COMMERCE CITY — When national team goalkeeping legend Tim Howard made his second save in the tie-breaking penalty-kick shootout that settled a playoff series with the and boosted the Rapids to the Western Conference finals here Sunday afternoon, Shkelzen Gashi could only watch, his slender frame draped on a pair of crutches.
Gashi, like Howard a key newcomer who came to Colorado this season as a high-priced “designated player,” severely sprained his right ankle late in the first half. But while Howard was the man of the match for shutting out Los Angeles over 120 minutes and his shootout saves, Gashi was his co-hero. If not for Gashi’s spectacular goal from more than 40 yards away in the 36th minute that held up for a 1-0 Rapids victory in regulation time, there would have been no shootout.
Colorado needed his goal to offset the Galaxy’s 1-0 victory last week.
Gashi was carried off the field at halftime, his injured leg dangling as the crowd chanted his last name. For the rest of the game, he would be a spectator, too.
“It was so hard,” Gashi said. “And then you look at celebrating with the team, they run and I want to, also, but I say I need to stay. It was a little bit hard for me, but with my heart I was in the team. It was so great.”
Colorado’s big-name players — Howard, Gashi and Jermaine Jones — played like the international stars they are. Coach Pablo Mastroeni acknowledged them but was just as proud of his team’s spirit.
“It was a real emotional game,” Mastroeni said. “Having left LA 1-0 down, I thought we were in a very good position to play LA here at home. We stuck to our game plan which was not conceding (a goal) and bringing altitude into play. What I’m most proud of, being part of a group that no one believes in, no one still believes in. The power of team was displayed today. There’s not a lot of playoff experience in that group. But what we have is a belief that’s beyond most teams that I’ve ever been a part of.”
Galaxy coach Bruce Arena blamed thin air on his team’s loss.
“The game completely swings in their favor because of the altitude,” Arena said. “We got into the last 15-20 minutes and we obviously looked tired, and the overtime, we were dead. They were as well, but they still had more gas in the tank than we did.”
Colorado will play the Sounders on Nov. 22 in Seattle in the first leg of the conference finals. Seattle beat F.C. Dallas 4-2 on aggregate.
“In big games you need your big players to make plays, whether it’s Tim Howard making saves or Gashi scoring goals or Jermaine bossing that midfield,” Mastroeni said. “Across that field, the big players stepped up for us. It was evident from the first whistle, and the rest of the group really did a great job of rising.”
Penalty kick shootout recap
| Round | Los Angeles | Result | Colorado | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Gerrard | Goal | Kevin Doyle | Goal |
| 2 | Giovani dos Santos | Miss | Sebastien Le Toux | Goal |
| 3 | Ashley Cole | Save | Marco Pappa | Goal |
| 4 | Jeff Larentowicz | Save |
