The Colorado Rapids were one defensive stop away from a hard-fought road point in head coach Anthony Hudson’s MLS debut on Saturday. But then Chris Tierney snatched all three points for New England, scoring a free kick in the 93rd minute at Gillette Stadium to push the Revolution to a 2-1 win.
“I think when you lose a game in the last kick like that we’re of course — myself, the players — we’re all incredibly disappointed,” Hudson told reporters after the game. “Itap probably the worst possible way to lose at the end.”
The free kick was set up when New England’s Wilfried Zahibo drew a foul against Colorado rookie striker Niki Jackson at the edge of the penalty area. Tierney’s left-footed shot went through with a deflection off Colorado’s wall.
Hudson said he thought it would be a difficult place to earn a result, after the Revs went 12-2-3 in Foxborough in 2017, but was encouraged that the Rapids scored a 66th minute equalizer after going down 1-0 in the 48th minute on a goal by New England’s Diego Fagundez.
“Overall this is an incredibly tough place to come,” Hudson said. “We know last year they had a great home record and (it’s positive) for us to get back in the game in difficult conditions, difficult scenario, back in the game, score a great goal, and play well. We didn’t really look under pressure for the most part of the game. There was a lot to build on there. I was proud of the players.”
The Revs won the possession battle 53.6 percent to 46.4 percent, but it was Colorado who put more shots on frame 5-2.
Jackson, who was making his MLS debut, tied it in the 66th minute for the Rapids — a minute after coming on as a substitute. He raced behind the central defense on Johan Blomberg’s diagonal cross and crossed in front of goalkeeper Matt Turner to get his head on it.
“I think if you look at it overall, we probably created more chances than the opposition,” Hudson said. “Which, coming away from home is a good thing and not only created chances but, you know, good chances. Tommy (Smith) has a good header in the first half. Obviously the penalty, you know, there’s one or two other half chances. We’ve created some good stuff, which on the road is very difficult, especially at a place like this.”
Midfielder Jack Price took the Rapids’ penalty kick in the 54th minute, but it was saved by Turner. The rebound came right back to Price, but his follow-up shot skied over the crossbar.
“I thought at times we controlled the game,” Hudson said. “We looked organized, we looked like we played together as a team. But, psychologically, I think to come back, to come back in the game from a goal down and especially to respond from missing a penalty, I think the team showed a huge amount of character. Look, I’m proud of the players for the way they responded today and the performance.”
Colorado now enters a bye week, which gives the club two weeks to integrate newly-signed striker Joe Mason, and continue to learn Hudson’s 3-5-2 system. It will also give attacker more time to heal from a preseason calf injury.
The Rapids home opener is Saturday, March 24 against Sporting Kansas City.
“We just got to keep working,” Hudson said. “I think we had eight new players on the pitch that have never played and are new to the league and the team. So, we just have to keep working, but I think we showed enough today away from home enough signs that we’re on the right track.
“The team is moving in the right direction and we’re getting stronger,” Hudson continued. “We’re 10 seconds away from getting a massive point on the road and we’ve also missed a penalty and we’ve had some really good chances. We had a great chance from Tommy Smith. So, we just got to build on it and we got to learn from this.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
