Atlanta Silverbacks defy odds, defeat Colorado Rapids 2-1

The Atlanta Silverbacks scored the first two goals of the game against MLS opponent Colorado Rapids, and held on for dear life in the final 20+ minutes, to upset their second straight MLS opponent by beating Colorado 2-1, and will return home to host another MLS team in the 6th round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

There was only one goal scorer for the Silverbacks, Jamie Chavez, who netted two beauties: one in the 22nd minute, when, while fighting off a Rapids defender, he went to the ground and half-bicycled a ball past Rapids goalie Clint Irwin. The other came in the 58th minute, when he blew a header past Irwin. The lone goal the Rapids got came in the 75th minute, off the foot of Dillon Powers on a penalty kick.

The Silverbacks opened up play much like they did against Real Salt Lake a week ago, allowing the Rapids to get the first feel of the game and have a majority of the possession. But, when Atlanta did have possession in the early going, they made it count, and had several quality chances before Chavez’s first goal in the 22′. In the 29th minute, there was the threat of severe weather, and the match was halted for about 45 minutes, which very easily could have either A.) derailed Atlanta or B.) given Colorado the break they needed to get their heads right, and while Colorado did play better before half time, Atlanta held their ground.

Things got interesting in the 62nd minute though. When a Silverback and Rapid were going for the ball, a Colorado player fell, and immediately, Rapid Marc Burch came and started attempting to instigate a fight, and it nearly worked. Both sides were pushing and shoving, and even coaches were coming onto the field. When it was all said and done, four total players and three coaches (including both team’s head coaches) were sent off for the remainder of the match, which put Atlanta at a 10-8 player disadvantage. This incident was very reminiscent of what almost happened against RSL last year, only this time, it was the more professional club in Colorado who couldn’t control their emotions. And for good reason while being down 2-0 on their own home turf. Just a poor display by the team, and if we are being honest, that many cards weren’t necessary, especially when the team that began everything only had one penalty against them.

From there, it was all defense played by the Silverbacks, but they were able to hold their ground and capture their second consecutive victory over an MLS team. The player of the game, aside from the two goals Chavez scored, was without a doubt Silverbacks goalie Derby Carrillo, who was channeling his inner Tim Howard, and made key save after key save to ensure his team prevailed when the final whistle blew.

They will host the winner of tomorrows matchup between the Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew.