The Colorado Rapids battled for nearly a full hour down a man before claiming a much-needed 1-0 victory against Toronto FC. The win keeps the Rapids' playoff hopes alive as they attempt to catch Chicago, which currently holds the final postseason spot.
The game's lone goal came from the penalty spot through Jovan Kirovski, just before halftime after Mehdi Ballouchy was sent off with a straight red card. The Rapids finished the game two men down after Pablo Mastroeni was sent off just before the final whistle.
The win moves the Rapids into ninth place in the overall MLS standings with 32 points, four behind the Chicago Fire with two matches to play. The Rapids leaped ahead of the Columbus Crew, who lost at home over the weekend, and are two points ahead of the red-hot Los Angeles Galaxy.
It was a cold and wet night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Although the rain stopped before kickoff, the wet conditions had an impact throughout the game. The two teams especially struggled with the wet turf for the first few minutes, sending many passes skidding out-of-bounds.
Overall, it was a sloppy, foul-laden match. Mastroeni received a yellow card in 17th for taking down Toronto's Marvell Wynne, who was streaking downfield on a counter attack. Mastroeni had already been beaten and Wynne had the final defender on his heels.
The Rapids had two early scoring chances. The first came in the seventh minute when an open Kirovski put a weak shot right at 'keeper Kenny Stamatopoulos, who easily covered the shot.
In the 10th minute, Conor Casey crossed the ball to an unmarked Ballouchy in the heart of the area, who sent a spinning shot towards the far post. But it was pushed wide by a diving Stamatopolous.
The two teams battled in the midfield early on. Midway, through the period, however, the Rapids began to gain the advantage in possession and kept it in the Toronto half.
Toronto's best opportunity of the first half was in the 30th minute when Wynne beat Mike Petke at the top of the box and sent a strong pass across the penalty area. The ball harmlessly went through the penalty area, but goalie Bouna Coundoul and Toronto's Collin Samuel collided on the play. After being treated, both players continued on.
Ballouchy was given his marching orders by referee Kevin Stott on a straight red card in 36th minute for a studs-up tackle on Toronto's Carl Robinson near midfield.
In the 42nd minute Terry Cooke sent a corner kick into the box and Conor Casey sent a strong header towards the net. The ball was deflected a number of times in a melee in the goalmouth and as Facundo Erpen tried to get on the end of one of the deflections, he was hauled down from behind by Toronto midfielder Chris Pozniak, and Stott awarded the Rapids a penalty kick.
Kirovski took the penalty kick, ripping the ball into the upper left corner just out of the reach of Stamatopoulos. It was his sixth goal of the season, his fourth from the penalty spot.
Down a man, the Rapids played conservatively in the second half. But in the 63rd minute, substitute Omar Cummings ran down a long through ball and played a great cross right to Kirovski at the penalty spot. The striker hit a solid volley but was denied by a fantastic kick save from Stamatopoulos.
Toronto gradually began to come into the game over the second half, and substitute Miguel Canizalez continued to show glimpses of good attacking soccer for the Reds. In the 77th minute, he used his speed to beat defender Kosuke Kimura to the ball and send a hard shot from the corner of the penalty box that Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul palmed away.
The Rapids tried to make things interesting for the last few minutes, as Mastroeni earned his second yellow card in the 87th minute for dragging down Todd Dunivant from behind, leaving the Rapids down two men and the club without its captain for next week's match at Chivas USA.
On the subsequent free kick, Coundoul made another sparkling save, pushing Tyler Hemming's laser from distance straight out from goal up and over the bar.
The Rapids face a trip to the hottest team in the West next Sunday when they travel to take on Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. But there will a tense night in the meantime, with all eyes on the East, where a wins by the Chicago Fire at D.C. United and the Kansas City Wizards at New York would eliminate Colorado from postseason consideration.
Colin Walsh is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
