COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- The Colorado Rapids' strong showing against defending Eastern Conference champion New England Revolution Saturday night kept the Rapids in the thick of the playoff hunt, maintaining a tie for third place in the tight Western Conference race.
The Rapids, however, can't be faulted for leaving the match with a bad aftertaste.
For the third game in a row, Colorado boasted a near bulletproof backline, following up their back-to-back shutouts of Chicago and Dallas by holding the Revolution to five shots and one goal, a chip over the head of goalkeeper Preston Burpo following a deflected header from center fullback Cory Gibbs.
"He got a good bounce," Burpo said of the equalizer from halftime substitute Kenny Mansally in the 50th minute. "It was deflected off Cory towards the back. My initial move was to go forward, but the way the ball popped up, I was in trouble at that point, and I decided to sit and hope he was just going to shoot it. But he decided to chip it. I was in trouble, and he did well with it."
The goal slammed the breaks on the momentum Colorado had built with a late goal in the waning moments of the first half, putting a new slant on a second half the Rapids had hoped to dictate with a hard-won lead.
"That was a bit of a kick in the teeth for us five minutes into the second half," said interim coach Gary Smith of New England's comeback goal. "But you see the way the team responded from that point. I couldn't give anything but praise for the players. We created a number of opportunities, and I thought their goalkeeper made some really good saves. I thought there were some terrific passages of play that found us in good areas. Some great delivery from both sides. Terry [Cooke] and Colin [Clark] were instrumental in a lot of things we created."
Cooke and Clark had proven a formidable pair of wingers for Colorado, combining for seven shots between them and teaming up for a first-half goal on an attack that began with Pablo Mastroeni and Tom McManus possessing the ball at midfield before finding Cooke on the wing.
"Tom drifted deep in the midfield, got turned and played the ball wide to Cookie," Clark said. "I was more central than I usually am and drifted into the box. With Cookie, he'll put a ball in there and you don't have to do much with it. You pretty much just have to let it hit your head and it'll go in with him serving the ball. I was fortunate to be right there, and there it was. There it goes in the goal."
Colorado maintained pressure throughout the second half, fending off New England as the visiting side was rejuvenated by leveling the score. The Rapids pressed their attack, adding fresh legs with Conor Casey and Mehdi Ballouchy in the 62nd and 71st minutes, respectively, and threatening Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis up until the final seconds, when referee Michael Kennedy whistled the end of the game just as Casey launched a long cross to a wide-open Clark on the left wing.
The unusual end to the game as an attack was developing induced an immediate melee at midfield as the Rapids argued their case to Kennedy, but the referee held his ground and the game ended in deadlock.
"The referee said that he played five minutes on his watch," Smith said about the intrusive whistle, coming after an announced stoppage time of at least four minutes. "I think we all know that to play that out would have taken another three seconds, maximum. Because you're getting the defender completely stranded, [Clark] has one touch, and he has to finish. So we're talking about three seconds. It's very disappointing.
"All I said was if you felt that time was over, why stop it at that point? Why not stop it down in the channel when Conor secures the ball? Once he gets to that point, you've got to play it out, surely. But there we have it."
The final whistle stood, and the two teams satisfied themselves with each taking a well-earned point out of the match, but Colorado -- with its sites firmly set on moving up in the Western Conference standings -- couldn't find cause to celebrate.
"It feels like a defeat in many ways," Smith said. "I thought the team conducted themselves in an extremely professional manner. The game was tight for a good period in the first half, and the one goal that separated it I felt was a very decent goal."
With Los Angeles defeating D.C. later Saturday night, the Rapids were left in a tie for third place with 31 points, squarely in the middle of a pack of five teams trailing conference leader Houston, each within four points of each other.
"On another day, we win the game I think," Smith said. "We have enough chances to win the game. Sadly today we come away with a point against a rejuvenated New England team who we all know have tremendous quality, and I think we've restricted them to few opportunities and scraps, to be honest."
Letting a solid New England side scrape together a tie on Colorado's home field would have to be enough for the Rapids this week. The team continues to click when it matters most, and with their season on the line, the Rapids are giving nothing away.
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