Saturday night witnessed a hard fought draw in a mammoth match-up between surprise Western Conference leaders, Colorado Rapids and equally surprising Eastern Conference leaders, Philadelphia Union.
Physical match, little to show in the first half
It was a frantic, physical first fifteen minutes in Colorado as the Rapids pressed Philadelphia early on. However, success was hard to come by due to the defensive efforts of Ray Gaddis, who was restored to the side for the rested Fabinho.
Colorado dominated the chances in the first half but would see their opportunities go missing through the first half, including a frantically a cleared free kick in the 15th minute. Moments later Philadelphia found themselves in Colorado's half as C.J. Sapong was fouled. The ensuing free kick by Axel Sjoberg but Tranquillo Barnetta would hit it just above the goal.
The Rapids would, however, threaten the Union goal again as Luis Solignac latched onto a deflection to find himself in front of Andre Blake's goal. Yet, he could not convert the gift of a chance in the 33rd minute as he tried to curl his shot but only sent it high.
Despite the lack of chances, Philadelphia had the best opportunity of the half in the 37th minute when Bobby Burling cleared a Tranquillo Barnetta free kick off the line, much to the chagrin of Union fans.
Philadelphia would begin to break out of their defensive shell late on in the first half but to no avail as it ended 0-0.
Business as usual to start the second half
Colorado seemed to resume their assault on the Union defense to begin the second half but couldn't manage a shot on target early on.
Philadelphia would break the pressure as they found their attacking rhythm in the 55th minute when Ken Tribbett hit an excellent ball over the top to C.J. Sapong. He controlled it but Sjoberg got a piece of the ball before the former Sporting Kansas City man could get his shot off in the box.
Dillon Powers would have Union hearts in mouths as he hit the bar in the 70th minute following a nice passing from Marlon Hairston on the wing, but the Colorado homegrown player could not break the deadlock.
Fabian Herbers would aggressively push forward in the 72nd minute after winning the ball from Watts but the rookie only managed to hit his shot wide as both sides continued to look for a goal late on.
Late drama strikes again
Philadelphia would survive a late barrage in the 80th minute as Colorado came closest to breaking the deadlock when Dillon Powers had his shot blocked by Ray Gaddis followed by a shot off the bar from Luis Solignac who would have the rebound followed up by Kevin Doyle, but the goal was ruled out for offsides.
Philadelphia's defensive work seemingly hadn't paid off as Sam Cronin broke Union hearts late on when he finally scored in the 88th minute. But it wasn't to be for Colorado as the Union kept true to their "never say die" attitude when captain Brian Carroll flicked home a Fabian Herbers header in the 91st minute of play for a dramatic conclusion to the match.