Tonight DC United squares off against defending MLS champions Real Salt Lake. The match is set to begin at 5pm at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina as part of the Carolina Challenge Cup. On Wednesday, in the same competition, United will face the Charleston Battery, followed by Toronto FC on Saturday, March 20th.
United managed to draw with the Columbus Crew, MLS champions from 2 seasons ago, and New York Red Bulls, but the team has seemed to lack offensive venom. Earlier this week, DC played a friendly match against Santos Laguna, a Mexican side. United won the game on goals from Moreno, Pontius and Barklage. This win, although only a friendly, could mark a paradyme shift in United’s preseason. Tonight we will find out.
Their performance, although difficult to analyze due to lack of broadcast coverage, seemed to be hardly anything to write home about. The trend in sports is to overanalyze these preseason encounters. There are not many conclusions to be drawn from these United results, and here’s why. At such an early point in the season DC United’s new head coach, Curt Onalfo, is undoubtedly still ironing out his plans. This is evidenced by the constant changing of starting lineups and numerous substitutions. I am sure he has a good idea of who will be starting in which position, but in some areas questions still remain. Furthermore, it’s apparent that United is still questioning whether they need to add depth at several positions, the most obvious of which is defense.
With Marc Burch’s injury, Rodney Wallace will get the nod at left back, something I’ve been waiting almost a year to see. With his work rate, and some defensive discipline, he could be very successful in this position. Center back is an area of serious concern. Last season Dejan Jackovic featured regularly in central defense, but with Burch and Namoff questionable for the next few weeks who will step up to fill this role?
Tonight the team will depart from the “friendly” atmosphere of its earlier encounters and enter the realm of a true competition. In the broader sense the Challenge Cup is not a top priority for the organization, however with the season drawing near, United will put a tentative starting roster on the pitch tonight, as will the defending MLS champions. We will start to see, for the first time, how this team is really taking shape, and get a general idea of what to expect from the newest iteration of the Black and Red.
Check back here on Screaming-Eagles.com for updates after the match.
