Drilling down on: Colorado 2, at FC Dallas 0

Man of the Match: Veteran midfielder Brian Mullan provided both assists on clean crosses from the right side, one in the air to Jaime Castrillon and one along the ground to Martin Rivero. Before the game broke down into a 11-on-9 oddity, Mullan was doing his part to keep the FC Dallas right side in check.

Packaged for take-away:

• Well, you don’t see this very often: Dallas was two men down in the 37th minute. The second half was something that resembled training ground stuff, almost entirely in Dallas’ end, with the home team reduced to an occasional 1 on 3 “break.”
• Interestingly, Dallas set up in two banks of four after intermission. So, the old 4-4-0 if you like.
• Final shot total: 23-1
• Daniel Hernandez was excused in the 35th minute for a second yellow. His first was thoughtless and totally unnecessary, for jawing at referee Mark Geiger. The second caution was wholly justified for an overly aggressive challenge near midfield.
• Two minutes later, Blas Perez was shown red for going into a challenge with Drew Moor with his cleats exposed. It wasn’t a good challenge, but it wasn’t an obvious red, more clumsy than menacing. So whether Geiger might have shown a little discretion, just two minutes after another expulsion the same team, could be asked.
• Both ejections could be argued as justified on their individual merits, but the referee’s relative inexperience played a part, too. The problem started when Geiger turned the temperature up in the match by refusing to call obvious, early fouls. For the set who like to scream at referees “Let ‘em play, referee!” … well, this is sometimes what happens when you “let ‘em play.”  Tempers become frayed. By halftime Geiger had shown four yellows and two reds. And that’s why the men in the middle should call fouls when he or she sees them.
• Brek Shea was left out of FC Dallas’ lineup with a turf toe ailment.
• If you’re counting, that’s six FC Dallas midfielders on the injury shelf.
• It wasn’t all good for Colorado. Omar Cummings limped off after just 13 minutes, having gotten his foot caught in the turf. Early reports were of a left ankle sprain.
• Kevin Hartman keeps adding to his MLS record total of all-time saves. His first Sunday was No. 1,400. But he’ll have to wait for career win No. 175; Hartman remains one off that total.
• At the other end, Matt Pickens’ shutout is No. 26 in a Rapids shirt, which makes him the club’s all-time leader.
• Conor Casey entered at halftime as Oscar Pareja went into a 3-4-3 alignment. This was Casey’s most minutes in a year.
• Jeff Larentowicz was steady all night for Colorado, distributing from a deep midfield spot with a calm patience throughout the second half. That was the right way for the Rapids, who would have done themselves no favors putting a big rush on things. As it was, they finally broke down Dallas’ stacked defense, earning the three points for manager Oscar Pareja, who had spent so much time in Dallas as a player and assistant coach.