The Los Angeles Galaxy saw a strong attack go to waste against the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday night as a slew of strong chances were turned aside in a 1-0 loss to Colorado in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in match at The Home Depot Center.
The loss was a heartbreaking one for Los Angeles, by all accounts the better team for the first 81 minutes before Rapids forward Conor Casey found the back of the net in the 82nd minute to seal the Galaxy's fate.
Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit began the game with what was as close to his regular starting eleven that he could put on the field. Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo, on the other hand, chose to field a team comprised mainly of reserves. The difference in class showed early, as Los Angeles was clearly the better team over the first quarter hour.
In just the third minute, the Galaxy pressure forced a mistake from the Colorado defense that nearly proved costly. After earning a free kick on the left side of midfield, Ante Jazic lofted a ball into the area. Stephen Keel attempted to flick a header over the line and safely out of play, but instead directed the ball on frame, forcing Preston Burpo to parry the ball over the crossbar.
Four minutes later, the Galaxy were back at it. Pete Vagenas sent a long ball over the top of the Rapids defense to Edson Buddle, who outhustled everyone to the ball and managed to put a shot on goal, but Burpo got the slightest of touches on the ball to slow it down, allowing Keel to clear to ball off of the goal line.
As the half wore on Colorado got more settled, but it was still the Galaxy controlling most of the play. In the 28th minute Chris Klein sent in a great cross that pulled Burpo off of his line. The Rapids 'keeper misplayed the ball, allowing it to bounce in his six yard box, but the cross skipped out of play. One minute later, Brandon McDonald shook the outside of the net with a long range shot from the right side.
Los Angeles remained in control as the game entered the 36th minute. Buddle was the recipient of a poor clearance from Colorado and struck a quick shot from the top of the box that rattled the post, bounced back off of Burpo, then grazed the outside of the post again before going out for a corner kick.
Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin was finally pressed into action in the 38th minute. Colorado had a rare attack into the final third, when Colin Clark fired from inside the 18. His shot went straight at Cronin however, who managed to keep the ball out of his net before Abel Xavier cleaned up the rebound.
The game quickly tilted back to the Galaxy's favor, and in the 41st minute Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz nearly bested teammate David Beckham's 70-yard effort from the weekend. After a Colorado turnover Ruiz caught Burpo well off of his line and shot from the midfield stripe. The ball got over the head of the Rapids goalie, but struck the post.
Colorado managed their second shot on goal just before halftime, this one coming off of a free kick from 25 yards out. Clark managed to put a shot on frame, but it lacked any pace or placement, and Cronin made a routine save.
The halftime break did little to change the flow of the game. In the 50th minute Mike Randolph played a cross along the ground that danced right in front of Burpo, but just barely out of the reach of a sliding Ruiz.
Colorado continued to struggle to get the ball out of their own half and in the 62nd minute Los Angeles came dangerously close to scoring again. Vagenas took a corner kick from the left side, and McDonald hit a header that missed just wide of the post.
The Rapids again took their sweet time before getting their first shot of the half. In the 74th minute, Casey worked himself free on the left side of the box and shot for a sharp angle. The effort forced a diving save from Cronin, who redirected the ball to the outside of this back post.
Colorado finally seemed to be getting a bit of a grip on the game. In the 81st minute, Casey forced a diving save from Cronin off of a header. A minute later, he'd make Los Angeles pay for their missed chances, as he nodded home a Terry Cooke cross for the game's opening goal.
That would be the last shot on goal of the game, as Colorado ended Los Angeles' Open Cup run early. The Galaxy will look to bounce back from Tuesday's loss when they travel to Toronto on Saturday for their next league game against Toronto FC.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
