Sean Nealis Own Goal Sees Rapids Draw RBNY

COMMERCE CITY – Revenge is a dish best served cold. That’s hard to do when it’s 90 degrees at the start of a game. Colorado Rapids hosted New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. It was Rapids Manager Chris Armas and midfielder Omir Fernandez against their former club.

Lalas Abubakar returned to the back four for Colorado. The lineup was otherwise unchanged from Sunday. Cole Bassett was up in midfield in the No. 10 role with Omir Fernandez on his wing against his former club. Michael Edwards was on the bench.

New York came in injured in this game. John Tolkin was not in the team. Sandro Schwarz opted for a 3-4-3 with Lewis Morgan on the wing.

The first half saw the teams playing cat-and-mouse. There was plenty of action in the middle third but the goalkeepers had little to do. Cole Bassett was active in pressing and possession. Red Bulls were very direct, passing through balls to Kyle Duncan and Dante Vanzeir. The hydration breaks were in effect with the temperature at kickoff around 90 F, possibly the hottest night game this reporter has covered.

Cameron Harper had a chance in the middle of the box in the 10th that he sent right to goalkeeper Zack Steffen. The visitors took their time on their corners, almost as bad as Philadelphia Union last year, to the jeers from C38. Vanzeir had a break away in the 35th, beating Andreas Maxsø in a foot race. Steffen made a great save, directing the rebound to a defender.

Colorado created little in the first half. Rafael Navarro had two sniffs, on a three game drought. He set Oliver Larraz up for a shot on a late run into the box in the 36th that went right to Carlos Coronel.

Morgan opened the scoring just before halftime. He found space in the box between the defenders and trailing midfielders and buried his shot. Vanzier had the assist.

“I start it off with a shanked punt. We still could have dealt with it, cutting out a passing lane. We’re a little too reactive on that play,” Steffen lamented after the game, taking responsibility. He felt the club has work to do on plays where the backline collapses and the midfield does not cover attackers between the lines, similar to the goal conceded against St. Louis CITY.

“We have so few moments where Zack just punts. Not an excuse. It starts with the lack of challenging. From there it’s a chain reaction. We’ll look at the video,” said Captain Keegan Rosenberry.

Colorado finally created some offense in the 64th. Omir Fernandez hit the post after a battle for possession just outside the box. Colorado recycled the ball with Larraz finding Rosenberry for a cross into the box. Captain Sean Nealis slid to try and prevent a scoring chance, putting it into his own net.

The game ended 1-1 with both teams looking leggy. Bassett had a header on a corner in the 71st that Carlos Coronel made a good save on. Cory Burke had a look from the top of the box in the 88th that Steffen forced wide. It was a fair result.

“It feels like a point won in the end against a good team. To be down by a goal. They’re a good team. They’re a stingy team,” Armas said in his opening statement.

Pregame injury, fewer substitutions, and beating the heat:

Substitute Calvin Harris suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups. He was unavailable and could not be replaced. The hydration breaks were in effect in a rare night game at DSGP. Armas used just three of five substitutions across two windows, not until the 75th minute. The team did not have the energy in this game. This surely contributed to that. To run the team out in that heat to start a three game week is curious.

“We tried to push to be aggressive to get the victory. The only other one we thought about was Jasper. Once you make that move, you lose the set piece threat with Connor Ronan. There’s a method to the madness. We go the draw which was well earned,” Armas said.

The manager confirmed Omir Fernandez was subbed out for an injury as well. Harris was dealing with his groin prior to match day. Neither injury is expected to be serious. Fernandez did leave the locker room in a boot.

“It was a hot one tonight. I didn’t feel like we had that extra push that we normally do after 55-60 minutes. Similarly, I don’t feel that they fell off as drastically as teams when they come here. Credit to them. They made it a difficult game,” added Rosenberry.

“We’re limiting teams to poor chances. We’re defending well inside our red zone, the scoring area. The team defended from front to back. I do feel better about it. We do it as a whole. There’s a lot of quality in the league. We don’t need to give a lot for teams to punish us.”

No RBNY revenge tour. It wasn’t needed?

Armas and Fernandez did not get a big win against their former team. The midfielder was even subbed out with an injury, to make the night more of a hot mess. Still, the Rapids did not lose. To battle back and get a deserved draw, even with an own goal is progress. Colorado extended their home unbeaten streak to seven. RBNY fans certainly miss Fernandez given their lack of goal creation with Emil Forseberg out.

“Earlier in my life I might have thought this way. I can tell you with 100% honesty. I knew I’d see a few friendly faces. That was really it. It’s not revenge. When I was a player for LA Galaxy and I got traded to Chicago Fire, all I wanted to do was beat the LA Galaxy. I didn’t feel that way (tonight). My mind was so focused on the result.”

Armas appears to have reached a healthy peace with his time at the club. Just like in May at NYCFC. It was just another game they were trying to win.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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