Cummings, Casey, Kandji find field together vs. FCD

Saturday marked 1st time all 3 had played together simultaneously

 

Gary Smith didn’t exactly go on the defensive on Saturday when his Colorado Rapids team played FC Dallas.

 

With his team still reeling from the previous weekend’s 1-0 home loss to D.C. United and their playoff aspirations on the line, the Rapids head coach brought out all his offensive big guns on the road against one of the strongest teams. Omar Cummings, Conor Casey and Macoumba Kandji all started for the Rapids, marking the first time Smith played the trio together.

 

If Smith had wanted to play this combination before, a mix of suspensions and injuries prevented him from doing so.

 

The lineup worked. The Rapids took the lead in the 13th minute on a Jeff Larentowicz goal in which Kandji played an integral part, breaking out of the defense with Jamie Smith to thread a ball in the direction of the onrushing Kosuke Kimura. Even though the pass didn’t make it cleanly through, all the Hoops defense could do was push it into the path of Smith.

 

Smith passed to Cummings, who finally set up Larentowicz with the goal.

 

“I just wanted our three general midfielders to work against theirs and our front three to be creative in whatever way they saw fit,” coach Smith told MLSsoccer.com after the game.