Two of the Colorado Rapids’ players not exactly drawing immediate positives out of Wednesday night’s disappointing loss to the LA Galaxy were Omar Cummings and Conor Casey.
And that’s not exactly breaking news, especially considering that it was the team’s finishing that let them down in a 1-0 loss at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
While many of the players and the coaching staff looked at the game as another example of how the Rapids are playing better soccer this season than for a while, Cummings and Casey sat grim-faced in the locker room.
“We outplayed them, but we didn’t finish,” Casey said. “We were both active, but if you don’t score as a forward, it doesn’t really matter.”
The game was predictably billed as a match-up between Casey and the Galaxy’s Edson Buddle, both of whom are trying to earn their way onto the U.S. national team’s World Cup roster.
Casey didn’t get many chances to prove his worth, and squandered his only real opportunity very early in the second half from a perfectly weighted Colin Clark cross.
Instead it was Cummings who had his chance to shine, including a breakaway chance in the 8th minute which Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts denied to keep the Rapids off the board early.
Cummings had another chance in the 68th, when he lashed a shot over the bar after a gorgeous cross from Danny Earls.
“It’s always good when you are creating chances, but it’s still very frustrating,” Cummings said. “Maybe it was one of those days. I had better possession of the ball but I can’t take all that much from this.”
Cummings and Casey have plenty of time to absorb the disappointment. The Rapids won’t return to action until May 15, when the travel to RFK Stadium to face D.C. United.
“We didn’t score goals, but we have some great goal scorers in this team and I have no doubt goals will come,” defender Drew Moor said. “We would rather have this problem right now than in playoff-push time.”
