Dynamo and DC United - Take Two

Dynamo and DC United - Take Two

Mike Martin

July 21, 2008

Houston just knocked DC out of Superliga, and 72 hours later the two sides square off again in MLS action. It should be a pretty lively affair as DC has a few grudges to work off about Superliga, as well as being snubbed for the MLS All Star team.

Washington D.C., Certainly when teams play back to back matches, there is always a bit more intensity to the second game as the bruised shins and egos are still fresh. However, there should be a lot more than the usual revenge in mind for DC as not only did Houston thrash them to complete their Superliga shellacking, but the 12th ranked Dynamo have two players going to the MLS All Star match, while for the first time ever there will be no United representative.

Now, I know some of you are saying great, the All Star team is a joke anyway and United players can use the added rest, etc. But that’s not the point. The point is no one from DC was even asked to be in the team, when clearly some guys deserved to go, or at least deserved the right to beg off. Then for DeRosario and Onstad to be included on the team when they hardly deserve it has got to be galling for players on DC who might be expecting the honor of being named, as well as the contract bonuses and vacation possibilities in Canada.

So, given the bitter quotes about being left out of the All Star team being bandied about lately, I would expect Emilio and Moreno for example, to be extra motivated to show that DeRosario, who isn’t even in the top ten in any offensive category that matters, should not be representing the league against West Ham ahead of them. Plus, while Onstad does have some decent stats, I would expect Bambi Wells to……, I mean, he’ll want to show his old team DC got the better of the trade for…..uh, well you get the idea.

Anyway, that’s just the extra incentive on top of the recent thrashing Houston administered in Superliga which is far more important overall. United will be itching to put that painful performance behind them to prove it was a fluke given the situation. DC will also be keen to get some points to stay among the leaders in the East as they still have almost two weeks off from MLS after this make up match.

So, given the rest on the schedule coming up, I would expect DC to pull all the stops, and the absolute best players will playing their best roles in the starting XI. The only player who may slightly out of position is likely to be Jaime, who I would expect will be playmaking behind Doe and Emilio, since Gallardo remains out and Lightning Rod has been a bit ineffective. Maybe Fred plays the middle, and Jaime at forward, but that would put Burch in midfield and with Peralta out, he needs to play in the back.

Also with Santino still out, I expect the Thompson phenomenon to continue on the right, while Fred plays on the left. Simms will obviously play in the middle, but then maybe a bit of a switch in the defense. Burch and Pat Carroll both struggled as center backs in Superliga, and while Soehn may well expect them to play themselves out of those mistakes, I suspect he plays it safe and puts Martinez alongside McTavish in the middle.

That puts Burch in his comfort zone on the left and maybe gets him back playing the way he did before he became Roberto Carlos on all free kicks. I’m actually beginning to wonder if those stunning goals went to his head as he really is a different player since scoring them, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Maybe a bit of the old familiar left back will snap him back to reality.

But, whatever they do, DC simply has to stop the bleeding in the defense though. Especially the central defense was a sieve in Superliga, and with Wells back there……well, enough said about that. Specifically, DC has to be a lot sharper on set plays as Houston is hideously precise if given room to latch onto free kicks, as DC learned this past weekend. However, a lot of those mistakes in that game were by young players who won’t be playing in this match, or were made by people playing out of position, which shouldn’t be the case either.

Houston on the other hand just got some good news as Ching is back and Nowak was magnanimous enough to allow Holden and Ianni to report late to Olympic camp in order for them to play against his old team. (Nice loyalty to a team that gave you your first coaching break there Peter, thanks for nothing.) Plus, Houston just signed Nate Jaqua and further streamlined their forward situation by releasing the woefully inadequate Caraccio. Hey, how about that, both teams have shed a Franco about forty years after Spain set the precedent.

Anyway, that boils down to DeRosario and Ching starting at forward most likely, with Holden as the playmaker, which means the center of the United defense will be put under huge pressure. Given the shakiness of Burch and Carroll, I can’t see either of them being up for the challenge, hence Martinez moving inside next to McTavish. Especially as Holden moving inside is leaves Davis on the left where Namoff has to be the one that guards him, and puts Cory Ashe on the right, who is less of a threat for Burch, but it would have been overkill to have Martinez on the pesky winger.

Houston does have one huge hole to fill that might swing things in DC’s favor, however. Since we lost out on Robinson’s suspension due to the rain out, Ricardo Clark was benevolent enough to get enough yellow cards to get himself suspended for this match. (Nice of him. See how it’s done, Peter?) With Mulrooney out with a swollen knee as well, that means Houston has no natural replacement for that defensive midfield slot.

Now, maybe Kinnear plays Cameron there out of position and hopes for the best, but I think it more likely Ianni will play there. (Way to go Peter! You solved that little problem for them nicely.) Still, Ianni hasn’t played there in a while, so maybe Jaime gets the best of him rather easily and Nowak’s little stab in the back is thwarted. We’ll see.

But that potential matchup is really the only truly good one DC has offensively. Fred against Waibel is the classic hack versus speed and skill, so that’s a toss up given the state of MLS referees. If the beast is allowed to yank, grab, and gouge with impunity like he has pretty much all year, then that’s trouble. But, if Fred gets away from the beast often enough, then DC clearly has the edge. Thompson will struggle against the most savvy left back in the league, Wade Barrett, and Boswell knows Emilio better than anybody else in the league. While Robinson is the toughest guy to beat in the league, and Onstad’s stats speak for themselves. Barely one goal against a game, playing for a team with only 4 wins.

Still, at least the intangibles are on DC’s side. Houston has never won in RFK. DC’s fan support is second to none and they will be pushing for a lot better than they saw in Superliga. Plus, United is averaging 3-1 scorelines at home, while Houston only has 7 goals in 9 road matches, and has been shut out their last two on the road.

So, it’s a team with a pretty good offense and a sketchy defense going against a team with a very good defense and a sketchy offense. Clearly, the first goal will decide the match. If Houston scores early like they did with Superliga, then they’ll pack it in and United will struggle to break them down and probably lose. If DC scores first and gets some confidence rolling, then it could become another convincing win for the black and red.

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