DC United will take on the bottom dwellers in the Western Conference, Chivas USA, at RFK Stadium on Sunday, September 23rd at 7 PM. DC enter Sunday’s match with a record of 14-10-5, good for 4th place in the Eastern Conference, while Chivas USA sport an abysmal 7-14-7 record in last place in the Western Conference. Gaining three points is vital for DC as the playoffs are only about five or so games away.
With two straight wins under their belt, DC United are no longer thinking about Dwayne De Rosario’s absence. Sure, De Rosario provided what many other players in the league, let alone the world have which is leadership and an eye for goalscoring and assists. But United are moving forward rapidly with Chris Pontius picking his moments to shine and the defense holding stead-fast. Adversities at this point in the season are not uncommon for DC as this time last year, Pontius suffered a season ending broken leg. However, this year looks to change it all-two games so far, two wins and through all the doubts supporters around the league may have, United are ready for the challenge.
If United are to succeed against Chivas USA and for the remainder of the season, a collective effort from the midfield is instrumental. Perry Kitchen and Lewis Neal look to provide the deeper position in front of Brandon McDonald, Korb, Jakovic and Najar providing support as well as counter attacking style of play. United will also need a more solid performance from Branko Boskovic in the midfield if DC decides to play with a lone striker of Lionard Pajoy or even Maicon Santos. Boskovic is the key player in the attacking third who needs to create scoring chances but also get back on defense which he seems to be lacking these last few games. Most definitely there are areas for improvement for DC: being more clinical in front of goal, Hamid secure between the pipes, and McDonald holding a tight line in front of Hamid. Not only should United try to fix the mistakes in the games previous but also try to get the first goal of the match: United are 11-2-0 when scoring first during this season of the MLS while on the flip side of things, Chivas USA are 1-12-2 when their opponents get the first goal of the game this season.
Luckily for DC (and unluckily for Chivas USA), at this time of the season every team is suffering from some sort of hardship. Ben Olsen and company are thoroughly aware that Chivas USA are winless in their last eight matches (0-6-2) and also will note the lack of starting defenders. Both Chivas USA defenders, James Riley and Oswaldo Minda will miss Sunday nights game due red card and yellow card accumulation suspensions. With those key players out for Sunday’s game, Maicon Santos, Nick DeLeon, and Pontius will look to orchestrate as many attacks as possible on the weakened Chivas USA back line. On the other side of defense, Jakovic and McDonald look to subdue any threats from the youngster Juan Agudelo and maestro, Juan Pablo Angel. While the midfield battle looks to be one of the most pivotal of the match to keep an eye on which consists of Chivas USA’s newly acquired Shalfie Joseph and DC’s Perry Kitchen.
(image courtesy of dcunited.com)
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