Scoreless draw the net result forMLS teams
RAPIDS 0, EARTHQUAKES 0 San Jose happier than Colorado
commerce city » Barely 34 seconds into Saturday’s Rapids game, San Jose forward Alan Gordon sent a header skimming off the crossbar of the Colorado goal on a corner kick. Itwas pretty much the only exciting play in a game turned dreary by lousy weather and the tactics of the winless visitors.
The Earthquakes came in 0-2-2 and went home with a scoreless draw, which apparently was their intent. Big and physical, they sat back in a defensive posture.
“They put 11 guys behind the ball,” said Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni. “Anytime you do that, it’s a whole different game. You’ve got to move the ball quicker. This is the first time we’ve experienced this. The focus moving forward is, how we move the ball quicker, knowing where you’re going to go before you get it. The longer you take on the ball, the easier it is for a team like that to rotate positions and be decent defensively.”
Rain and strong winds marked much of the game, turning the pitch slick and slow. The Rapids (3-1-2) controlled the tempo but never really generated any great scoring chances.
“This is a great learning experience for us,” Mastroeni said. “If we continue on the same (winning) form, there’s going to be more and more teams that are going to come into this place, sit in (defensively) and look to break.”
There were plays that got the Rapids faithful into the game, though. In the first half, Gordon knocked down Rapids center back Shane O’Neill with an elbow to the face. Referee Edvin Jurisevic didn’t see it, so no foul was called.
“Iwas trying to get acrossGordon to get in decent position,” O’Neill said. “He said he didn’t mean it. He knewhe caught me. I think he knew he was a little bit fortunate the ref didn’t see it.”
San Jose’s Adam Jahn leveled Rapids midfielder Jared Watts and earned a red card in the 87th minute— three minutes after he came into the game for Gordon.
“They’re a physical team, they’ve got a lot of big guys, but I wouldn’t call San Jose dirty,” said Rapids captain Drew Moor. “I think they get a bad rap because of the physical style they play.”
Mastroeni gave them the benefit of the doubt too.
“They play hard,” Mastroeni said. “That’s theirMO. Ifwe nick one goal, then those guys have to open up, we’re having a whole different conversation.”
The game marked the home debut of Dillon Serna, the Rapids’ 20-year-old “homegrown player” fromBrightonwho started the season opener at New York but then missed three weeks with an ankle injury.
“Yes, finally,” Serna said. “It was a great experience being able to be here in front of my friends, family, my girlfriend’s family. Hearing the crowd chant my name, that was just icing on the cake. It was a great feeling.”