Fans who thought DC United would get it into gear on Friday night thought wrong as they watched their team give up four goals for the second league match in a row as DC lost 4-1 to the Houston Dynamo. If you include the mid-week US Open Cup match against New England, DC has given up 11 goals in the last three matches, while rivals New York are enjoying a 296 minute goalless performance. With all the talent that DC has on the backline that stat is a surprise for fans who entered this season with positive expectations. However, this is something that happens with a young defense and a young keeper. Mental lapses are learning experiences.
Will Bruin, who was drafted in the first round of this year’s superdraft by Houston after DC passed on him, erupted on Friday night with a sublime performance for the Dynamo. While he frustrated the many DC fans watching on TV, he amazed the Houston crowd with not one, not two, but THREE goals. I don’t think many people were predicting that. Houston was ripe for the picking since Brian Ching was out. Or at least that’s what I thought. Bruin ought to be considered a major threat now when he is in the game and defenses need to stay on their toes. This guy is for real.
Besides Mark Burch’s free kick, what else can we find good in DC’s performance? There really weren’t a lot of things that come to mind. Many writers are now saying that DC needs to pick up a veteran center-back to help Dejan Jakovic and Perry Kitchen because that partnership is not working out at the moment. But since Jakovic has been in the league for a few years and is a regular on the Canadian international team, shouldn’t he be considered a veteran centerback? Or is it time for him to leave? These are questions that coach Ben Olsen might be thinking about.
Looking on into the immediate future, DC United now has a three match homestand that is extremely important. They are against three playoff teams (Seattle, FC Dallas, and Colorado) and all three need to be won. Points are important, and with all three of these matches at home, it is vital that at least 7 points are picked up here, if not all 9. And they will have to do this without DP Branko Boskovic, who has torn his ACL, and will be out for awhile.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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