COMMERCE CITY — Kevin Doyle provided more than a game-winner when the Irish national team veteran last week, he gave a desperate team reason for hope.
The Rapids hadn’t won since May 23, but Doyle’s snap header that glanced off the post and spun into the goal in the 56th minute gave Colorado a 2-1 win over Vancouver, breaking a six-game winless run.
And his contributions went beyond the goal. He played both sides of the ball, pressing the Whitecaps high when they had possession and consistently finding dangerous positions when the Rapids had it.
“Other than just his goal, I thought he was just such a workhorse, creating opportunities, getting in the box, winning free kicks,” said centerback Drew Moor. “He was far and away the man of the match in my opinion.”
Doyle was making his fourth start and eighth appearance for the Rapids . The Rapids are 1-4-2 since then, and they had the worst record in the league before Saturday’s win.
Despite the team’s dismal record, Doyle has been impressed by the morale within the team.
“I’ve been very surprised, considering that we haven’t won as many games as we need to or want to, but everyone’s kept their head,” Doyle said. “The manager (Pablo Mastroeni) has kept morale high. It’s one of the best groups I’ve been in, considering it’s not an ideal situation. We want to be and feel we should be higher up the league, and it’s not easy when you’re not winning games. Considering that, it’s been excellent.”
Oddly, two of the Rapids’ three wins this season have come at the expense of Vancouver, which is tied with Seattle atop the Western Conference standings. Doyle’s winner Saturday came in the annual July Fourth fireworks game, which made it mean even more.
“A goal like that is huge for the entire team,” Moor said. “Certainly for Kevin, he’s been working extremely hard in practice, he’s a natural finisher, he’s proven it over the course of his career and he’s proven it in training here. I think when you get that first goal in a new league, a very different league than what he’s used to, it’s probably a weight lifted off his shoulder. For it to be a game winner, on such a big occasion, against a top team like Vancouver, adds the extra bit of celebration.”
Now the Rapids need that win to spark some momentum. On Saturday they host their biggest rival, Real Salt Lake, which has claimed the Rocky Mountain Cup seven of the eight years of its existence including last year. Two of RSL’s best players, midfielder Kyle Beckerman and goalkeeper Nick Rimando, are away with U.S. national team duties.
Beckerman, who played for the Rapids from 2002-07, played the full 90 minutes Tuesday in a 2-0 U.S. win over Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“I think everyone’s been very patient with each other and we’re working towards hopefully having a good second half of the season,” Doyle said. “We need to not get carried away with ourselves with one win. We need to win games, get ourselves back into the mix.”
John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer
