 minutes."
Credit also must go to Bouna Coundoul, who made six saves, including a head-on, one-handed stop against a charging Adu in the final seconds of the first half, preserving the tie.
"Amazing save," Clavijo said of Coundoul's performance. "Hopefully next game somebody else can save the game and Bouna doesn't have to make a spectacular save."
The offensive flurry, particularly in the second half, when the Rapids got off four of their five shots on goal, bodes well for the team as they head to New York, ready to put one in the nets they're aiming at -- and put the skids on their two-game slump.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
