Steve Birnbaum struck at the death to earn DC United a point in their MLS clash against the Colorado Rapids.

The hosts were the first team to threaten when Vicente Sanchez lifted the ball into the box from a free kick and Sean St Ledger latched on to the ball, but his shot went wide of the target.

Colorado took the lead when Bobby Burling was allowed space and time to curl his effort beyond the reach of Bill Hamid into the top corner.

Maynor Figueroa came close to extending his side's advantage in the second half when he drilled a low strike at goal, but Hamid was able to make the stop.

The Rapids continued to push for a second goal when Dominique Badji flicked the ball into the path of Kevin Doyle, who fired his effort towards the bottom corner but Hamid made the save.

Fabian Espindola almost got the equaliser for the visitors as he raced through on goal, but Clint Irwin rushed off his line to make the crucial block.

Hamid kept United in the game when he made a fine save to deny Doyle, and then made another stop on the rebound to frustrate Sanchez.

At the other end of the pitch, DC came close to a leveller when Taylor Kemp's low drive came through a crowd of players, but Irwin blocked the strike.

However, the visitors got their equaliser when Birnbaum headed Espindola's cross into the net to earn his side a share of the spoils.