Tomás Ostrák's Late Stunner Sinks 10-Man Colorado Rapids as St. Louis CITY SC Win 1-0

For 82 minutes, the Colorado Rapids built a fortress out of 10 men, a lot of clearances and pure stubbornness. Then Tomás Ostrák, seven minutes after coming off the bench, found the one patch of air in the whole structure and curled a shot from outside the box into the top right corner.

That 83rd-minute strike gave St. Louis CITY SC a 1-0 win over the Rapids on Saturday night at Energizer Park, and it capped a match that Colorado played almost entirely a man down after Rob Holding was sent off in the 12th minute. MLSsoccer.com later named Ostrák's goal its Goal of the Matchday, with 67 percent of the fan vote.

Down to 10 Inside 12 Minutes

St. Louis came out hot. Chris Durkin headed a Marcel Hartel cross on target in the third minute, forcing Nico Hansen into a save, and Jeong Sang-Bin sent a shot from distance wide in the seventh. Five minutes later, the night changed completely: Holding was shown a red card, and Colorado had to play the final 78 minutes plus stoppage time with 10.

The Rapids reorganized quickly, sending on defender Miguel Navarro for Dante Sealy in the 17th minute. From there, the visitors sat deep and dared St. Louis to find a way through. Jeong came closest before the break, rattling the crossbar with a right-footed shot from the right side of the box in the 37th minute after a Dante Polvara pass. Tomas Totland fired high and wide two minutes later, and Simon Becher sent another effort over in the 43rd. Colorado also had two scares of its own, with play stopped for injuries to Hansen in the 20th minute and Miguel Navarro in the 30th, but both stayed on. The Rapids' recap argued that the short-handed visitors kept St. Louis away from high-quality chances for the rest of the half, and the crossbar aside, that was mostly fair. It was 0-0 at halftime despite St. Louis owning the ball.

The Wall Holds, Then Cracks

Colorado brought on Georgi Minoungou and Noah Cobb at the half, and the pattern did not change. St. Louis kept arriving and kept running into bodies. Hartel just missed the top right corner in the 52nd minute. Totland, Daniel Edelman, Conrad Wallem and Becher all had shots blocked in a 12-minute stretch, and Hansen saved a Totland shot from the center of the box in the 62nd. Colorado's own recap noted that St. Louis also had an early second-half goal ruled out for offside.

The Rapids finally got a shot off in the 65th minute, when Rafael Navarro tried his luck from outside the box and missed to the left. That was about all the relief they got.

St. Louis head coach Yoann Damet went to his bench in the 76th minute, sending on Palmer Ault and Ostrák. Seven minutes later, Totland nodded a ball into Ostrák's path, and the midfielder bent a right-footed shot from distance into the top right corner. Energizer Park exhaled.

Colorado's last chance came in the first minute of stoppage time, when Rafael Navarro headed a Miguel Navarro set-piece delivery high and wide. Kosi Thompson was booked in the sixth minute of stoppage time, and St. Louis had its points.

The Stars of a Grind

Tomás Ostrák had one shot and one goal. St. Louis said it was his first MLS goal of the season and his second across all competitions, and the club also credited Timo Baumgartl with a secondary assist. Ostrák earned a bench spot on MLSsoccer.com's Team of the Matchday.

Tomas Totland was everywhere on the left, taking four shots and supplying the headed pass for the winner. St. Louis said he now has three MLS assists this season, and MLSsoccer.com named him to its Team of the Matchday starting lineup.

Nico Hansen made two saves and played a big part in Colorado's resistance. The Rapids made 27 clearances and blocked 10 St. Louis shots in front of him.

Roman Bürki did not have to make a single save, but the club said the shutout was his second clean sheet of the MLS season.

Jeong Sang-Bin had three shots, including the one off the crossbar, and was the most dangerous St. Louis attacker before Ostrák arrived.

The Turning Point

Holding's red card in the 12th minute shaped everything that followed, but the decisive moment was Damet's double substitution in the 76th minute. Colorado had absorbed 75 minutes of pressure and looked on course for a hard-earned point. Fresh legs changed the math, and Ostrák needed only seven minutes to make it pay.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: St. Louis 19, Colorado 2.
• Shots on goal: St. Louis 3, Colorado 0.
• Possession: St. Louis 65.5 percent.
• Corners: St. Louis 10, Colorado 1.
• Clearances: Colorado 27, St. Louis 5.

What It Means

MLSsoccer.com's matchday roundup called St. Louis the most in-form team in MLS not named Inter Miami, and it is hard to argue. St. Louis improved to 7-4-6 with 25 points and, according to the club, moved into seventh place in the Western Conference. MLSsoccer.com noted that St. Louis has gone unbeaten in seven league games with six wins in that span, while the club said the run reached eight matches across all competitions. St. Louis also beat Colorado 1-0 in May, so it has now won both meetings this season. Real Salt Lake visits Energizer Park on Saturday, Aug. 1.

Colorado fell to 6-1-10 with 19 points, and the club listed the Rapids 11th in the West. Coming off a midweek win over San Diego, Colorado will rue a red card that turned a road trip into a survival exercise. The Rapids host Austin FC on Aug. 1.

The Closing Take

Colorado defended like a team trying to finish a 1,000-piece puzzle with half the pieces missing, and for 82 minutes it worked. But when a team on a run like St. Louis' is playing with an extra man, it only needs one clean look. Ostrák got his, and he hit it like a Goal of the Matchday winner. Because it was.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details as reported by St. Louis CITY SC, the Colorado Rapids and MLSsoccer.com.