John Hackworth begins his tenure as head coach this Saturday when the Union face DC United. Hackworth has his work cut out for him in his first game going up against the eastern leaders. DC currently sits one point clear above NYRB for leaders in the east. United are 19 points ahead of Philadelphia and have 4x the amount of victories.
The Union have not played a MLS league game since the loss to Toronto on the 26th of May. On the long layoff, the Union have gone 3-1 in a mixture of cup matches (2-0) and friendlies (1-1). Although the Union are this recent run of form all the wins have been against lessor opposition. Three of the games were against club partners from lower divisions and one game against a DC United that were missing a few key players.
The Union should go into the game confident but weary since DC United are going to be full strength. United did not start leading goal scorer Micon Santos, who has seven goals on the season. United were without starters Dwayne De Rosario, Chris Pontius and Dejan Jakovic. The Union will have their hands full as they go up against a full strength United.
The Union will be playing short up top with Pajoy on suspension from a tackle in the Open Cup match. So accept newly acquired forward, Jorge Perlaza, will most likely start up top with youngster Josue Martinez. Martinez has been playing well in recent games. Stylistically Perlaza and Martinez are similar and both have a fair amount of pace.
Key to Victory: The Union need to hold possession in the attacking third and shoot the ball as often as possible. The Union work the ball too much and walk away without a shot. De Rosario will get his opportunities, Santos is going to have chances, and the Union need to create just as many chances.
Defensively, the Union need to be sound and keep the attackers marked down, Micon Santos, Josh Wolfe, Andy Najar, Dwayne De Rosario all pose threats to the Union. A lot of pressure is on Carroll for the Union to win the ball and jump start the attack.
Prediction: The Union start a new era in the short history of the franchise and need to bring it in with a win. PPL is expecting a sellout crowd against a rival club. A win is a must, no questions asked. The Union are still under 10 points on the season. Its time to get wins no excuses.
Union win 2-1.
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