Down a goal and eagerly looking for an equalizer despite a slew of chances, Colorado needed a calm head Saturday night in Austin.
It came in the form of a pair of late-game substitutes in Michael Barrios and Kévin Cabral. The Frenchman scored a crucial 85th-minute game-tying goal as the Rapids earned a point against Austin FC in a 1-1 tie.
“I thought (our tenacity) was excellent,” Rapids head coach Robin Fraser said postgame. “I thought our commitment to sprint, whether to close things down or to run behind was excellent. I thought our choices of how we wanted to play out and our positioning was good. The play was good, but the question (about tenacity) is a valid one, because without tenacity, you don’t see the that level of play.”
Colorado (0-3-2, 2 points) was the better side on the night finishing with 19 shots, eight on target and four from inside the 18-yard box, and likely would’ve scored more if it weren’t for Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
Fraser opted for a defensive-first lineup on the road, with a 5-3-2 formation, as the team was down eight men, six due to injury and two more (Darren Yapi and Diego Rubio) missing because of the FIFA international window.
While Colorado had a bright start, it wasn’t able to maintain a clean sheet, as Austin (2-2-1, 7 points) struck five minutes into the game. Shortly after the Rapids’ first corner kick and a potential chance by Cole Bassett in which he wasn’t able to get full power on his shot, Austin FC struck.
On a counterattack, Sebastián Driussi played a through ball pass that Jon Gallagher ran onto, took two touches and finished. The offside flag was raised, but a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) determined that Gallagher was played onside by Andreas Maxsø.
The Rapids outshot Austin FC 9-2 and had seven corner kicks by halftime. Jonathan Lewis had a few major chances, while in the 41st minute Keegan Rosenberry, who missed last week’s game against Minnesota United, ripped a shot that was well-saved by Stuver.
Before halftime, Fraser was shown on the Apple TV broadcast amping up his players, as he felt there was still at least a point available.
“The cheerleading at halftime was about acknowledging what they had done in the first half,” Fraser said. “The 15-minute timespan of sitting on your stool, you could lose some of that. My feeling was I was gonna do everything I could to make sure we didn’t lose that sort of energy and commitment and tenacity.”
It worked. Additional half-chances came in the 66th minute as Bassett nearly caught Stuver off the line as he had to tip a shot over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner, a ball was flicked onto Danny Wilson, who headed it and Stuver made a fantastic diving stop, which sent a few Rapids players to their knees as frustration mounted.
Fraser’s substitutes with 20 minutes remaining proved decisive. Barrios used his late-game bursts of speed to nearly burn the home side twice. First, in the 83rd minute, he had a one-on-one chance and tried a shot which Stuver denied, but he didn’t see Cabral making a late run.
He didn’t miss the second opportunity.
Two minutes later, Bryan Acosta made a long run and Barrios quickly found himself in on goal in a two-on-two situation. Cabral pulled off his man, Barrios made the pass and the Frenchman buried his chance.
“I knew Mikey was going to beat the defender and so I tried my best to be in the (right area) in the box,” Cabral said. “I knew he was going to play (that pass) because, naturally, we work a lot on this kind of movement.”
While Colorado is still winless, considering the circumstances and in its first game without captain Jack Price, a point on the road was hard-earned.
The Rapids will host LAFC next Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
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