The Colorado Rapids have had four games to build an identity at their new home park, but in the midst of a stretch of four home games in a three-week period, Colorado has caught a touch of cabin fever.
The Rapids head to New York on Sunday for the only road game in a five-game span, taking on the only team in MLS who has yet to lose a game. The Red Bulls sit a point out of first place in the Eastern Conference heading into the weekend, while the Rapids boast a one-point margin atop the Western Conference standings.
"I think it's good to get away from home, to be honest with you," head coach Fernando Clavijo said Thursday. "We always want to be home, but I think right now, it's a road game, and we have to play New York well. There are a lot of expectations on that team over there right now - they're starting well. They are big-time money players."
The Rapids looked like a team ready for payday in their last game against Real Salt Lake, building momentum as the game progressed, but were unable to put the full package together for 90 minutes. They take encouragement from the experience of creating multiple opportunities in the game's second half, even though they were unable to cash anything in.
"If you're not creating those chances, then it's a concern," said Herculez Gomez, who led the Rapids with five shots and three on target. "The same thing happened to us last year in L.A., but we weren't creating chances at one point, and that's the scary part. Right now, we're creating chances. We're going to get them."
Part of the Rapids' remedy is getting more of a contribution from Nicolas Hernandez, who is scoreless in six games this season after sharing the team lead of seven goals with Kyle Beckerman last season.
"We need to find room for Nico to start getting back into the rhythm of the game," Clavijo said.
The opportunities should increase as Gomez continues to show his capacity for danger in attack, forcing opponents to chase him and opening up options for Roberto Brown and Hernandez, who moved to a wide midfield role against RSL.
With Gomez and Brown both joining the team as new additions this season along with three quarters of the starting defenders new to the team in Greg Vanney, Brandon Prideaux, and Ugo Ihemelu, it's not surprising that the chemistry isn't fine-tuned yet. Add in injuries to Prideaux and Ihemelu that forced the Rapids to realign themselves in the back over the last two games, and that elusive identity remains a work in progress.
"I don't think Roberto and I worked together as well as I would have liked to," Gomez said of their offensive shortcomings against Salt Lake. "We're still trying to find that partnership. We've got to do something to give our midfielders a chance to participate in the play. We've got great midfielders, and we've got to get them involved."
The Rapids are eager to see Ihemelu get back in action also. He's missed two games since absorbing a Freddy Adu kick to the knee on the artificial turf in Salt Lake two weeks ago, and with tendonitis lingering in the his left knee, his status could remain iffy with New York's artificial surface.
"Ugo is a big player for this team and we miss him," Clavijo said Thursday, five days after predicting Ihemelu would definitely be ready for the match with RSL. "If it was a playoff game he would have gone. Sometimes you make a decision based on not today but a couple weeks coming up ahead. We knew if we played him [against Real], for sure he was not going to play in New York because of the turf. Now we have a little bit more chance to play in New York."
The turf will remain an issue for Ihemelu, and Clavijo will face another challenging decision in terms of putting a key component of the team back in place.
"I don't know if it's going to flare up again," Clavijo said of the potential for Ihemelu's tendonitis to be aggravated on New York's turf. "It's nothing serious, but it's just painful for him to play. We have to see if he can make it for Sunday."
The Rapids could use Ihemelu's solid defensive presence to help solidify the back four and take some pressure off the midfield if he can use his pace to get forward more into the attack.
Colorado was effective in the middle third Thursday, controlling the ball and opening up options, but they have yet to show a consistent flair for finishing in the final third. Facing a strong Red Bulls team on the road should challenge them to step up their danger in front of goal or lose their precarious perch on top of the Western standings.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
