Force is with Rapids in rare home victory

RAPIDS 2, MONTREAL 1

COMMERCE CITY» It was Star Wars Night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, but the plot that unfolded on the field was even more bizarre than the cantina scene in “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.”

Both teams played a man down for most of the match and the Rapids won their first home game since July when secondhalf substitute Alan Gordon tallied in the 81st minute to give his team a 2-1 victory over Montreal.

Colorado hadn’t won a home game since beating Houston 3-1 on July 1 and had lost seven of its previous eight games.

Montreal is clinging to slim hopes of making the playoffs.

Rapids midfielder Jared Watts picked up his second red card of the season as the penalty for a harsh tackle on Montreal defender Chris Duvall, who was hurt badly enough that he had to leave the game. Duvall left the field in a wheelchair with an injured ankle and the Rapids would have to play 78 minutes of the game with 10 men.

“That makes it a little bit hard, but we should be able to adjust,” said midfielder Micheal Azira, “because we are human beings, we are not trees.”

That disadvantage was offset in the 32nd minute when Montreal defender Daniel Lovitz was sent off for an apparent knee into the ribs of Colorado’s Mike Da Fonte after the two tangled and Da Fonte wound up on the ground.

Colorado’s recent import from Germany, Stefan Aigner, gave the Rapids a 1-0 lead in first-half stoppage time, getting his head on the end of a long ball from defender Mekeil Williams and scoring from 14 yards in his second start for the team. Aigner joined the club in August and made his first start last Wednesday in a 2-0 loss at FC Dallas.

That lead seemed imperiled early in the second half when referee Jorge Gonzalez awarded the visitors a penalty kick for a Marlon Hairston tackle on Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti in the penalty area. Replays showed it was actually a brilliant defensive play by Hairston, and after consulting the video assistant referee, Gonzalez reversed his call.

The Rapids (8-18-5) left Montreal forward Matteo Mancosu unmarked 30 yards from goal in the 62nd minute and he fired a missile past Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard for the goal that made it 1-1, but the Rapids took over the game in the last 20 minutes.

“Four games left in our season, we know we’re fighting for our pride,” Hairston said. “We wanted to come out here and fight for ourselves, fight for the fans. We all deserved this. The season hasn’t gone exactly like we wanted it this year, but we wanted to salvage something here late on the season.”

John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or @johnmeyer