COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Much has been discussed so far this season about the added depth in the Colorado Rapids squad. And, while there may be some areas of the field that remain a work in progress, one dimension that does appear to be covered more than adequately is the forward line.
That depth has been tested in the two most recent games and looks as if will be tested still further after an injury to Conor Casey in Sunday’s 4-1 win over D.C. United.
Casey, who had been recovering from a calf strain that saw him miss the bulk of the 1-0 victory over Chivas USA March 26, pulled up lame clutching his left hamstring early in the second half of the DC game as he chased a through ball.
It was hard to tell in the immediate aftermath of the game exactly how bad the muscle pull was, but Casey told MLSsoccer.com afterward that he expected to be out for the next couple of matches.
[inline_node:332451]So far in 2011, that’s a trend. The established strike pairing of Casey and Omar Cummings has, in fact, only played together once so far this season, and that was only for an hour in the home opener against the Portland Timbers. In addition to Casey’s injury, Cummings was away with Jamaica for the Chivas game, which meant a makeshift partnership of Caleb Folan and Quincy Amarikwa.
It worked, with Amarikwa bagging the lone goal in a 1-0 Colorado win.
This past weekend, Smith chose Folan and Casey up top together to give Cummings a bit more rest after his travel exertions with Jamaica. The move paid off with Folan grabbing a classy brace on his home debut and Cummings scoring in stoppage time after coming on in the second half to relieve Casey.
Smith is increasingly happy with the depth of his forward line, precisely because it allows other talent to shine when injuries and call-ups occur.
“Having just the two forwards is not enough,” the head coach told MLSsoccer.com. “We need more competition.”
They have it within, and they’ll have it from the outside as well, because the games Casey is likely to miss aren’t ordinary matches.
On Friday, Colorado will play a rematch of the MLS Cup final against FC Dallas in Texas (9 pm ET, Fox Soccer) and, while FCD may not have started 2011 all that well, Smith and his men know they will be in for a very hard game at Pizza Hut Park. Then, on April 13, the Rapids play Real Salt Lake at the apparently impregnable Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
Jamie Smith, who scored the winning goal on Sunday, said the two upcoming games were already a major challenge. Casey’s injury will add to that.
“I wouldn’t say it was in the back of our minds [Sunday] but we know what we are facing with Dallas,” the Scottish midfielder told MLSsoccer.com. “They may not have got off to the best start but they are a good team and Salt Lake are arguably the team to beat. The next week or so is going to be really difficult. It’s going to be a test of character for us.”
