COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Instead of being Red, White, and Blue, the largest fireworks show in Colorado was Verde. Colorado Rapids hosted Austin FC in their traditional 4th of July game on Monday night. Austin started poorly, but continued their recent theme of resilience.
Austin FC beat Colorado Rapids with three goal comeback
The first half was a back and forth affair. After two good looks on corners, Colorado scored on set piece 19 minutes in. Lalas Abubakar got separation on his defender and Bryan Acosta delivered a great ball. Abubakar volleyed it across goal and in.
Jonathan Lewis made it 2-0 three minutes later. Colorado went direct with Diego Rubio playing a through ball as Lewis ran through a gap in the backline. Brad Stuver came off his line and Lewis chipped it over him to score.
Austin, almost on schedule, got back into the game. Jon Gallagher played a great ball out of the back in the 28th minute. It got through the defense to Ethan Finaly who chipped William Yarbrough to make it 2-1.
Sebastián Driussi tied it up 2-2 in stoppage time of the first half. He found space between Auston Trusty and Mark-Anthony Kaye on another ball from Gallagher to volley it into the back of the net.
Maxi Urruti appeared to make it 3-2 in the 52nd minute. Shooting off a rebound from a shot from Driussi, he beat Yarbrough. VAR had head ref Joe Dickerson go to the monitor. The play was disallowed for a handball on Driussi.
Urruti would get another chance on the hour mark and this one would count. Austin put Colorado under pressure for several minutes. In the 59th minute, Finlay got the ball at the edge of the box and played it centra. Driussi dummied to Urruti who shot first time to almost the same spot he put the ball seven minutes earlier.
Substitute Michael Barrios nearly had a tap in to tie it in the 68th but he placed it poorly and Stuver made the save. The game devolved into chaos after that. Urruti and Abubakar both missed great chances. Kipp Keller was given a second yellow for a foul on Rubio.
Neither team could find a decisive goal. The match ended 3-2 to Austin.
The move from Driussi, the finish from Urruti. #AustinFC with the link-up.
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Three Key Takeaways:
Verde fireworks: It took going down 2-0 for Austin to show up. But they did it again. Three goals in 30 minutes of play. Urruti and Driussi led the way.
Rapids blow a lead: Colorado has yet to win a game this year without a clean sheet. Up 2-0 in the first half at home in front of a packed stadium. That has to be three points. Given where they sit in the table, this could be a season-defining loss.
Difference in star power: Driussi is playing at a Best XI, possibly MVP clip so far. Colorado’s key players weren’t good enough, again. The defense leaked two preventable goals. Diego Rubio was pushed back field, limiting what he could do offensively. Gyasi Zardes again was poor. So was Barrios off the bench, missing a shot that had an xG of 0.56.
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