An 83rd-minute own goal earned Minnesota United a 2-2 draw against the 10-man Colorado Rapids on Wednesday in Commerce City, Colo.
Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen came well off his line to challenge Joaquin Pereyra near the end line but lost his footing. Pereyra fired from a tight angle, and his shot deflected off defender Loic Williams and into the net to tie the match.
Georgi Minoungou and Darren Yapi scored for Colorado (11-13-5, 38 points), which is in eighth place in the Western Conference. Kelvin Yeboah scored for the Loons (7-12-10, 31 points), who are 13th, five points out of the final playoff spot.
Moments after coming on as a substitute, Sayed Abu Farkhi was sent off. He and Michael Boxall tangled while chasing a loose ball and fell out of bounds, where Abu Farkhi’s right hand struck Boxall in the face. After a video review, the referee showed Abu Farkhi a red card in the 68th minute, leaving the Rapids a man short.
In the 74th minute, Kosi Thompson carried the ball to the end line and sent a pass across the front of the goal. It deflected off two Minnesota defenders before Minoungou pounced with a point-blank shot to give Colorado a 2-1 lead.
It was Minoungou’s first goal in an MLS competition with Colorado.
The Rapids took the lead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Yapi one-timed Keegan Rosenberry’s inswinging cross from well outside the right corner of the penalty area into the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
The Loons equalized in the 52nd minute when Yeboah pounced on Morgan Whittaker’s soft backward pass in the Minnesota end. Yeboah took one touch to break in alone on Hansen, then slid his shot into the lower right corner. Hansen finished with two saves.
In the 29th minute, Whittaker beat two defenders in the box and fired from 12 yards before two more could close him down, but his shot was saved by Loons goalkeeper Drake Callender, who also made two saves.
Yeboah threatened again late, hitting the upper side netting in the 85th minute before failing to convert a through ball in the 90th.
Callender saved Ibrahim Sadiq’s shot in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.
–Field Level Media
