|
|
Played
October 27, 2011 10:05 PM EDT
Dick's Sporting Goods Park — Denver, Colorado
Referee: J. Gonzalez
Attendance: 7803
October 27, 2011 10:05 PM EDT
Dick's Sporting Goods Park — Denver, Colorado
Referee: J. Gonzalez
Attendance: 7803
45+1′
Omar Cummings
Colorado Rapids 1-0 Columbus Crew: Rapids advance to play Sporting Kansas City in MLS playoffs
Omar Cummings hit his first playoff goal to lead the Colorado past Columbus 1-0 in an MLS Wild Card matchup.
By Zac Lee Rigg
Justin Edmonds
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- For the second year running, the Colorado Rapids eliminated the Columbus Crew in the first round of the MLS playoffs. The 2011 win came courtesy of an Omar Cummings goal in a Wild Card match that ended 1-0 Thursday night.
"It's a big confidence boost, and a start into the playoffs," Rapids defender Drew Moor said. "This was a tough game. We knew coming in that Columbus was coming in and going to play us extremely hard. This sets things up very nicely for us. These are never easy games, and I thought we showed great spirit and character."
With the temperature dipping just under freezing, the players' breaths hung in the air like fog. The host side had trouble breaking out of the haze in the opening quarter hour, but after that started to take hold in central midfield.
Columbus was without the suspended Emmanuel Ekpo, and Danny O'Rourke failed a late fitness test. That meant Tony Tchani made his first start for the Crew after knee surgery earlier in the year, partnering rookie Rich Balchan.
A terse opening stanza ended with an exclamation mark. With no stoppage time added, Cummings struck just seconds before the whistle. Brian Mullan, who has won the MLS Cup a record five times, cut the ball through the Crew backline with the outside of his right foot. Overlapping fullback Kosuke Kimura pulled it back into the box and Cummings finished off the slick move with his first-ever playoff goal.
"This is when you have to bring it all," Mullan explained. "The way the league is set up, it doesn't matter as much as you did through the course of the season, but once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen."
The Crew chased the match in the second half. Andres Mendoza wriggled free atop the box in the early going and slammed a left-footed shot off the crossbeam.
With 20 minutes remaining in the match, Rapids midfielder Jamie Smith took an awkward step and injured his knee, forcing a reshuffle. The Crew threw on MLS' all-time leading goalscorer Jeff Cunningham, but within a handful of minutes he left the match injured as well.
Columbus provided intense late pressure, but Colorado had the better chances hitting out on lightning counterattacks. In one, Mac Kandji pinged the ball off the upright.
"I honestly felt as if this game was a game that they hadn't anticipated," Colorado coach Gary Smith said. "There were a couple of other things that came into the equations, such as creativity. The overall feel of the group was to try and be as aggressive as we could be, but of course, making sure that we are getting bodies and being as creative as we can."
Colorado hung on for a 1-0 win to advance. Sporting Kansas City awaits in the Eastern Conference semifinal first leg on Sunday.
Tim Gardner contributed additional reporting.
Follow ZAC LEE RIGG on
or shoot him an email.
"It's a big confidence boost, and a start into the playoffs," Rapids defender Drew Moor said. "This was a tough game. We knew coming in that Columbus was coming in and going to play us extremely hard. This sets things up very nicely for us. These are never easy games, and I thought we showed great spirit and character."
With the temperature dipping just under freezing, the players' breaths hung in the air like fog. The host side had trouble breaking out of the haze in the opening quarter hour, but after that started to take hold in central midfield.
Columbus was without the suspended Emmanuel Ekpo, and Danny O'Rourke failed a late fitness test. That meant Tony Tchani made his first start for the Crew after knee surgery earlier in the year, partnering rookie Rich Balchan.
A terse opening stanza ended with an exclamation mark. With no stoppage time added, Cummings struck just seconds before the whistle. Brian Mullan, who has won the MLS Cup a record five times, cut the ball through the Crew backline with the outside of his right foot. Overlapping fullback Kosuke Kimura pulled it back into the box and Cummings finished off the slick move with his first-ever playoff goal.
"This is when you have to bring it all," Mullan explained. "The way the league is set up, it doesn't matter as much as you did through the course of the season, but once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen."
The Crew chased the match in the second half. Andres Mendoza wriggled free atop the box in the early going and slammed a left-footed shot off the crossbeam.
With 20 minutes remaining in the match, Rapids midfielder Jamie Smith took an awkward step and injured his knee, forcing a reshuffle. The Crew threw on MLS' all-time leading goalscorer Jeff Cunningham, but within a handful of minutes he left the match injured as well.
Columbus provided intense late pressure, but Colorado had the better chances hitting out on lightning counterattacks. In one, Mac Kandji pinged the ball off the upright.
"I honestly felt as if this game was a game that they hadn't anticipated," Colorado coach Gary Smith said. "There were a couple of other things that came into the equations, such as creativity. The overall feel of the group was to try and be as aggressive as we could be, but of course, making sure that we are getting bodies and being as creative as we can."
Colorado hung on for a 1-0 win to advance. Sporting Kansas City awaits in the Eastern Conference semifinal first leg on Sunday.
Tim Gardner contributed additional reporting.
Follow ZAC LEE RIGG on
or shoot him an email.
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kenny Cooper
Striker NY Red Bulls |
11 | 2 |
|
Chris Wondolowski
Striker San Jose Earthquakes |
11 | 1 |
|
Thierry Henry
Striker NY Red Bulls |
9 | 0 |
|
Saer Sene
Striker New England |
7 | 1 |
|
Maicon Santos
Striker D.C. United |
7 | 0 |