Colorado Rapids 1, Real Salt Lake 2 | MLS Match Recap
COMMERCE CITY, Colo.- With both sides fresh off of Western Conference losses last week, the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake entered Saturday evening’s fixture hungry for a result and claim at the Rocky Mountain Cup.
By night’s end, Colorado retained the silverware by virtue of goal differential, but ended up losing to their rivals 2-1. The win helped keep the Claret and Cobalt alive in the Western Conference playoff picture by virtue of first half goals from Joao Plata and Luke Mulholland.
With losses by the Portland Timbers and Houston Dynamo earlier in the weekend, RSL were fast out of the gates on the attack. A free kick won by Javier Morales resulted in a shot by Aaron Maund in the sixth minute, but the effort was too high. Seconds later, a follow up effort on goal from Plata was blocked by Kevin Doyle, keeping the two sides level.
Colorado drew first blood in the 16th minute when Sean St. Ledger’s cross found Doyle's head, who struck the effort true for his fifth goal of the season, giving the Rapids a 1-0 lead.
After a run of attacking play from Colorado, a foul by Bobby Burling on Juan Manuel Martinezin the 31st minute would result in a direct free kick awarded to RSL. Plata would make the most of the opportunity, curling his effort around the wall into the upper left corner of Colorado’s net, leveling the score at 1-1 in the 33rd minute.
With momentum on the visitor’s side, Martinez appeared to put Salt Lake in front with a shot past Clint Irwin in the 35th minute, but the RSL newcomer was ruled offside on the play.
Salt Lake finally would finally put their noses in front in the 43rd minute, however. Mulholland’s shot from outside of Colorado’s 18-yard box screamed past Irwin to give RSL a 2-1 lead. At half, the visitor’s not only held the advantage on the scoreboard, but also 59 percent of the game’s possession.
With hopes to equalize, Colorado generated pressure early in the second half, but did little to test RSL starting goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
After a short break, Salt Lake will look to continue its push for the postseason at home against the Portland Timbers on October 14 (9:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE). Colorado will remain at Dick's Sporting Goods Park to host Didier Drogba and the Montreal Impact next Saturday (6 pm ET, MLS LIVE) before closing out its season on the road.
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The game in 100 words (or less): Real Salt Lake stays alive in the hunt for a playoff berth in the Western Conference with a crucial 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. After falling behind early, RSL scored twice before halftime and held onto the lead for the rest of the match, moving within three points of the final playoff spot in the West. Real Salt Lake has three matches remaining, including a massive clash against the Portland Timbers, which will pretty much decide their season. For Colorado, it’s another year without playoff soccer.
Three moments that mattered
16′ — Doyle heads Colorado into the lead — The former Premier League man gave the home side an early lead, thanks to a powerful header from quite a bit out. Sean St. Ledger played in a cross, where Doyle snapped a header into the top corner past Nick Rimando.
33′ — Joao Plata bends in the free kick — Trailing 1-0, Joao Plata drew RSL level with a brilliant free kick. Plata’s shot dipped over the wall and under the crossbar, as Clint Irwin stood helpless in goal for Colorado.
43′ — Mulholland fires home a volley to put RSL ahead — Luke Mulholland scored his first goal of the season, and it was a beauty. A corner kick popped out to the midfielder at the top of the box, as he rifled a shot off the bounce and into the side netting.
Man of the match: Luke Mulholland
Goalscorers: Doyle (16′), Plata (33′), Mulholland (43′)
Real Salt Lake downs Colorado to eliminate Rapids from playoff race
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Joao Plata and Luke Mulholland scored 10 minutes apart in the first half and Real Salt Lake beat Colorado 2-1 on Sunday night to eliminate the Rapids from the playoff race.
The Rapids (8-12-10) struck first. Kevin Doyle headed a long cross from Sean St. Ledger in the 16th minute, snapping a shot from 15-yards out that found its way into the far corner.
Real Salt Lake (10-12-8) struck back in the 33rd minute when Plata bent a free kick over the Colorado wall and just under the crossbar.
Juan Manuel Martinez' shot in the 43rd minute was headed away by Colorado, but Mulholland headed the ball to his feet and one-timed a crisp shot from the top of the penalty area that found the far corner.
RSL is three points out of the final playoff spot with three games remaining.
DALLAS 4, HOUSTON 1
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — David Texeira scored twice, and Kellyn Acosta added a third second-half goal and FC Dallas beat the Houston Dynamo 4-1 on Sunday to become the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff spot.
Texeira put Dallas ahead when he fired a rocket from 20 yards that caromed off the crossbar in the 51st minute. Kellyn Acosta one-timed a shot off the crossbar 2 minutes later, and Texeira added an insurance goal in the third minute of stoppage time.
Coming off back-to-back losses on the road, including a 3-2 loss to the L.A. Galaxy, FC Dallas (14-10-5) beat the Dynamo for the fifth consecutive time and swept all three meetings this season.
Ricardo Clark scored from 15 yards to pull Houston even after Mauro Diaz scored on a penalty kick to give Dallas the early lead.
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