COMMERCE CITY — What should Rapids fans take from last Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Red Bulls in New York, given that the two teams just might meet in the playoffs in six weeks?
New York jumped hard on the Rapids in the early going, scoring on a nice give-and-go involving Thierry Henry and Joel Lindpere, then making the Rapids’ defense look flat-footed on a free kick.
But in the second half, Omar Cummings scored on a left-footed rocket and Mehdi Ballouchy hit the post with a shot that could have equalized at 2-2.
“What I learned was that I think we’re capable of going head to head with them and getting something from it,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said. “I think all the guys would be extremely excited to get another shot at them.”
Omar on fire.
Cummings scored from 30 yards on a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced into the net. A few weeks ago, that shot would have hit the crossbar and bounced over.
“Or come straight back at me or something,” said Cummings, knowing all too well how fine the line can be between hot and cold streaks. “But it went in, and I’m very happy about that one.”
Cummings has scored four goals in the last three Rapids games, nearly half of his season total (nine), and he also scored for the Jamaican national team Sept. 7. The statistic concerning him the most is that the Rapids haven’t made the playoffs since the season before he joined the team in 2007.
“I’m feeling pretty confident right now, but as a team we need to get more hungry so we can make that push for the playoffs,” Cummings said. “That’s something I haven’t done here, and it’s something I really, really want — real bad. I think there is urgency in our game, and in my game.”
Kandji passing through?
Smith is very high on Macoumba Kandji, the forward he traded Ballouchy to New York this week to get. Smith believes Kandji has the talent to play in the English Premier League but needs some polishing.
“I hope in the two years he still has left on his contract that he’s not going to be too far away from somebody maybe wanting to make an offer for him,” Smith said. “There’s a little bit of work to be done with Kandji, but he’s very impactful — and will be, straightaway.”
Beware the Revolution.
The New England Revolution comes to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday with a 7-13-3 record, but Smith wants his team to take the Revs seriously.
“They’ll come here wanting to win the game and wanting to make a mockery of the league table,” Smith said. “Our job is to stay focused, to produce the football that we have done in the last three weeks and get a result.”
