On a night where the New York Red Bulls clearly looked the more dominant of the two sides, DC United were able to take a crucial road point at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls enjoyed much of the attacking play with DC settling for a more counterattacking style. More often than not, DC was left giving away possession in the midfield in which Tim Cahill and Dax McCarty were able to retain possession and link with their forwards of Thierry Henry and Saborio. The saving grace for United came from the goalkeeping of Bill Hamid who made a few key saves, as well as a goal-line clearance to keep his side level at 0-0. The draw places DC at (1-1-1) thus far three matches into the season.
Ben Olsen told DC United.com that Hamid was stellar noting "He was great; he has been very good since the moment he got back from National Team Camp. He is a new man. We talk about consistency with him, making sure he is as even-keeled as possible – on and off the field." With Tim Howard out with injury from the US Men's National Team, although Brad Guzan looks to retain the US #1 spot, the young goalkeeper continues to make a name for himself for an eventual start in Klinsmann's squad. Just three games into the MLS season, Hamid looks very commanding in his box and seems to have lost all of his timid play in which he experienced from time to time last season.
Mike Petke's Red Bulls pushed the ball way more, and did a great job in the attacking third. Yet, despite the Red Bulls pushing on the attack, the defensive unit of Brandon McDonald and Dejan Jakovic were crucial in the center of defense. Every question asked of the two central defenders were answered fairly confidently especially with a world-class striker of Thierry Henry pressing at every moment. Henry constantly looked for space in between the two central defenders along with James Riley and Chris Korb, the entire back line players very well. However, even though the defense was a strongpoint for the Black & Red, Olsen did not shy away with his displeasure in the lack of possession his side had against the Red Bulls either. Olsen told DC United.com "We pissed the ball away so many times when we didn't need to. We'll continue to work on it; we'll continue to be better with the ball. It's about options, it's about wanting the ball." Chris Pontius went missing for large portions of the match and was unable to feed Lionard Pajoy. The disconnect between Pajoy and the entire DC midfield is a cause of concern as the lone-striker will be crucial to DC if they are to replicate a similar season to last year.
A bright point from Olsen's starting XI was the play from Nick DeLeon who was a constant pest alongside the flanks. DeLeon did not shy away from shots from distance and his pace seems to be improving the United attack on a weekly basis. Along with DeLeon's pressure, Pontius and De Rosario were able to conjure up a few key chances but goalkeeper, Robles, was never truly tested. On the other side of the ball, through Petke's 4-3-3 formation, midfielder Juninho was able to not only maintain possession but also play the killer ball up to Saborio, Espindola and of course, Henry. Juninho was also able to successfully shut down the captain De Rosario, and also let Perry Kitchen and Marcelo Saragosa highly ineffective in the attacking end of the pitch. Along with the excellent link up play from the Brazilian, Dax McCarty also put in a dominating performance in the midfielder for New York. His tenacity and confidence on the ball instilled a positive mindset to the managers attacking mentality. The hold-up play from Fabian Espindola was much more effective than that of Pajoy's which proved dividends in the match. Espindola was able to hold up and link with Cahill and the rest of his midfield through his physical play, while Pajoy had his pocket picked numerous times from defenders Markus Holgersson and Heath Pearce.
The onslaught of pressure almost proved too much in second half stoppage-time as Brandon Barklage's deflected header from the corner kick at first glance, looked to have crossed the goal-line. However, the outstretched swat from Hamid to clear the ball off his line displayed his resilience to get the crucial away point for United. Barklage's final shot cleared off the line was the story of New York's night – close but not quite. Having outshot DC 24-4 on the day, Hamid picked up his second consecutive clean sheet of the season.
Ben Olsen and DC United must work on their attacking prowess during training this week in order to add pressure to their upcoming opponents. Kitchen and Saragosa must find themselves farther in the attack to play alongside their fellow midfielders of De Rosario and Pontius. Furthermore, DC must also not rely on the sole-striker of Pajoy to do all the work up front, and may rely on Carlos Ruiz to add additional firepower in the match. So far, DC should be quite comfortable with the start to their MLS season, but as Olsen noted, have plenty of work to do if a run to MLS Cup is in order this season.
My DC United Man of the Match: Bill Hamid
DC United's Next Match: vs Columbus Crew at RFK Stadium (March 23rd – 3:30pm)
(image courtesy of USA Today Sports Images)
