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Rapids slog to tie Dallas
Mehdi Ballouchy jumps the fences to celebrate with the fans when he scores his third goal of the season, tying the game against FC Dallas, Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. (Photograph by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the image above took less than 35 words to describe; an apt statement on the amount of joy found in Commerce City on Saturday afternoon.
Mehdi Ballouchy’s exuberant celebration was the high point in an otherwise dismal slog against FC Dallas. Ballouchy’s penalty kick negated a 22nd minute own goal by Julien Baudet, but was the final score of the afternoon as the two teams noted 1-1.
With the tie, the Rapids completed an abysmal month, going 0-2-3 during July. The swoon leaves the team at 6-5-6 (24 points) and clinging to the sixth playoff spot in the league. Dallas inched to 6-2-9 (27 points), good for third in the Western Conference.
Except for Ballouchy’s score, it was a difficult day for fans and players. Everyone was sweating, and no one seemed seemed to be having much fun.
Baudet had the worst of it. Not only did he put the ball into his own net, the central defender was frequently getting turned by forwards and struggling to keep pace. Baudet and captain Pablo Mastroeni appeared to be fashioning a new language, complete with hand signals, to describe their dismay with one another.
Baudet got a final shot at redemption in the closing moments of the game as he moved forward for a corner kick. The ball was delivered squarely to his head and he missed over the bar. He lay on the turf for a few moments after the miss, head down, in the fitting statement for his day and much of the match for the team around him.
With Conor Casey missing after a head injuring in last Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders, Colorado stuck with the 4-5-1 and moved Omar Cummings to the sole striker role. For most of the day, it proved ineffective. The team would get chances, but Cummings rarely had the room he seeks.
Despite not getting the needed goal, the Rapids found new life late in the game. The insertion of Quincy Amarikwa for Ballouchy in the 73rd and Claudio Lopez for Colin Clarke in the 84th led to a switch in tactics. Playing in a 4-4-2, the team was nearly rescued as Lopez delivered deft passes and Amarikwa played with the speed and abandon of a forward looking for a chance. Neither was able to provide the winner, but both improved the team.
Next: The Rapids return to evening games with a 7 p.m., Aug. 7 clash at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park against the San Jose Earthquakes.
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