Colorado Rapids continued their Desert Diamond Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against New England Revolution in Tucson on Saturday evening.
After finishing 2-2 against Sporting Kansas City last week, it was the second successive stalemate for Pablo Mastroeni’s side.
And, as in the first game, Rapids looked solid and accomplished, took the lead, demonstrated numerous positive signs but, ultimately, were pegged back.
The start of the game was somewhat tentative. Both sides jabbed away at each other however, for the first 15 minutes, neither looked like landing a meaningful blow.
The Revolution nearly broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when Daigo Kobayashi flashed a header towards goal. However, Clint Irwin made an excellent reaction save. Arguably the keeper was the Rapids' most influential player on the night.
It took 27 minutes for Rapids to register a shot but Dominique Badji dragged his shot wide. Shortly afterwards Gabriel Torres fired a free-kick straight at keeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
It had been a tepid first half but Rapids were ahead within three minutes of the restart. Badji nodded on a long ball and Torres sprinted through to clip home in style.
The Panama international is looking sharp so far in pre-season.
Badji then fired at Shuttleworth from a tight angle.
The Revolution would equalize shortly afterwards when Diego Fagundez wriggled into the area and slotted the ball into the far corner.
Having swapped goals, the two teams fell back into the predictable groove of the first half.
However, in the final stages, both sides would have clear chance to take all three points.
In the 84th minute Dillon Powers was too strong for Zachary Herivaux and found the onrushing Deshorn Brown on the edge of the area. However the Jamaica international thumped the ball over the bar.
The Revolution would have a clearer chance in the final seconds of injury time. Fagundez fed Steve Neumann and, with the Rapids defense calling for offside, Irwin made another crucial save.
COLORADO RAPIDS 1-1 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Desert Diamond Cup – Kino North Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Scoring Summary
COL - Gabriel Torres (Dominique Badji), 48’
NE - Diego Fagundez (unassisted) 54’
MORE STATISTICS TO FOLLOW
