Rapids use 2-2 draw to 10-man Portland Timbers as learning experience

The Colorado Rapids are still learning.

Learning how to become a top team in the MLS, which not only includes consistent performances but learning how to close out games. The Portland Timbers played with 10 men for over 45 minutes on Wednesday night, the Rapids scored twice in that span and the Timbers answered each one with a goal of their own in the 2-2 draw.

“We’re a young team that is learning and making our way through the league,” head coach Robin Fraser said. “Certainly making strides going forward, but we just appear to be a little bit naïve tonight in a couple of situations, and certainly, it’s a disappointing draw given how long we were a man up and the fact that we were leading twice.”

A draw on the road at a notoriously tough place to play is not typically a bad result. But it’s the way it happened that makes it difficult to swallow for the Rapids.

“It was a good hard-fought match but for us, it’s a disappointment,” Jonathan Lewis said. “… it’s just a disappointment in general because we go up twice in the game and we let them come back. For us it’s lessons that we learned. We have to move forward and we have to know we can’t let that happen again.”

Lewis got the Rapids on the board after a brilliant one-touch pass from Andre Shinyashiki.

“Andre set it perfectly,” Lewis said. “I read the play and I saw it was going to fall to me and I took the touch, beat the guy and was able to score.”

“It doesn’t matter if I score, assist or get zero minutes. I want to win and that’s the spirit of the team as a whole. We’re just disappointed.”

It only took the Timbers three minutes to answer with a goal from Felipe Mora.

Then Michael Barrios scored the goal of the season. He got free down the right flank, took the ball to the end line and appeared to send in a cross. Although it wasn’t a cross. Barrios hit it with his outside foot and it started spinning towards the goal. The Timbers goalkeeper, Steve Clark, had difficulty tracking it, got a hand on it but didn’t save it from going in the goal.

“That was crazy,” Lewis said. “We all got up and ran because we thought that was the game.”

The whole Rapids bench was on their feet celebrating at what looked like the game-winner in the 87th minute. The Timbers answered four minutes later.

“You come to Portland on the road and everybody thinks a point is good,” Lewis said. “But for us we are now making that step where we’re a contender. So if you go to somewhere and the road and they go down to 10 men, a point is no longer good anymore.”

The Rapids have fallen to third place in the MLS Western Conference standings despite extending their unbeaten streak to nine games. They sit three points behind Sporting Kansas City with two games in hand. And two points behind the Seattle Sounders with no games in hand.