Moments away from stealing a point from MLS Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union, the Colorado Rapids gave up two goals from Union substitute Mikael Uhre to take and double a lead in and after the 89th minute.
Coming off of a wild three-goal comeback to draw against Seattle 10 days ago, the Rapids had a shot to get a third result in the toughest four-game stretch they’ll see this year. After Colorado went up a goal in the first half, Philadelphia scored three unanswered in the second half to seal it.
With the win, Philadelphia stands atop the MLS in points (50 in 25 games). The Rapids, who have played the most games in the league, continue to jostle for position in a tight race for the last playoff spots in the Western Conference.
The Rapids are winless in nine straight away games. Their last away win was against San Jose on March 16.
“It frustrates me that we stopped playing in the second half. It’s maybe four or five results this year that we have a lead, especially away from home, and we stop doing the things we’re good at,” midfielder Cole Bassett said. “We’re playing too many long balls, we invite the pressure and I think we need to do better at that. Us as a group, as leaders, we’ve got to continue to harp on that: we can’t stop doing the things that get you the lead in the first place.”
Philadelphia had the vast majority of chances, but Colorado absorbed and deflected pressure as well as it had all season before Uhre’s 89th- and 90+5th-minute strikes stole points away. In total, the Union took an eye-popping 30 shots (11 on target). It took 11 corners, all but one were beaten away by the Rapids. Philadelphia tied the game at one a piece in the 64th minute on a short corner, where Kai Wagner found Tai Baribo for a simple finish at the back post.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s three goals against doesn’t entirely reflect his contribution, either: eight saves with a pair of wonderful stops in both halves.
Entirely against the run of play in the first half, the Rapids’ No. 9, Rafael Navarro, scored his ninth of the season in the 37th minute. Winger Calvin Harris bruised his way through a Union defender to win a ball near midfield, then sprung a counterattack. It found Cole Bassett on the right side of the box, whose shot rang off the crossbar. The rebound went straight to Navarro, who scored via diving header.
It was the Brazilian’s fourth in his last six matches, and he’s scoring in a variety of ways from headers to lunging toe pokes to penalties.
“I would like to see us create more transition. If we’re more compact in moments, if we’re more aggressive on our back line, stepping in (with) strikers, we would have created more moments,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “The times we did remain aggressive from a compact structure, we were worried with those big moments.
“Slowing down, making the right decisions, finding the right pass at the right moment, executing at that fast tempo is not so easy. … That’s something we always work on that comes with time.”
With some troubling form a month ago, the Rapids were teetering on the edge of ninth and 10th place in the Western Conference — maybe just good enough for a play-in game. A four-game slate against top clubs like LAFC, Vancouver, Seattle and Philadelphia (three of those on the road) seemed on paper like the potential final blow to the Rapids’ playoff hopes.
Despite the result at Philadelphia, that’s four crucial points in a span that very well could have yielded none. Without them, the Rapids could be as low as 12th, but instead sit in eighth (pending San Jose’s result against Real Salt Lake).
The Rapids will shift focus to the third-annual edition of Leagues Cup, an in-season tournament between MLS and Liga MX clubs, which starts at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Thursday against Santos Laguna. Colorado made a remarkable Cinderella run to the third-place game last year, in which it beat Philadelphia at Subaru Park in penalties.
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