BMO Field fell almost silent for the first 45 minutes Saturday.
It was not a protest by the typically vocal Toronto FC supporters over ticket prices, club management or what appears to be another season without a playoff game.
On a day when the kickoff was moved up to the unusually early time of 1:30 p.m. and commuting to the stadium by car or transit was a nightmare for many, Toronto FC and the Colorado Rapids offered little in the first half to get the customers into it.
But designated player Danny Koevermans, playing in just his seventh Major League Soccer game, brought the announced crowd of 20,318 to full throat with a pair of lovely goals early in the second half as TFC beat the defending MLS Cup champions 2-1.
“Two great crosses and two good finishes, as easy as that,” said Koevermans, who now has a team-leading six goals since making his debut with TFC on July 20.
Koevermans put the Reds (6-12-12) up 1-0 in the 52nd minute when he redirected a perfect, low cross from rookie Ashtone Morgan at the edge of the six-yard box.
Just eight minutes later, the 32-year-old Dutchman doubled the lead with a diving header off a lovely, left-footed ball from fellow countryman Nick Soolsma.
Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens had no chance on either of the goals.
But the Rapids (10-9-11) battled back. Sanna Nyassi cut the lead to 2-1 by hammering home the ball past Milos Kocic from in close off a scramble in the 70th minute.
Colorado, who began the weekend holding down one of four wild card playoff spots, came close to drawing level but had two balls cleared off the line in the final 20 minutes.
Jeff Larentowicz got his foot on a low corner kick and steered it towards the net, well out of the reach of Kocic in the 74th minute, but Morgan, standing next to the post, stopped it.
In the 90th minute, it was Richard Eckersley’s turn to play hero. After Kocic dove to parry away a cross, the ball fell to Drew Moor. He hit the rebound toward the open net but couldn’t beat the English defender, who stopped it and allowed his goalkeeper to corral it.
“I guess I owe both of them dinner,” joked Kocic, who got his second straight start in place of an injured Stefan Frei. “It’s always great when your teammates cover for you.
“Sometimes I make a save for them and sometimes they do it for me. That’s team spirit,” said Kocic, who made three saves on the afternoon and had no chance on the Rapids goal. “We earned our luck. We were fighting for every ball. We were disciplined.”
His defender echoed the sentiment.
“It was more the right place at the right time,” said Eckersley, who enjoyed another solid outing on the Toronto defence. “We’ve all got each others’ backs. No one’s left alone on the pitch.
“Probably the next game someone’s going to save my back.”
Morgan, a Toronto native making just the fifth start of his rookie season, was strong at both ends of the pitch, making frequent runs forward and defending solidly.
“I know when I’m on the back post I’ve got to be ready,” Morgan said of his clearance off the line. “I was on my toes and luckily I was ahead of the line.”
With the win, TFC remains in the playoff hunt, though the odds are decidedly long. They must win their four remaining games and get a lot of help from others to clinch a spot.
After conceding four goals in a CONCACAF Champions League loss in Mexico City Wednesday night, head coach Aron Winter used former German international Torsten Frings in a sweeper role behind central defenders Ty Harden and Andy Iro.
“I think we played a very good game,” Winter said. “We earned it today.”
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