For 79 minutes, DC United Coach Wayne Rooney had every reason to be happy with his team’s dominant play against Montreal. As he put it, “Strange game, isn’t it. I thought we had full control, controlled the game and never felt worried. Our shape was really good, our organization was really good.” The good news didn’t last as Sunusi Ibrahim finished an Ariel Lassiter pass and, “Then we’re on the back and they get the second goal.”
He later said, “Today we showed we’re a good team. I stressed it before this game, I said it before every game, I said it at halftime, ‘concentration’.” Both goals showed that lack of focus as DC’s defenders marked the Montreal scorers, but not quite close enough. This demonstrates that physical fatigue can lead to mental fatigue with unfortunate results.
On that subject of fatigue, Rooney has been careful to protect his players’ health as witnessed by his treatment of Andy Najar and Taxi Fountas. He pulled the hard-working Najar in the 73rd minute since, “We have to be cautious with Andy because of the injuries that he’s picked over his career.”
He had Fountas warm up several times with emphasis on use of his previously injured hamstring and allowed him in to play only the final 10 plus minutes. In last Saturday’s Toronto game Fountas, “came on – – – and didn’t feel 100%. – – – It’s the second time he’s felt his hamstring this season, so we have to be a bit cautious with him. We’ve got a lot of games left and we don’t want to lose him.”
Both he and Najar are impact players who bring focus in different areas, with Najar down the wing with cuts inside and Fountas with slashing diagonal runs. Both seek to take on opponents while others on the team are vital in controlling flow. The best example is the performance of Victor Palsson who manages the defense in the absence of Captain Steve Birnbaum. He is a calming influence.
A similar contrast in approach is shown by the style of Mateusz Klich and Pedro Santos working the left wing of United’s attack versus the Najar approach down the right. The left side most often plays the more common style which favors playing to the end line and crossing while Najar more often cuts inside to unsettle the defense by beating one or two in his way.
Both United goals were scored by products of DC United’s Academy and Rooney is pleased with the development of all the graduates. He was especially pleased with Ted Ku-Dipietro who has, “played on the team at a consistent level – – – He’s gonna be a real special player. There’s things in his game that he will need to improve, but that will come with playing games.” He added that “I’m delighted with all of them.”
Rooney’s development of depth by the development of his youngsters should stand the team in good stead as the temperature and tempo of play increase going forward. With an eye to player growth, he has loaned out Mutai Akinmboi and Jackson Hopkins, both of whom have had serious game time with United, to Loudoun United to give them the game time needed for their futures.
United moves on to play Miami on Saturday with the chance to achieve a .500 record again and remain in playoff contention. Miami has struggled and has just fired Rooney’s friend Phil Neville. It will be interesting to see how Miami responds to the change under a new coach and how United adjusts to a possible last minute change in their opponent’s style.
