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Game 2: Cummings rescues Rapids; relentless pressure creates late 1-1 tie

June 25, 2009 | 1:10 am 3

By George Tanner

Ugo Ihemelu of the Rapids nearly scored on a corner kick in the 81st minute, when the Rapids were trailing FC Dallas 1-0. (photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

There seemed to be no end to the goal-scoring chances the Colorado Rapids created on Wednesday night.

And although the Rapids managed to convert only one of those chances, it was a big one: Omar Cummings scored the equalizer in the 84th minute to salvage a 1-1 tie with FC Dallas in a midweek Major League Soccer fixture at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Cummings netted his career-high sixth goal after a throw-in. The ball made its way to Mehdi Ballouchy in the middle of the pitch, and he played a spicy little through-ball to spring the Jamaican free in the box. Cummings slid the ball neatly past Dallas goalkeeper Ray Burse to knot the score after a dizzying Rapids attack had come up empty all evening.

“We were able to hold on for quite awhile,” Dallas coach Schellus Hyndman said. “There were a lot of balls coming across, and it wasn’t their day to finish their opportunities. Credit Omar with getting a good goal to tie the game. We’re happy to walk away with one point.”

The Hoops should be happy. The Rapids outshot Dallas 19-8 in a match that had almost 11,000 fans on the edge of their seats because of all the chances Colorado had.

Here’s a taste:

— Nick LaBrocca, from 18 yards out, forced Burse to make a leaping save in the 15th minute. About five minutes later, LaBrocca took the same shot from the same spot on the field, and Burse had to make the same jumping stop. I would rate the quality of these two chances, on a 1-10 scale with 10 being a goal, at 6 each.

— In the 24th, Rapids newcomer Pat Noonan made a nifty move to beat his man then somehow saw Colin Clark alone on the left wing. Noonan crossed to Clark, and Clark teed up a shot that bent away from the far post. Quality of chance: 7.

— Just before halftime, LaBrocca headed a cross from Clark just over the crossbar. Quality of chance: 8.

— Cummings unleashed a hard one-timer off a Clark cross in the 55th. Quality of chance: 6.

— In the 60th, Cummings intercepted pass then led LaBrocca out wide with a pass to the right flank. LaBrocca threaded a cross that was just out of reach of Clark’s sliding attempt to connect. Quality of chance: 8.

— Cummings launched a rocket in the 66th minute from 12 yards out that sailed wide. Quality of chance: 8.

— Second-half subs Jacob Peterson and Terry Cooke got in on the act. On a corner kick from Cooke, Peterson’s glancing header missed wide. Quality of chance: 6.

— In the 81st minute, Cooke took another corner kick (the Rapids had eight corner kicks to Dallas’ two). The Dallas defense cleared the ball, but right back to Cooke, who chipped in a sweet little cross. Ugo Ihemelu missed slipping his header inside the post by about two widths of the ball. Quality of chance: 9.

— Late in the game, Cummings missed a glancing header wide on a cross from Peterson. Quality of chance: 8.

— And about 60 second later, Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni passed to Clark on the left wing, Clark crossed to Cummings and Omar headed it toward the upper corner. Burse couldn’t get to it, but the ball went just high and wide. Quality of chance: 7.

The attack came in waves. Again, it was dizzying. After the game, LaBrocca said a 1-1 tie was probably not a fair result.

“Soccer can be a cruel game,” LaBrocca said. “Other times in the season we create those chances and score those goals. And then there are other times where that’s going to happen, you create the chances and just can’t put it in.”

The Rapids controlled nearly all of the match, except a five-minute stretch in the middle of the first half in which Dallas managed to put a few passes together. It was during this period that Dave Ferreira, Jeff Cunningham and Kenny Cooper clicked on a nifty 1-2-3-4 sequence that began with Ferreira and ended with Ferreira. His goal at the 37-minute mark was his second of the season.

But outside of those five minutes, the Rapids gave Dallas fits. The Hoops had serious problems connecting on passes, as the Rapids were constantly in the way, sticking a leg out, anticipating the path of a pass and getting there first. And many of the turnovers were Dallas’ end of the pitch.

The defensive pressure worked well. For example, in one 10-second stretch, Clark, Jordan Harvey and Ballouchy boxed in Cunningham along the sideline. Cunningham took about 10 to 15 touches just to look for a teammate to pass to. He escaped with a throw-in, but he expended a lot of energy with little to show for it, and he left the game at halftime.

“That’s typically what we try to do: We try to disrupt a team, get them out of their rhythm,” LaBrocca said. “We try to play high pressure, and with the altitude it makes it difficult.”

Hyndman singled out LaBrocca when discussing the pressure the Rapids applied.

“We thought we’d have a little bit better success in the middle of the field, and LaBrocca was coming into the middle from the right side and kind of messed things up for us,” he said. “We had a lot of uncharacteristic giveaways. Dax McCarty is one of our best connectors and best passers. I think he might’ve given two uncharacteristic balls away.”

STREAK NO. 1: The Rapids have not lost in six matches this season at Dick’s. They’re 3-0-3.

STREAK NO. 2: Cummings has scored four goals in the past three Rapids’ games. He has six for the season, which is a career high, and he’s in a logjam for fifth place in goal scoring in the league. Guillermo Barros Schelotto leads MLS with 10, Rapids striker Conor Casey is alone in second with eight goals. Dallas’ Kenny Cooper is tied with Seattle’s Fredy Montero at seven, and there’s a large pack tied at six.

STREAK NO. 3: The Rapids are on an eight-game unbeaten streak in MLS play.

STREAK NO. 4: This one’s more of a trend than a streak: Dallas has lost only once in its past eight matches. So although the Hoops sit near the bottom of the table in the Western Conference, this is a squad that has been playing well recently.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Cummings is red-hot right now, and he added another big goal to his collection. LaBrocca would be my second choice. He had a complete game, excelling on offense and defense.

NEXT UP: The Rapids travel to Seattle to play an afternoon game Sunday against the Sounders.

GET THIS: On Twitter, FC Dallas’ Web folks wrote the following: “The team will hopefully draw inspiration from the US national team’s stunning 2-0 win over world no. 1 Spain in the Confederations Cup.” OK, maybe so. But couldn’t the Rapids do the same? Casey was actually there! Wouldn’t the Rapids get fired up, too? That’s just stupid. Maybe the Hoops will “draw inspiration” from the sun coming up tomorrow morning, as well.

George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an associate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.

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