Trips are always a nice chance to get away and re-group. But for D.C. United (3-6-2, 8 points) the road might a little treacherous. On Saturday the club begins their two month road odyssey in Vancouver (5-5-1, 16 points) where they will play the Whitecaps (7pm EST, TSN 1, NewsChannel 8, MLS Live).
If D.C. United are to snap their three game winless run they may have picked the right spot in BC Place. Although their record in Vancouver is quite sparse they have been effective in getting points north of the border (1-1-1, 4 points). All-time United and the Caps have split their series down the middle with each side winning twice and drawing twice. Last season, United torched Vancouver to the tune of 4-0 at RFK Stadium.
Any result for D.C. at this point would be appreciated. The club has struggled mightily during the month of May, losing all three matches by a combined score of 7-0. Injuries, lack of consistency, and constant lineup shuffling have turned a club that appeared to be on the cusp of a promising season searching for answers. The club will still be short-handed on Saturday night with defender Sean Franklin (knee) and Nick De Leon (groin), and midfielders Rob Vincent (knee) and Patrick Nyarko (hamstring) all still out due to injury. Leading goal-scorer Luciano Acosta is back from suspension. However, a nagging ankle injury might keep him on the bench.
The Whitecaps come into this match in a little bit better shape, although the club will be without midfielder Matias Laba. Without Laba, Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson will likely use Andrew Jacobson more prominently in the attack.
The key for Vancouver in this match will be finding space in United’s center defensive third. Over the past couple of seasons D.C. has developed a reputation of a difficult team to break down in the center of the pitch. But with injuries to center-back Steve Birnbaum and defensive midfielder Marcelo Sarvas’ drop in form opponents have found ample opportunities against United. The Whitecaps would be wise to look at video from the United-Montreal Impact match where Mauro Biello used Yves Tabla’s quickness and pace to break open D.C’s defense. With one of the best young players in the game in Alphonso Davies and a talisman forward in Fredy Montero the Caps are going to be a handful.
Whether D.C. can keep up with Vancouver in the box score is an entirely different matter. United have struggled to form even the basic of attacking chances this month. Although much of the criticism has been going towards forward Patrick Mullins, it is their lack of consistent possession and quality that has hurt this side. Midfielder Ian Harkes hasn’t exactly found his footing. United’s bread-and-butter last season was using the center-midfielders to send passes to the outside for Nyarko, Lamar Neagle and Lloyd Sam. But the passes are just not connecting this season and that is affecting their goal-scoring output. Look for Russell Teibert to spend the better part of the match swarming over Harkes.
This going to be a very difficult test for United. Vancouver are riding high right now and given how many weapons they have on the attack this might not be the best opponent for them to break their winless run. If they can develop a rhythm on the attack and find some consistency on defense they might stand a chance. But it is going to be a tall task and given their recent run of form it is easy to be skeptical of their chances.
DC United
