Only Washington D.C. can make a game with a three-goal difference “must watch TV.” For as much as the city tries to hide its political roots, its sports almost always become embroiled in some sort of drama off of the field of play. That is precisely the situation that D.C. United find themselves in tonight as the club look to turn around their fortunes in CONCACAF Champions League play against Alajuelense (Fox Sports 2, Univision 8pm EST).
These are uncertain times for D.C. United both on and off of the pitch. While the 10,000 pound elephant in the room are the ongoing labor talks that threaten the start of the 2015 MLS season, the club’s miserable 5-2 loss to Alajuelense in Costa Rica. Both of these problems currently have more questions than answers and unfortunately it appears that only United’s fate in CCL will be determined by the end of the night.
There is some certainty to the labor situation in that D.C. United will play this match. United will also certainly look better than they did against Alajuelense last week. It is pretty impossible to do worse. But what is uncertain is if the club has the temerity to erase a three-goal deficit and at the same time avoid conceding any goals.
United does have a bit of history on their side in that Costa Rican club teams generally have struggled when playing in the United States during CCL play. Since MLS entered the competition in 1998, Costa Rican teams have a combined record of 1-6-8 and have a Goal Differential of -5 when playing in the USA.
But Alajuelense do not need to win nor do they to play particularly well, they just need to avoid allowing three goals. Expect Alajuelense coach Oscar Ramirez to give new meaning to the word “parking the bus” especially considering that the weather in the D.C. area is calling for 6-10 inches of snow.
If United are to get through, they are going to need to score early. In the first fifteen minutes of last week’s match, the club looked like a team very much in the preseason incapable of forming simple passes and scoring opportunities. As the game wore on, midfielder Chris Pontius and forward Fabian Espindola seemed to find their groove. This rapport was the reason for their first goal. This relationship needs to get going within the first minute of this match.
It is highly understandable that the club would look a little rusty in their first match. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the center of the defense between backs Bobby Boswell and Steve Birnbaum and defensive-midfielder Perry Kitchen. It was evident that Birnbaum and Kitchen had not played with Boswell since October and that the two had been on National Team duty. Alajuelense were able to tear apart the United center of defense with relative ease.
D.C. was a much better defensive team at home last season than they were on the road (+16 Goal differential to -1). But this a different situation for the team. They cannot make any errors. Whether or not goalkeeper Bill Hamid plays is irrelevant. Andrew Dykstra did make a couple of really bad mental errors behind the net last week. But the United defense, as a whole, needs to play better and be more consistent.
This is an uphill battle for United. Three goals is a very high mountain to climb. But last night’s series victory for the Montreal Impact seems to have lessened the importance of this match. If United can get the win and the goals necessary to advance it would be certainly a memorable moment for the club and MLS. But given the climate in the area, a strong result leading into a promising 2015 campaign would suffice.
