COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- By making something from nothing, the New England Revolution moved a point closer to their goals. Against an opponent who they had not beaten on the road since 2002, a second-half goal from substitute Kenny Mansally allowed them to escape with a 1-1 tie Saturday against the Colorado Rapids.
"It's a bit of a moral victory for us to get out of here with a point," said goalkeeper Matt Reis.
The Revolution had lost their last four matches in Colorado, dating back to 2004.
"This place is so tough to play in," said defender Jay Heaps. "Coming here was a good test for the playoffs. It was a good atmosphere and for us we just have to get our system set and out lineup set and get guys back from injury to deepen our team and go forward."
The Revolution started with an explicitly defensive posture and it showed in the statistics. All of their five shots were taken in the second half. The Rapids had a more balanced attack, with seven shots in the first half and six in the second, but they only forced Reis to make three saves.
"When we've previously come in here we've gotten nothing," said New England coach Steve Nicol. "So we wanted to come in and be tight and then loosen up. Obviously we'd like to win, but a draw is enough."
Keeping the game close in the first half allowed New England to make halftime changes that stymied the Rapids attack.
"In the first half they took some good advantage and had some good opportunities," said Heaps. "But in the second half we made some good adjustments and matchups and forced them out wide."
Those adjustments mainly focused on keeping their defensive shape and not giving up counterattacks and crosses to Colorado's dangerous flank players.
"[Terry] Cooke and [Colin] Clark are really good and dangerous wide," said Reis. "That's what they try to do, get balls into the box. We knew that going in, and we tried to play a little more defensively."
The opportunistic goal from Mansally five minutes into the second half allowed New England to keep their backline strong and not expose themselves to counterattacks.
"The ball was bouncing in front of me to my left foot," said Mansally. "I saw the goalie was coming out so I placed it over him."
The tie keeps New England in second place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, five back of the Columbus Crew ahead of their meeting next Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
"In the end, to get a point on the road in this league is good," said Reis. "At the end of the year if you looked back and you got a point on the road every time you would be happy. And it's good to come back. I don't think we've had too many comebacks where we've gotten something out of it, so that's good."
As the Revolution look toward their last five games and the MLS Cup Playoffs that follow, they hope that their rare Colorado point will be a springboard to late season success.
"We're trying to get max points here on out," said defender Michael Parkhurst. "We know this was the last trip where we would settle for a tie since this a tough place to play. But from here on out we're going to be going for three points from every game and we're going after the Supporters' Shield. We've never won it and we want to finish the season strong."
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