Cooke, Casey combine to lift Rapids

Colorado earns U.S. Open Cup play-in victory

Nick Green, Special to the Rocky

Published May 27, 2008 at 11:52 p.m.

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© Associated Press

Colorado's Mehdi Ballouchy, top, celebrates with Conor Casey after Casey scored the lone goal in the Rapids 1-0 win over the L.A. Galaxy in the teams' U.S. Open Cup play-in game in Los Angeles.

Photo by Danny Moloshok, Associated Press

Rapids striker Conor Casey, left, and Los Angeles' Sean Franklin fight for a ball along the touch line. Casey scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute to eliminate the Galaxy from the U.S. Open Cup.

Photo by Danny Moloshok, Associated Press

Rapids goalkeeper Preston Burpo collides with the Galaxy's Edson Buddle.

Photo by Danny Moloshok, Associated Press

Casey celebrates his goal with Mehdi Ballouchy.

Photo by Danny Moloshok, Associated Press

The Galaxy's Peter Vagenas outleaps Ballouchy.

CARSON, Calif. — Without David Beckham in the Los Angeles Galaxy lineup, Terry Cooke, Beckham's former Manchester United teammate, stepped into a starring role for the Rapids on Tuesday, creating the lone goal for Conor Casey in a 1-0 win in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game.

Cooke stepped up in the 82nd minute to pick out the former Mainz (Germany) striker - making his first start of the season after returning from a knee injury. Casey headed in the winning goal from about eight yards out.

"I was almost out seven months; it's a good way to come back," Casey said. "It wasn't pretty, but it's great to get 90 minutes under my legs and score and help the team win."

Los Angeles was playing without Beckham and Landon Donovan for the first time this season. The pair is in London for today's exhibition between England and the U.S. national team.

"We gave the journalists ammunition to say we can't play without these two," Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit said.

The Rapids had only three holdovers in the starting lineup from the team that lost to Chivas USA on Saturday night — defender Kosuke Kimura and midfielders Colin Clark and Nick LaBrocca.

In addition, Casey, defender Rafael Gomes and former Chivas USA goalkeeper Preston Burpo were making their first starts of the season.

Six regular starters for the Rapids, including Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundal, defenders Facundo Erpen and Ugo Ihemelu and Pablo Mastroeni, didn't make the trip from Denver.

"We don't have a superstar," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. "We have a very hard-working team."

In contrast, the Galaxy made only five changes from their previous game and that included the return to the starting lineup of such MLS veterans as Carlos Ruiz, Peter Vagenas and Ante Jazic.

The wholesale changes for the Rapids showed, with Colorado looking tentative and disjointed at first, while gradually exerting pressure as the game wore on.

The Galaxy should have put away the game in the first half, with Carlos Ruiz hitting the post, Stephen Keel almost scoring an own goal and Keel clearing a Galaxy shot off the goal line.

"We had incredible chances but didn't score," Gullit said.

The Rapids face the Wizards next Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo., in a second round of play-in games in the U.S. Open Cup, an elimination tournament.

Rapids 1, Galaxy 0

Colorado0 1 - 1

Los Angeles0 0 - 0

Goals - Colo, Casey (Cooke), 82nd minute.

Shots on goal - LAG, 1-1-2; Colo 2-4-6. Saves - LAG (Cronin 5); Colo (Burpo 1) . A - 9,189.

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