COMMERCE CITY — Sure, Mike Petke would rather wake up in his own bed Saturday, eat his own food and drive himself to the stadium before a big match, but that won’t be the case.
After the hotel bed, hotel food and bus ride, Petke and the Rapids will have to do something few teams have managed this season — get a result at Giants Stadium.
“There’s no excuse. It’s all mental,” Petke said.
Clinging to a playoff spot, the Rapids (9-12-4), who are without striker Tom McManus, face the New York Red Bulls (9-8-8), a team they thrashed 4-0 in July but that is a league-best 8-1-3 at home.
While the Rapids are 2-1-1 on the turf at Giants Stadium since 2004, they are 2-8-2 on the road this season, which begs the question: Why is it so hard to win on the road in the MLS, especially at a place that averages 65,000 empty seats?
“It’s no harder or easier for the home team or the away team. Turf is turf,” said Petke, who played five seasons with New York. “The thing is, when we play on turf once or twice a year, it’s easy for some guys to make that excuse. That’s a ‘Get out of jail free’ card for some people.”
Petke acknowledged that the ball moves differently on the turf, but he believes that mentally tough teams find a way to overcome, especially late in the season.
The game stands as the biggest test for the Rapids since interim coach Gary Smith took over.
Smith remembered travel always being tricky from his playing days in England, but added that the time in the airport, the length of the flight and the two-hour time difference to New York is a unique twist.
For Smith, like Petke, it comes back to mental toughness and resolve.
“I honestly believe that any team that has any substance will get results. I have no doubt about that,” Smith said.
Cooke won’t start.
Terry Cooke, who is tied for second in the MLS with 10 assists, will not start Saturday as he battles illness and recurring tendinitis in his left hamstring. Cooke will be available as a substitute.
Mehdi Ballouchy will replace Cooke and Conor Casey will replace McManus (knee) as the only changes in the lineup from last week. Ballouchy will stay central, and Nick LaBrocca will man the right flank, which will make for a narrower but industrious formation, Smith said.
“I’ve played long enough with both those guys, I know what their tendencies are,” said Ballouchy, who scored his first goal this season against New York.
Footnotes.
Striker Omar Cummings is hopeful he will remain in the plans of the Jamaican national team after the Reggae Boyz appointed former Liverpool star John Barnes as head coach. “All I can do is go there and do my best. I can’t ask for anything else,” Cummings said. “I’m very excited to be there again, so I’m hoping for the best.” Jamaica is at the bottom of its World Cup qualifying group and hosts Mexico on Oct. 11. . . .
Former Overland High School goalkeeper Matt Jordan is the goals-against champion of the U.S. Soccer League’s first division. Jordan posted a 0.76 GA for the Montreal Impact.
Brian Forbes, Special to The Denver Post
