COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Andre Akpan’s Goal-of-the-Week-nominated tally last Saturday night was greeted with quite a celebration by his Colorado teammates.
The youngster, who scored the equalizer in a 1-1 tie against the Chicago Fire in his first-ever MLS league start, ran past his teammates on the field to embrace players on the bench on the other side of the pitch.
It was a natural thing for Akpan to do. The second-year professional has struggled on the fringes of the first team since being drafted by the Rapids in 2010 – as have many of the substitutes he celebrated with after his goal.
For the rest of the 11 on the field, they maybe weren’t as pumped as Akpan, but they did feel a large sense of relief after the 23-year-old took a pass from Omar Cummings early in the second half and thumped it high into the net from inside the penalty area. The goal broke a three-game scoring drought and, even though it didn’t translate into a home win, it certainly improved the team’s confidence ahead of some difficult road trips.
VOTE: Goal of the Week, Week 7
The Rapids travel to Houston on Wednesday (8:30 pm ET, Direct Kick, MatchDay Live), then to New England on Saturday and finish off their three-game road swing with a match at D.C. United on May 14.
Drew Moor (at right), who almost nicked all three points with a far post header at the death on Saturday, said the draw was welcome even if it was tinged with a bit of disappointment at not winning at home. According to the defender, Colorado could find the cure to their scoring woes away from home.
“After giving up that goal in the first half, we showed a lot of resilience and that is a positive we can take away,” Moor told MLSsoccer.com after Saturday’s match. “We are going on the road now for three tough ones and maybe that will be a good thing for us. We think we are still a good team on the road. Sometimes getting away is good and hopefully that will be the case for us.”
Cummings, Akpan and head coach Gary Smith all agreed that finishing has been an issue in recent games. However, with the Rapids steady increase in possession – in the first half against Chicago, Colorado enjoyed 67 percent possession – the goals may not be all that far away.
“When you are maintaining possession, it has to be a step in the right direction,” Cummings said. "We are doing that and hopefully it can translate into more goals."
Smith echoed his player’s comments and said the draw was a step in the right direction, as it allowed the Rapids’ mind set to be more confident ahead of the upcoming away games.
“What you know about this group is that they are capable of winning anywhere,” he said. “If we can get a couple of results away from home, then we are back on track.”
