COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Colorado Rapids hosted LA Galaxy in an afternoon match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday. Chicharito Hernandez started up top for the visitors, marking his first appearance since his injury on July 4th.
Samuel Grandsir Goal Rescues Point in tight Rapids-Galaxy Match
The first half was a back and forth affair. LA tried to play out of the back to the flanks then into the box for Chicharito. Colorado focused on transition moments, capitalizing on turnovers in the midfield. Mistakes at the back led to chances for Michael Barrios and Mark-Anthony Kaye.
Just 11 minutes in, Chicharito missed an open header from Victor Vazquez right in front of goal. The best chance of the first half came in the 33rd minute. Kevin Cabral beat the offside trap and had a breakaway. Goalkeeper William Yarbrough came off his line to make a great save.
Jonathan Lewis hit the post in the final minutes of the first half, shooting from the top of the box. While LA had the best individual looks, Colorado was better from the run of play, playing direct in transition and finding space to create shooting opportunities.
The Galaxy attack petered out in the second half as Chicharito was not 90 minutes fit. Colorado continued to ask questions on the counter and from set pieces. Danny Wilson had a great chance on a corner on the hour mark. Jonathan Bond punched the cross to him. Wilson tried a volley off balance, but it was blocked.
The Rapids finally opened the scoring in the 66th minute. Working quickly, Collen Warner found substitute Andre Shinyashiki. He crossed the ball perfectly into the box for Barrios to score on a header, finding space between the center backs.
Colorado appeared to be heading towards another grind-it-out one-goal win when the Gs scored against the run of play with 10 minutes left. Daniel Steres tried a 50 yard pass out of the back to Samuel Grandsir who was able to run onto the ball and score, beating Yarbrough at the near post.
The match ended 1-1.
¿Como se dice riflazo en francés?
¡RIFLAZUEX! 🚀 @SamuelGrandsir 😤😤pic.twitter.com/5NFYTgzmtP
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy_Es) September 11, 2021
Three Key Takeaways:
Chicharito returns rusty: CH14 had some decent looks in this game. He faded as the match went on. He needs to build his fitness and get a goal, then he’ll settle in.
A game of moments: Like the match these teams played less than a month ago, it was competitive. It was less about the larger narrative of what each team was doing. It was a game of moments. Shinyashiki had a moment on a corner a month ago. The Samuel Grandsir goal was the moment that defined the game for LA.
Rapids remain unbeaten: Robin Fraser had to like much of this performance even though his team dropped points from a winning position. Unbeaten in eight, still second in the Western Conference.
Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken, Last Word on Soccer.
