The Colorado Rapids broke a nine-game MLS winless streak in dramatic fashion Saturday night, with Dominique Badji delivering a stoppage-time goal to give interim head coach Steve Cooke his first win, 1-0, over the Houston Dynamo.
Fans hoping to see their Dynamo continuing their home-field winning ways — in the team's first match in 17 days and, significantly, its first post-Hurricane Harvey match — were left disappointed, as the team lost its first match and experienced its first shutout at home this season.
Goals
- 90' + 2 - COL - Dominique Badji Watch
Three Things
- SOMETIMES, POSSESSION ISN'T ENOUGH: Despite dominating possession by nearly a 2-1 margin, and creating more chances during the game (to the tune of an 18-14 shot advantage), Houston wasn't able to find the back of the net. Colorado's tenacious defense made sure of that throughout the match, and when it looked as if Juan David Cabezas broke through in stoppage time, Tim Howard looked every bit the 2014 World Cup hero with a diving save to preserve the shutout.
- LET'S GO TO THE TAPE: A VAR review led to a slight delay in the second half, as officials evaluated whether Alex's tackle on Mohammed Saied merited the yellow it was given on the field or deserved an upgrade to red. While the officials kept it yellow, Alex will now miss future action with yellow card accumulation, and was subbed off by coach Wilmer Cabrera within minutes of committing the infraction.
- AIGNER IS AN ENERGY: Saied also came off shortly after the incident with Alex, but it gave Stefan Aigner the chance to make just his second appearance since joining the Rapids last month. The German-born attacking player assisted on the late goal that transformed what looked like a well-fought draw into an opportunistic win.
They Said It
"I have to leave the stadium today just comfortable, at peace with myself and at peace with the players because they fought and they are tired. We weren’t sharp but we tried; when you do that, sometimes you are going to win and sometimes you are going to lose and sometimes you are going to tie.
—Houston Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera
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