RAPIDS WEEKEND PREVIEW, DIZ OFFICIALLY SIGNED
Rapids newest signing, Facundo Diz
The Colorado Rapids face the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at Dicks Sporting Goods Park at 7pm. Both teams need a win this weekend. The Rapids are playing to keep on pace for a playoff position, the Red Bulls are playing to find a win and make a very unlikely playoff push.
The race in the West is heating up as LA has shown good form riding a 4 game winning streak. Chivas USA, on the other hand, was the best team in the league earlier the season but has had an incredible drop in form losing their last 4 league matches. Right now the Rapids (24 points) are chasing Toronto FC (26 points) for the last wild card spot. Just below Rapids, RSL sits with (20 points) and a win tonight against Dallas will see RSL right back in the race. Rapids need to win to keep up with the top half of the table and to keep the bottom half from catching up.
The Rapids:
The Rapids are coming off a tough loss against DC United last weekend. After scoring first, the Rapids gave up 3 goals in 15 minutes. I did not expect the Rapids to win at RFK, despite trouncing DC 3-0 at Dick’s less than a month before. Even though a loss was expected, the poor performance was a little troubling.
This week they will be without Colin Clark once again because of national team duty, and Conor Casey has been suspended for yellow card accumulation. It is also unclear how Cory Gibb’s knee contusion is healing up and if he will be ready for Saturday’s game.
The Rapids might get some relief as it looks like Jamie Smith and Facundo Diz are ready to start playing. The Rapids released this statement to the press about the Diz signing:
Diz will be available to the Rapids for this Saturday’s match against the New York Red Bulls at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park at 7:30 pm MT.
“Facundo adds the depth to our forward line that we have been looking for a long time,” said head coach Gary Smith. “He’s a good physical specimen, good target man, attacks the ball extremely well inside the penalty area, and from where he’s come from he has a wealth of experience. As a personality, he has already shown what a wonderful addition he will be.”
Diz comes to the Rapids having played the majority of his professional career in Argentina, most recently with Club Athletico Platense, where he scored nine goals in 15 games, helping the team avoid relegation.
Coach Smith made these comments about the players the possibility of the two players playing this weekend:
“Jamie’s slightly in advance of Facundo. He’s physically ready to play.
“Jamie’s a naturally wide player, either side, and Facundo’s a center forward, so it gives us some competition and depth in both of those areas.
“In reality, as long as all of that paperwork is done, Jamie may be available for some squad football, i.e., off the bench [at home against New York on Saturday],” Smith added.
“I don’t think Facundo will be ready at that point. Possibly the week after.”
So the good news is that Diz and Smith are with the team and, at least Smith, is ready to play.
The Rapids used this line up last match:
Pickens
Kimura Gibbs Baudet Palguta
Mastroeni Dalby
Cummings Ballouchy Peterson
Casey
Substitutes: Preston Burpo, Terry Cooke, Ross Schunk, Rob Valentino, Jordan Harvey(72 for Baudet), Pat Noonan(71 for Dalby) , Ty Harden (51 for Gibbs)
With Conor Casey out and Diz not ready to play it is likely that the team will revert to a 4-4-2 instead of the 4-2-3-1, opting for a second forward instead of one big target man. Noonan is likely to get the start up top with Cummings. Terry Cooke has fallen out of favor with coach Smith but the 4-2-3-1 system doesn’t suit Cooke’s style of play either. In a 4-4-2 Cooke can sit out wide and hit dangerous crosses. Here is a potential line up for this weekend:
Pickens
Kimura Ihemalu Baudet Palguta
Mastroeni
Peterson/Cooke Ballouchy LaBrocca
Noonan Cummings
The Red Bulls:
The Red Bulls are on an 11 game losing streak, sitting last in the East and last place overall. They are coming off an improved performance against the Galaxy even though the game ended in a 3-1 loss. Both teams looked even if not for 3 spectacular goals by the Galaxy. The Red Bulls had out shot Galaxy 15-12 and put 8 on target.
The Red Bulls recently signed defender Leo Krupnik and winger Ernst Obster in the last few days. Krupnik was on the bench during the LA match but Obster was still dealing with some visa issues. Both of these players would be a big boost for the Red Bulls this weekend. The Red Bulls still have a host of defensive injuries but the lineup this weekend could look something like this.
Cepero
Hall Sassano Petke Pacheco
Stammler
Zimmerman Celades Rojas
Angel Kandji
I hope some of you can make it out to the game to cheer on the Rapids.