Colorado head coach Gary Smith has been very happy with the away form of his team this season. Now, he wants to improve their form at home.
The Rapids notched a third victory out of five on the road at the weekend in the nation’s capital, overcoming a struggling D.C. United 1-0 with a goal from Mehdi Ballouchy, his second of the season. Last year, the Rapids only secured two road victories all season.
Now the focus will be on two straight home games against Seattle and Columbus and Smith will have plenty of time to prepare his players as Colorado enjoy a bye week this weekend. There is a U.S. Open Cup game on the road against New York next week to think about, but Colorado have no league action until the May 29 game against the Sounders. The game against Columbus follows a week later.
While Smith is enjoying the form his team is showing on the road – he feels they also deserved more in the two 1-0 defeats against Kansas City and San Jose – he does want to see some improvement at home.
So far this season, the Rapids have secured just four points from their three games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a comfortable win over Toronto, a disappointing tie with Chicago having held the lead twice and a narrow defeat at the hands of the Galaxy after dominating much of the game but where they were unable to finish.
“I want the home surface to be a place that is different than it is at the moment,” Smith told MLSsoccer.com after the D.C. defeat Saturday. Smith wants DSG to be the fortress it could be with the Rocky Mountain altitude and extreme width of the playing surface, which suits Colorado speedsters Colin Clark and Omar Cummings.
It may just be a function of not having played many games at home this season that has led to more disappointing results than expected in the sense the team has just not had all that many opportunities to get into the rhythm they want at home.
The two upcoming games against Seattle and Columbus may be just what the team needs to transfer some of the good form it has shown on the road to the expanses of DSG Park.
