For years Major League Soccer supporters have grasped at straws for reasons to care about the CONCACAF Champions League. Intercontinental domination, kicking sand at Mexico, and having a reason to go to the park on a Tuesday are all certainly good reasons to follow these matches. But D.C. United (2-0-0 4 points ) may have found another reason to care about their Tuesday night match-up (8PM EST Fox Sports 2) against Arabe Unido (1-0-1, 3 points 🙂 to improve on their Major League Soccer form.
Now let’s also make this clear: there are other reasons for United to care about Tuesday’s tilt. With the victory  D.C. will become the first team to qualify for the CCL Quarterfinals. It would be the second time in as many seasons that the club had qualified for the second stage of the top international club competition in North America. Given that the club still has an additional game to play in the CCL and that they have MLS Regular Season matches of consequence it would behoove the club wrap things  up at RFL Stadium.
In the previous match-up United took the lead late thanks to a goal by midfielder-forward Miguel Aguilar. Unido held their own for large portions of the match, using the counter-attack to strike back against a D.C. side made up mostly of reserves.
But for D.C. this match has greater meaning. After having led the Eastern Conference for close to three quarters of the season D.C. finds themselves staring up at the New York Red Bulls. Although the club will have another big match coming up on Saturday against Columbus Crew SC the question is will United coach Ben Olsen use the CCL as a chance to iron out some of these issues?
At the top of United’s problems is their scoring output. The club only averted disaster on Saturday night in Colorado thanks to a late goal by center-back Steve Birnbaum. But prior to that the club had only scored one goal in their past three matches and find themselves in the bottom third in the league in goals scored.
The biggest issue is the lack of chemistry between forward Alvaro Saborio and their other attacking options. Aside from a 6-4 victory over Real Salt Lake Saborio has struggled to gain his footing in Olsen’s 4-4-2 system. Without his running mate Fabian Espindola defenses have marked Saborio two defenders forcing him out of the box and away from goal. With Espindola back but needing to get into match shape expect Olsen to play Saborio in this match with the intention of using it as a chance to get the two on the same page.
Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin making the sprawling stop in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with D.C. United (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)
If Olsen chooses to go the safe route he will likely go with Miguel Aguilar and Jairo Arrieta up top. Aguilar leads the team in CCL play with 2 goals and has used his speed and technical ability to provide opportunities for players on the outside. Arrieta meanwhile has played just 49 minutes in United’s last three regular season games and thus could probably use some match-time as the season winds down.
In the first match against Unido United controlled the fast, pacey midfielders from Panama with Markus Halsti proving to be an effective in plugging the gaps. The Finnish international has taken over the starting spot opposite of Perry Kitchen in the defensive midfield after Davy Arnaud sustained a concussion. With Arnaud still out, Halsti will called upon again to lock down a dangerous Unido midfield and to build the attack.
Keep an eye on left-back Jalen Robinson during this match. United’s Homegrown Academy Player has done well in the club’s two previous CCL matches, both shutouts. While the former Wake Forest University standout has always had the physical skills to be a starting defender in Major League Soccer he has needed time to develop the technical aspects of defending at such a level. His time with the Richmond Kickers appears to have been well spent, as evidenced by his use of the bow-out method in the previous Unido match. He will be asked to keep up with forward Renan Addles, who scored their second goal in El Expreso Azul’s 3-0 win over Montego Bay United.
