Commerce City, CO (Sports Network) - The Colorado Rapids got back to winning
ways on Sunday by claiming a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire at Dick's
Sporting Goods Park.
Oscar Pareja's men began the season with two successive wins until they
suffered a 4-1 thumping at Red Bull New York in their last outing, but Omar
Cummings and Kamani Hill helped make it three wins from four games this season
with goals in the second half of Sunday's contest.
Colorado came closest to scoring in the first half when rookie Tony Cascio
fired a powerful volley toward goal from a tough angle, but the sure-handed
Paolo Tornaghi parried the ball out for a corner to keep the Rapids off the
board.
It only took the Rapids 13 second-half minutes to break deadlock though, as
Cummings capped a direct move from the home side to grab his second goal of
the MLS season.
Martin Rivero played a long ball over the top to free Brian Mullan on the
right side of the box. Mullan took it to the endline before picking out
Cummings in the center of the box. The Jamaican made no mistake with the
opportunity, slotting a one-time effort to the back post. Tornaghi got a hand
to the shot, but was unable to keep it out of the net.
Three points for the Rapids never looked in doubt following the opening goal,
but as the Fire pushed for a late equalizer, the home side doubled the
advantage deep into second-half stoppage time.
Newly-signed Hill came on in the 82nd minute and did not waste any time making
an impact as he bagged his first goal for the club. Hill ripped a shot from
the top of the box that was stopped by Tornaghi, but the Italian 'keeper could
not hold on to the effort. Hill followed the shot and slotted home the rebound
to seal three points for Colorado.
The Rapids (3-1-0) improve to nine points on the season and will look to
continue their strong start when they head to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real
Salt Lake on April 7.
After a draw and a win to open the season, the Fire (1-1-1) suffer their first
loss of the season. They will have some time to rebound before their next
fixture as they welcome the Houston Dynamo to Toyota Park on April 15.
The Sports Network