Olsen’s Army enters Saturday’s game (1pm) against Toronto FC at BMO Field on a recent surge. DC are on a four game unbeaten run and hope to continue its recent away form coming into the struggling TFC’s home field. The question is, what DC United team will show up: Will it be a more defensive posture or will DC coach Ben Olsen throw out a few more attackers.
Perry Kitchen and Lewis Neal have been key in supporting the defensive line of DC United however both players do not necessarily want to aid in the attack. At times in Portland, Pontius and DeLeon were found trying to go forward but were not supported at all. DC are likely to take an offensive posture against Toronto with choices from Lionard Pajoy, Maicon Santos, Hamdi Salihi and even Chris Pontius. Midweek, Olsen ponders what he must do to generate more offense and I believe his answer is in Maicon Santos and even more so, Hamdi Salihi. Salihi was recently called up to the Albanian National Team for its upcoming qualifiers, is a poacher in front of goal and is able to make something out of nothing. Against Portland, United threw away chances when Lionard Pajoy began dribbling too much and searching for the “perfect shot” which never came. Salihi I believe would much better compliment Chris Pontius, Nick DeLeon and even Andy Najar because he can hold up the ball and seems to be in the right place, in the right time.
Now that DC United’s defenseman Robbie Russell is fit and able to be inserted into the starting eleven, it is possible to see Andy Najar move back up into the midfield. However, on the other hand Olsen would be just as smart not to mess with his back line. DC United gave up 3 goals in 5 games in the month of September with the likes of Korb, McDonald, Jakovic, and Najar and those have been key with last minute tackles and even providing moments of brilliance in the final third of the field. On DC United’s away record, Ben Olsen explained “It hasn’t been stellar, but as of late we got a win and a tie on the road so, it’s something to build on.” United have many players to choose from, with Boskovic, Santos, and even Saragosa to either start or come off the bench hoping to inject pace and a killer instinct on the attack. Lastly, Branko Boskovic should play a key role for United with his creativity and his excellent service into the box from play and free kicks.
Toronto are coming off a 1-4 loss to the New York Red Bulls on September 29th, and look to rebound from the defeat. Although Toronto’s record stands at 5-19-7 (22 points) and last place in the Eastern Conference, there is likely to be a closely fought battle. TFC are miles out of playoff contention and have been for quite some time, but that will not stop them from playing the spoilers role. At this time of the season there are two types of teams-those like DC who are still in the playoff hunt and those like Toronto who have individuals on the team who still need to prove themselves for next season. Ryan Johnson and Dany Koevermans are likely to pressure McDonald and Jakovic in the center of defense with taking shots from just about anywhere on DC goalkeeper, Bill Hamid. The midfield battle will also consists of de Guzman, Ashtone Morgan and Luis Silva who will be closely marked by the defensive midfielders of Perry Kitchen or Lewis Neal. However, even if United are to suppress the attacks of Toronto FC’s forwards and midfielders, it means nothing if a goal is not scored on the other end on Milos Kocic. Three points in Toronto are much needed as Columbus and Houston are right behind them in 5th and 6th place. From the looks of it, in United’s final three games (2 being road games) will need to see them secure at least 6 points to ensure their playoff spot. Saturday’s game should be a real thriller, and one that all fans would hope to be a more attacking style.
