Burpo looked sharp early, but couldn’t stop a Ching header in the 20th minute that was either very lucky, or very skillful, depending on the color of your jersey. That goal proved to bee all Houston needed. Conor Casey generated several quality cracks at goal, and earned a penalty in the 83rd minute. It wasn’t to be though, as the goalkeeper guessed right and kept the Casey PK and the ensuing Terry Cooke shot out of goal.

Back to the streaks, it really is quite bizarre. Including this weekend’s game, the Rapids will play 4 games in a row against teams who are winless at kickoff. In the past 3 games against winless opponents (LA, Columbus, Houston), the Rapids managed to pickup 4 points. I would’ve hoped for 6 or 7 points against teams in poor form, but Columbus and Houston do have some quality on the field, which makes their current predicament all the more puzzling.

As Deron White points out, this loss could prove crucial to the middle-of-the-pack Rapids:

…it came at a moment when all the other results went the Rapids way.  A win would have catapulted them into second place in the western conference.  A tie would have moved them a point clear of Kansas City in the league…Instead the Rapids are where they always seem to be, right in the middle of the pack.  That’s not a terrible place to be this early in the season.  It does make for a steeper climb towards seasons end.

For this weekend, the only acceptable result at home against the struggling Galaxy is 3 points.

For more coverage of the game

• Video Highlights (in Spanish)
• Colorado Rapids Examiner
• Denver Post

A good bit of credit must also go to the fist of Preston Burpo, and admittedly to the crossbar which was clearly favoring the Rapids on Saturday. A perusal of the video highlights shows how fortunate the Rapids were to come away with a point. Reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto wreaked havoc on the Rapids from set pieces, and his goal in the 41st minute was setup by an shaky back line.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one underwhelmed by Kosuke Kimura, as Ty Harden took his place in the back. However, a possible Harden hamstring injury forced El Capitan to put in Scott Palguta. That will be a position to watch this weekend, as we certainly need to develop cohesion at the back.

Up next: a Houston team hungry for it’s first win of the season, and another road test for our Rapids.

For more coverage of the game

• Video Highlights
• The Denver Post
• Official Rapids Website

Aside from Kljestan the man of the match seemed to be the omnipresent Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo). In previous games his performance as a finisher has been underwhelming for me. However, in this game his hardnosed performance earned key free kicks, including the one Kljestan put across for goal number one. His setup for Kljestan’s third goal was simply glorious, leading me to wonder if he can thrive in a setup role.

From the Rapids, Ugo Ihemelu got a cap as a substitute, though he let Dahlberg escape to score Sweden’s second goal.

View highlights of the game, the Bradley/Kljestan interview and Jeff Carlisle’s excellent game summary at ESPN’s Soccernet.com.