Many fans likely came to Dick's Sporting Goods Park anticipating a game dominated by a right-footed English midfielder. But they probably weren't expecting it to be the Colorado Rapids' Terry Cooke, instead of the Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham, as the Rapids rolled to a 4-0 victory Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.
Cooke played a role in two of the Rapids' four goals -- a blowout made even more surprising by the fact that Colorado scored just 29 goals in 30 games last season, and didn't score as many as four goals in any one game. It was the first time since the 2005 season the Rapids scored four goals in a game.
Cooke put the Rapids into a first-half lead, then goals from Christian Gomez (his first with Colorado), Omar Cummings and Colin Clark sealed the victory.
The first half was a tightly contested back-and-forth affair, with both sides creating and spurning many good chances. Colorado opened the scoring after just 10 minutes, following a free kick that bounced off the Galaxy's wall.
Gomez pounced on the loose ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a shot that hit the right post. The ball caromed directly out to Terry Cooke, who made no mistake in striking a powerful volley into the top right corner from the right side of the penalty area, leaving Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin little chance.
In the early going, the Rapids forwards seemed to be able to run past the Galaxy at will, and the Rapids had the bulk of the dangerous possession. Both Cummings and Gomez came close to scoring on balls lofted over top of the Galaxy defense. Meanwhile, Colorado's central defense was doing an admirable job of cutting off passes to Donovan on the left, and prevented Beckham from getting a quick start.
As the half wore on though, the Galaxy started winning more balls in the midfield and Beckham came into the game -- often dropping deep back into defense to have an open look at the field. The Rapids defense found it more difficult to track Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz on these long balls and the Galaxy nearly connected on several of them.
As the Galaxy held onto the ball more, they drew a series of fouls in dangerous territory. It also demonstrated why Beckham can be such an asset -- any foul inside 35 yards is suddenly a dangerous scoring opportunity. Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul had to be sharp and was, catching several swerving balls off free kicks before onrushing Galaxy attackers.
At halftime, Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit made two changes, bringing Alan Gordon on to partner Carlos Ruiz in attack and Brandon McDonald for Peter Vagenas. With Beckham and Donovan still wide, they saw little of the ball as the Rapids took the bulk of the possession.
The turning point of the match occurred in the 60th minute when a controversial penalty was called on Galaxy defender Abel Xavier after bringing down Cummings in the penalty area. The Galaxy immediately surrounded referee Abbey Okulaja and Xavier vociferously protested, but Gomez calmly dispatched the ensuing penalty to increase Colorado's lead to 2-0, while Xavier was issued a yellow card.
Just seven minutes later, Cooke created the third Colorado goal on a winding run through the Galaxy midfield, pushing a soft pass behind the Galaxy defenders. Cummings ran onto the ball, easily rounded the 'keeper and slotted his shot into the vacant net.
Clark sealed the final scoreline by putting the ball through Xavier's legs in the left side of the box and sliding the ball under Cronin from inside the goal area at the left post.
Although that was the end of the scoring for the night, there was plenty of action still to come. With the score no longer competitive, tempers flared on both teams. Xavier, nearly sent off for his reaction to the penalty, was sent off in the 89th minute after appearing to make contact with Okulaja after being whistled for a hard tackle.
Just a minute later, Ciaran O'Brien was also ejected for a tackle that left Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz writhing on the ground. An incensed Landon Donovan ran nearly 30 yards to protest the foul and soon a number of players gathered around with the requisite pushing and shoving.
Chris DiLauro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
