COMMERCE CITY- The Colorado Rapids closed out the victory Saturday night, 2-1 over the San Jose Earthquakes behind a pair of goals from Kellyn Acosta and Diego Rubio.
The Rapids offensive first half resembled their performance for the majority of this season. They struggled to maintain ball control and spent most of the time defending their half. San Jose came close to capitalizing on two different scoring threats that bounced off the post.
Where the Rapids do excel is their willingness to push the ball forward as soon as they settle in possession. This paid off just minutes before the end of the first half when Kellyn Acosta slipped a shot from outside the box past Quakes keeper Daniel Vega, putting the Rapids ahead 1-0. Despite ending the first half with just 35% possession, Colorado managed seven total shots and ended the half with the lead.
The San Jose attack would remain aggressive and it was only a matter of time before they scored the equalizer, this time coming from Valeri Qazaishvili who took advantage of a poor clearance and smashed it past keeper Clint Irwin.
Soon after in the 67th minute, Colorado shouted for a potential foul call in the box that the referee determined not enough to be considered a penalty. The Rapids showed improvement on the ball in the second half giving them more time to pass the ball around and establish an attack. In the 74th minute, their efforts paid off as Diego Rubio found himself with space outside the box to handle the ball and curl it past Vega for the Rapids 2nd a game winning goal.
On his goal tonight, Rubio said, “I just try to stay close to the goal. Some people say that when you score the first goal that the other goals are coming, but it’s really just about working hard. I think in the first half we didn’t work hard enough but still managed to find a goal, but in the second half we responded well and found another goal after they scored. It’s really about the hard work done by everyone — not just me, it’s a team effort.”
The Quakes wouldn’t have an answer for the final twenty minutes and the Rapids ended the night with back to back victories. As the season nears the end for the Rapids, every point matters.
On his team’s performance, Colorado Head Coach Conor Casey said. “We’re in a position now where we know our home games are so important to us and now be able to win the last two. Especially tonight against a good team — such an evenly matched game — for them to come out in the second half and really put their heads down and do their jobs. I’m just really proud of the guys.”
Colorado will head to Minnesota for their midweek game to take on the 3rd place United. San Jose will look to bounce back from this tough loss against Sporting Kansas City next Saturday.
Written by Paul Fritz
(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/Colorado Rapids)
