COMMERCE CITY — Even after going down a man early in the second half, the Colorado Rapids found a way to remain in the fight Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. It still didn’t result in a first win at home.
Connor Ronan missed penalty kick attempt in the 70th minute against the San Jose Earthquakes, and Colorado failed to score for a ninth time this season in a scoreless draw.
The Rapids (2-8-7, 13 points) ended a six-game losing streak across all competitions, but couldn’t find three points. The refereeing was the first thing on Rapids head coach Robin Fraser’s mind in his post game remarks.
“I thought from the beginning we started very positively. We needed to turn some of those good attacks into better goal-scoring opportunities, but I just have so much frustration,” Fraser said. “(Against Columbus Crew) we have a referee who’s clearly afraid to change a game so she doesn’t call a stone cold, 100% red card. Tonight we had a referee who’s dying to change the game and calls, to me, what is an impossible red-card call.”
Just before the halftime whistle sounded, rookie Moïse Bombito was shown his first yellow card of the game. It would prove decisive in the second half.
In the 51st minute, Bombito went into a tackle but did not extend his leg and got the ball, however he caught Paul Maurie’s leg in the follow-through. Referee Sergii Boiko reached into his pocket and pulled out a second yellow card, which resulted in a red card that sent the Rapids down to 10 men.
Following the game, PRO, the referees’ organization, issued a response to a pool reporter question: “The foul was deemed to stop a promising attack which is a point of emphasis for the 2023 season. If not for the foul, the attacking player has space and options to continue on a promising attack.”
Colorado dominated the first half as it had eight shots, two of which were on target, as well as six corner kicks. Cole Bassett was steady in his first start since April. In the 15th minute off a free kick, Bassett leapt for a header that seemed destined for the corner but Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Brito made a spectacular save to keep it level.
Near the end of the first half, Benji Kikanovic of the Earthquakes struck a shot that hit the crossbar and stayed out. Bombito’s two yellow cards followed, and the Rapids were at a disadvantage.
Yet despite being down a man for most of the second half, Colorado remained on the offensive as Barrios came on as a sub and brought a spark down the left-hand flank. In the 70th minute, that produced a penalty kick for Ronan. Boiko originally stopped play to issue a yellow to Barrios for simulation, but Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened and reversed the decision.
On the penalty kick attempt, Ronan tried to place the ball into the bottom right-hand corner but it wasn’t tucked away far enough and De Sousa Brito got a hand on it to push it away.
It was Colorado’s second missed penalty of the season as Diego Rubio had a penalty effort denied at Vancouver — which came in April and happened to be the last time the Rapids earned a point.
Goalkeeper Marko Ilic got his first home start in MLS play and secured the team’s first clean sheet since late April.
“Every point can be huge in these situations and we’ve had a rough time in the past few games, but we have to take this as a positive,” Ilic said. “We were really talking about the tactics and energy and I really felt it. Every point can lift your spirits and a point can really lift the atmosphere. Hopefully it’s one little step towards our goal.”
Colorado will have a full week to train after playing multiple games in four straight weeks. The team will hit the road and face Orlando City Saturday, June 10.
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