MLS Wrapup Nikolic helps boost Fire’s rally
Colorado gives fans a victory in final game of season on home turf.
COMMERCE CITY» With nothing at stake except professional pride, fan appreciation and the opportunity to cripple the playoff hopes of their most bitter rival, the Rapids won the final home game of a dreary season Sunday evening, defeating Real Salt Lake 1-0.
Fleet forward Joshua Gatt scored off a lovely back-heel pass into space by Alan Gordon in the third minute, and the Rapids withstood withering pressure from the desperate visitors the rest of the way to post a shutout.
“I was able to slip through the middle of the field with a good dummy from Gordo and a nice easy shot into the corner,” Gatt said.
The Rapids will go into the final game of their season at Seattle next Sunday with a record of 9-18-6, a year after going undefeated at home and finishing with the second-best overall record in MLS. To avoid elimination from the playoff picture, RSL needed either a win over the Rapids or an FC Dallas loss at Seattle. FCD lost that one 4-0, so to make the playoffs now, RSL needs to win its final game and needs FCD and San Jose to lose.
There were a lot of emotions on both sides.
“It was palpable,” Gatt said. “You could feel it coming in, you could feel the atmosphere inside the stadium, you could feel the urgency from Real Salt Lake. We did exactly what we hoped to do, which was spoil their day.”
Goalkeeper Tim Howard was back from national team duty, five days after Team USA’s World Cup hopes were dashed in a 2-1 loss at Trinidad and Tobago. The 38year-old Howard, who has two more years on his contract with the Rapids, had four saves in the first half — including two a minute or two apart early in the game — and finished the evening with seven.
“Tim Howard pulled off, in my opinion, three or four saves that were absolutely the top, top level of goalkeeper in the world,” said Rapids interim coach Steve Cooke. “I know that Tim was absolutely devastated (after the U.S. loss). But a real champion doesn’t hide, because he could have done (that). I know one thing for certain: Tim Howard was not going to let Salt Lake score tonight, and he wasn’t going to let us leave here with anything less than three points.”
Howard gave the team a pep talk before the game.
“What Tim said was really important,” said fullback Eric Miller. “It was basically just, the people who were here tonight are really the true fans. Obviously there was the Broncos game going on, so the people who were at the stadium are the people who really care about the Rapids, so let’s make sure we put on a good show for them.”
RSL had a ridiculous edge in possession — almost 72 percent — while the Rapids packed bodies into their end to absorb the pressure and wait for counterattack opportunities which rarely came. Colorado had
BRIDGEVIEW, ILL.» Nemanja Nikolic scored two of his three goals in the second half, increasing his league-leading total to 24, and the Chicago Fire rallied for a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Union on Sunday.
The Fire moved into third in the Eastern Conference, which would be good for a home playoff game. Nikolic is four goals clear of his pursuers for the Golden Boot (MLS’s top scorer) with one game to play.
Nikolic opened the scoring in the third minute, getting to a long feed from Brandon Vincent and aided by a bad angle by defender Jack Elliot before beating Andre Blake. Nikolic’s penalty kick in the 64th tied it at 2 after David Accam was taken down in the penalty area. Nikolic completed his first career hat trick for the game winner in the 78th.
Highlights.
Will Bruin scored twice in four minutes midway through the second half and the Seattle Sounders clinched a playoff berth and a chance to defend their MLS Cup by beating 4-0. … Jozy Altidore only one shot on goal, but it was a gamewinner.
“It’s just about pride at this point,” said center back Kortne Ford. “When you know you’re not going to make the playoffs, the focus turns to how many teams you can knock out of the playoffs. We put teams in tough positions here at the end of the year, and that’s what we’re going into Seattle to do as well.” scored in the 16th minute to give Toronto FC a 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact. … Diego Fagundez scored two goals in the second half and the New England Revolution beat 10-man New York City FC 2-1. … Ola Kamara scored his 17th goal of the season on his birthday and the Columbus Crew beat Orlando City 1-0. … Brad Guzan and Luis Robles each made three saves, and Atlanta United and the New York Red Bulls, both playoff bound, battled to a 3-3 draw. … Sebastian Blanco scored a pair of second-half goals to lead the Portland Timbers over D.C. United 4-0. … Romain Alessandrini had two goals and an assist, Clement Diop made four saves, and the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Minnesota United 3-0. … Andrew Dykstra recorded his first shutout since 2014 and Sporting Kansas City clinched a playoff spot after a 0-0 tie against the Houston Dynamo .… Valeri Qazaishvili’s goal in the 77th minute forced the into a 1-1 tie with the