Crew v. DC United: Fear and Aggression

By: Jeff | April 27th, 2007

Melodramatic title, no? Over-dramatic? Maybe. But, when looking at this weekend’s game between the Columbus Crew and DC United, “fear” looms large.

As badly as I wanted to wait on MLS’s interns to post those comprehensive previews of the coming weekend’s attractions, it seems they’re a bit behind just now so I’ll start without them. The main thing I get out of those, in any case, is the list of the wounded and seeing as the interns tended to the injury report on MLSnet.com as recently as Wednesday, I’ll work from that instead. Here’s who may or may not be missing come game-time Saturday:

COLUMBUS CREW
OUT: DF Jed Zayner (L knee chondral defect); GK Will Hesmer (R hamstring strain); DF Chad Marshall (concussion); MF Jacob Thomas (L calf strain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Jason Garey (L groin strain)

D.C. UNITED
OUT: MF Rod Dyachenko (MCL sprain), MF Kiki Willis (adductor strain); FW Marc Burch (mid-foot sprain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Clyde Simms (ankle sprain)

Another player for DC, Facundo Erpen, belongs on the missing list, even if wounded confidence serves as his key injury; the Washington Times reported earlier this week that second-year player Devon McTavish looks likely to start at right back. With regard to the Crew, the Hunt Park Insider essentially confirms that injured list in their preview/welcome to Guillermo Schelotto – who, for the record, will not play tomorrow.

Even with all the above assumed as givens, Columbus game plan should remain the same: go after DC down the flanks. An effort should be made to find space on the Crew’s left room to operate for Ricardo Virtuoso to operate – and that applies whether Erpen holds down the start or DC tries McTavish. Then again, that can’t be done to the exclusion of leaving openings for Frankie Hejduk to surge forward; he’s been one of the Crew’s greater positives thus far, so it would be silly to do otherwise. The main thing is, DC has been vulnerable to pressure down the flanks to the point where their game goes sideways under it.

(THIS JUST IN: Steve Goff, of Washington Post fame, offers some sharper insight into how the DC defense might line up (see second question). My Neanderthal brain (which thirsts only for beer) never considered the possibility that McTavish could replace Erpen and play elsewhere in the back line. For those not inclined to hit the link, Goff sees Bryan Namoff playing on the right with McTavish playing “pinched inside” on the left next to Bobby Boswell. Namoff’s a different proposition from Erpen and an inexperienced player; still, he may lose a foot-race with Virtuoso as well. So, stick with Plan A, but be ready to change early. Resuming original coverage…)

But the biggest issue to be sorted out comes up top with the forwards, or as the Hunt Park Insider phrases it, “the Crew continues to work a great deal on possession, moving off the ball, and finding that edge in the final third.” Starting Kei Kamara over Jason Garey remains a logical option, given that Garey doesn’t appear to be finding much in the way of openings; perhaps Kamara’s speed could make the difference, maybe Garey’s runs have caused more harm than good, etc. It’s always hard to judge this, especially when watching on TV (or a dinky-ass little video screen on the home computer), but there’s still something a step off about the Crew’s offense.

The thing is, the Crew can’t count on Shalrie Josephs’ hand to steer in a goal any more than they can expect sloppy failures of the basics a la James Riley; they’ve got to start making their own goals. And on the other end, they can’t give any of DC’s players the space to run 20-30 yards unmolested as they allowed Taylor Twellman for his goal last weekend; Christian Gomez, Luciano Emilio, even a half-step-slower Jaime Moreno would positively feast on that. There’s no doubt DC hankers after their first win no less, and probably a little more, than Columbus – and they’ve already shown this year that they can score. They’ll have to tighten up on both ends to make this work.

To wrap this up:

How the Crew Will Win: If they look at what Colorado did in the season opener against DC – pressuring DC down the flanks, which they’ve got the players to do – and can replicate it, that will open some space in DC’s middle. The $64K question there is whether Columbus has “the spine” – e.g. the central players, guys like the Rapids’ Kyle Beckerman – to make this work? I’m not sold on that piece, but I see success starting with stretching DC’s back three to open gaps in the final third.

How DC United Will Win: This one’s pretty easy, actually. DC needs to play a bit conservatively, to, in a word, remember how to defend. As Tom Soehn has pointed out repeatedly, they can attack with fewer players than they have. The key is giving these players time to get into a rhythm, to keep the Crew chasing after possession – which DC can certainly do – and to keep things tight at the back.

What Will Happen: Tough call. DC’s biggest worry comes with the jitters that afflict them; they need to play with a combination of calm and urgency, if such a thing is possible. The Crew, on the other hand, needs to do everything to bring on those jitters possible. A high-tempo start should help with that. In a word, be aggressive…b-e aggressive. For what it’s worth, I think DC is still vulnerable.