The Colorado Rapids hope long-awaited reinforcements are on the way when they face CF Montreal on Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.
During the secondary transfer window, Colorado (10-12-2, 32 points) acquired winger Morgan Whittaker for a club-record $10.7 million from Middlesbrough of the EFL Championship as a designated player. The Rapids also added forward Sayed Abu Farkhi from Maccabi Tel Aviv and winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar of the Dutch Eredivisie.
With Rafael Navarro, who led Colorado with 10 goals, transferred to St. Louis City for an MLS-record $12 million fee, the Rapids were short-handed in a 1-1 draw at Austin FC on Wednesday. Paxten Aaronson tallied his fifth goal of the season in the 22nd minute, but the Rapids conceded in the 79th minute and settled for a point.
“We are a little short on our top line as we are waiting for players to get their visas cleared,” Colorado coach Matt Wells said.
The Rapids will be without defender Reggie Cannon, who is suspended for one match due to yellow-card accumulation.
Complicating matters, Youssef Maziz exited in the 27th minute against Austin with what Wells called “quad tightness.” Maziz has two assists in six appearances with the Rapids.
“This is crunch time now,” Wells said. “We need everyone available. It’s too important now. In all positions, we need all hands on deck and everyone available.”
While the seventh-place Rapids are inside the Western Conference playoff line, CF Montreal (5-13-6, 21 points) have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and are winless in four straight (0-3-1).
Montreal suffered a 2-1 home setback to Charlotte on Wednesday. Daniel Rios scored in the 34th minute, but Montreal conceded the equalizer three minutes later and the match-winner in the 81st.
After a 1-1-3 record in August offered signs of progress, midfielder Matty Longstaff wants the club to show greater desire.
“Effort doesn’t really cut it,” said Longstaff, who is suspended for Saturday’s match due to yellow-card accumulation. “We have to be ruthless in their box, and we have to be more organized if we want to win games of football; it’s that simple.
“We struggle to understand parts of the game as a group. We aren’t really performing in terms of goals, assists, and keeping the ball out of the net.”
–Field Level Media
