DC United continued its roller coaster ride along the bottom of the MLS East from a hard fought 5-3 away win to a 7-0 thrashing and finishing with Wednesday night’s comeback tie 2-2. They now face a busy July schedule which will test their depth, but they have three things to look forward to, a new coach, two rapidly developing youngsters, and two designated player slots remaining unfilled. The last may give new coach Wayne Rooney ammunition to bring United into the playoffs.
The latest game showed an immediate sign of improvement which new coach Rooney influenced. Interim coach Chad Ashton said the team had concentrated on shape and possession leading him to say, “I thought our guys did a great job being patient with the ball”. It was noteworthy that United’s starters warmed up with keep away drills to prepare for game stress in advance.
Ashton indicated that Rooney was already influencing the team while awaiting visa clearance by speaking with the coaching staff who are, “taking information to the players”. He said that the way, “the players took it in and understood it was impressive”. He went on, “To start, without really a ton of preparation, so well, I think really bodes well”.
Related to DC United’s need for depth and with a view to the future, Ashton was asked about Jackson Hopkins and indicated that he is, “an immense talent. He’s a young guy and takes on information really well”. As Hopkins gets more minutes, the coach expects, “Things will slow down even more for him”.
Hopkins described his growth, “In the whole club, just going through the academy and then to Loudoun and then to the first team, I think that was huge for me – – – I feel pretty comfortable – – – the stadium, the noise, and everything, I love it.” He added his thoughts about Wayne Rooney coming in as coach, “I’m excited and can’t wait to work with him”.
Sofiane Djeffal is the other rookie, joining Hopkins as a substitute in the second half in which the team showed great discipline and fight. Both seemed comfortable with the faster and more physical play at the professional level. Like Hopkins, he praised those who have brought him along, “I think that my teammates and the whole DC United as an organization made it easy for me to just come and blend in.”
Djeffal has been working with United’s professional trainers to gain strength, “The transition from college to professional was a big jump physically and that’s something that I’m definitely worried about”. He added that he wanted to “add it to his skill set to be as versatile as I can”. He hopes that the added strength will help with, “change of direction, being able to hold the ball – – – the work in the weight room is definitely helping. There’s still a lot of room for improvement”.
Throughout the game both teams showed discipline while clogging the middle and yielding a bit of space on the wings. The tactic forces an opponent to complete more passes with greater accuracy. In the event, it was play from width that created three of the four goals. Each team finished off strong crosses with United’s Fountas’ foot and the Crew’s Cucho Hernandez’s header. The other Columbus goal came from an acutely angled shot from width also by Hernandez.
United moves on to Minnesota on Saturday and then hosts Bayern Munich next Wednesday at Audi field at 7:30 PM.
