While Conor Casey and Omar Cummings continue to move up the table in the best MLS striking partnership league, there are moves afoot to strengthen the bench as the Colorado Rapids look set to sign another forward or two. Rapids head coach Gary Smith said last week that the organization could be close to getting a new striker on board with another forward also likely in the near future.
Casey, tied for the MLS goal-scoring lead and Player of the Month for May, and Cummings, who is one of the leading assist players in the league and who executed a brilliant game-tying goal late in Saturday's match with Real Salt Lake, have formed a formidable partnership this season.
But there have long been concerns that injuries or national team call-ups could rob the Rapids of their first-choice frontmen and leave the team with few options up front. The only other out-and-out strikers in the squad are draft pick Ross Schunk and Guyanese player Gregory Richardson. Neither player has any MLS league experience.
Casey earned his call-up earlier than expected, heading to Chicago to start in the U.S. national team's World Cup qualifier victory in Chicago last weekend while midfielder Jacob Peterson came off the bench to play beside Cummings and help the Rapids win a point on the road with a draw against their Rocky Mountain rivals.
With Casey now on board in South Africa with the USA for the FIFA Confederations Cup and Cummings expected to be called in by Jamaica for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, it could leave a gaping hole in attack for the Rapids, one that Smith is very anxious to fill.
"It would be foolish for me to think that they can get through 30 games unscathed, and we are working very hard to address that," Smith said prior to the RSL match. "We are close to getting someone in the next week or so."
A further forward could also be on board by July 15, Smith added. Smith said that the signings would not necessarily coincide with the end of the European season, but would clearly not say much more about where any such forwards could come from. The important thing was that any new player would fit well into the cohesive group Smith has helped form.
"We have to keep the momentum in the group and, to do that, we have to bring in players that give 110 percent every week and who gel nicely," he said. "Such players are not easy to come by."
In the interim, Smith will continue to rely on his big man and the speedy Cummings when available and a bench that has been solid in supporting the midfield but until Saturday was largely untested this season on the front line. While Casey garners all the praise for his incredible start to the season in terms of goals scored, Smith was anxious to highlight the value of Cummings to the team.
"I am disappointed for Omar because he started off so brightly and has only bagged two himself," Smith said in the lead-up to the RSL match. "But he is the source of so many goals, he does a lot of great runs in the channels, drawing defenders away, and he has quick feet in and out of the box."
Cummings put it all on display Saturday, taking a pass from Mehdi Ballouchy between a pair of RSL defenders in front of the goal, breaking free enough to skim a hard right-footed shot off the crossbar and into the back of the net for the equalizer.
Casey, meanwhile, continues to score goals almost at will.
"He is in a period where he looks like he is going to score every time," Smith said. "He looks confident and may be taking gambles which strikers do when they have such confidence."
Even before Casey's sudden call to the national team, Smith was working hard to prepare for a scenario he hoped fate might keep at bay until the Gold Cup, when Smith believes Cummings will likely play for Jamaica. Smith is aiming for a hopeful timetable that could mean a new acquisition as the Rapids ride a six-match unbeaten streak into a bye week.
"We need some help. We're close to getting some," Smith said, joking that if both Casey and Cummings were absent, he might suit up and return to the pitch himself. "We need two forwards. It would be such a shame now if we couldn't get a body in and we lose some ground because we don't have the right people."
Nick Thomas is a contributor to MLSnet.com
