Playing a match against the Los Angeles Galaxy hasn’t been easy these past few years. Playing a match against the Galaxy after they have been knocked out of the Champions League by Toronto could possibly be even harder. That is what DC United faces this Saturday when they head to the Home Depot Center to square off against the reigning MLS champions.
In the last match, DC’s offense was virtually shut down by a better-than-thought Sporting KC defense. The offense registered very few shots, and were beaten in almost every stat category. United coach Ben Olsen and the team hope to change that. With their preseason cut short by weather, and players not getting a lot of time together, the rough patches are expected. To avoid getting hammered by the Galaxy, they’ll have to play a little better than last week.
The DC defense will have its hands full all night with arguably the best offensive attack in the MLS. With the likes of Landon Donovan, David Beckham, and Robbie Keane, the LA offense is both skilled and experienced and they can score a lot of goals. Add in the return of Edson Buddle, and the quiet dark horse scorer Mike Magee, and LA have a dangerous front seven. DC will have to face this offense without defensive midfielder Perry Kitchen and keeper Bill Hamid who are away on Olympic duty. There are a few players that could replace Kitchen at the defensive midfield position, but the person I’m most interested in seeing is Joe Willis and how he performs. Last season, Willis was a nice surprise in the few games he played in, including a shutout performance against Vancouver. If he can come in and be solid, DC has a good chance to come away with a favorable result.
The offense will look to rebound against an LA defense that is without Omar Gonzalez. Hopefully a lot of the kinks have been worked out in practice this week and we will see a better performance this weekend. Last week Hamdi Salihi churned out a few good shots that were just unlucky in the end, and as the season progresses, I think he’ll settle in and be dangerous. If DC is to win this match, they need to score early and put the Galaxy away quickly. As we saw against Toronto in the Champions League, LA has a great ability to come back and score at anytime. United will have to play all 90 minutes.
One last factor that could come into play will be LA’s endurance. This will be the third match in a week for the Galaxy, so tired legs could be a key near the end of the match. DC needs to pass well and keep possession as much as they can to keep the Galaxy players running. Overall, this is a Galaxy club that is still recovering from their surprising loss to Toronto earlier this week. DC needs to come out, stomp on their throats early, and grab three points. They have the team and skill to do it, and hopefully they’ll play the entire match on their toes.
Other D.C. United News to note this week:
- DC United and Events DC have agreed on a new lease for RFK Stadium for two years. Included in this deal is the decision to cover the upper decks with sponsorship tarps (like Seattle does at CenturyLink I’m assuming) and sell the naming rights to the playing field.
- Ethan White will be out for at least six weeks after having knee surgery.
- DC United signed English midfielder Lewis Neal. Neal has played for clubs like Stoke City and Preston North End. Most recently, the 30 year-old midfielder played for Orlando City.
- Andy Najar has been called up to the Honduras U-23 team for the Olympics, but he will be able to play for United against LA this weekend.
(image courtesy of Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
