September 1st, 2007 . 12:21 pm . By: Jason Benfield

Despite Coach Soehn’s claims that “They (FC Dallas) are susceptible in the back”, DC United are expected to put most of their effort towards keeping a clean sheet on Saturday.  They have not conceeded more than one goal in an MLS game since the FCD debacle a month ago, when they allowed three to the Hoops in the second half alone.  DC also averages scoring only one goal per game on the road, compared with two and a half per game at home.  This defensive road strategy was evident in their last match, away to Toronto FC, where they scored early on and protected the lead for the rest of the game, generating very few scoring opportunities.  Both United and FCD are in the top three in the league in fouls committed, so expect a physical, tight game Saturday night.

More importantly, with games in hand, DC only need a point out of this tough game on the road.  FC Dallas, on the other hand, need three points.  Chivas are tied with the Hoops for second in the West, but have a game in hand.  Dallas have a game in hand over Houston, but the Dynamo have only two games remaining against teams with winning records (FCD have four).  Additionally, Dallas desperately need to show that they can compete against the top teams in the league.  While DC are 6-2-2 against teams with winning records, the Hoops are only 1-6-2 against those same clubs.

THE GOALIES

Perkins will start in goal for United, and has the third best GAA in the league.  After allowing a horrible goal against Chivas Guadalajara in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, he has been solid this season.  Perkins is not the most athletic keeper, and struggles in 1v1 situations.  The best parts of his game are positioning and coming off his line well.

The starting keeper is a bit of a mystery for FCD this weekend as both Sala and Burse are available.  Sala reportedly looked better in practice this week; however, with Burse’s solid play, there is no reason to rush him back until he is fully fit.  Burse has made several incredibly athletic saves in the past few games while facing significant pressure as the Hoops defense and midfield battled injury.  His positioning may not be the best, and he does not quite have the sixth sense for when to come out and grab a cross, but his athletic ability makes up for it and he has performed well.

Advantage: DC.

THE DEFENSE

DC have completely overhauled their defense over the course of the season.  After starting the year with their traditional back three of Erpen, Boswell, and Namoff, DC suffered some early defensive problems; this lead to a switch to a back four and they traded Erpen for Vanney.  Boswell has not been selected since the LA Superliga game, leaving only Namoff as a first choice defensive player.  He plays on the right side, and is a very solid MLS defender who supports the attack when he needs to.  Burch, acquired mid-season, starts on the left and was pushing Gros into the midfield even before his recent concussion issues.  Burch lacks speed, but has a really nice cross when he moves forward.  Vanney has supplanted Boswell in the middle, and brings a veteran presence to the young backline.  McTavish has developed into a nice find for DC as the other center back.  The second year player tackles well and has put in strong performances ever since given the opportunity earlier this season.  He can play out wide on the right as well as in the middle.  Gros will probably miss the rest of the season with his latest concussion.  Boswell will probably still be held out, as the defense has done well without him.  He is suffering through a poor run of form that young defenders are prone to, but will be back as a fixture before the end of the season.  As a whole, the defense is solid, but lacks speed.

The Dallas defense is as healthy as it has been all season.  Gbandi and Moor are both having good seasons on the outside.  Goodson has been a stalwart in the middle, and should be in the running for defender of the year in MLS.  Serioux looks to regain his starting position alongside Goodson, and is probably as fit as he has been all season.  Once this unit bonds, it should be as good as any backline in the league.  The depth is quality as well.  Rhine and Wagner are adequate on the outside, Pitch has proven that he can fill in centrally, and Yi, who started several games at the start of the season, is finally back from injury.

Advantage: Dallas.  The numbers support DC, but Dallas are healthy for the first time this season and should start flexing their defensive muscle.

THE MIDFIELD

United play a diamond midfield, with reigning MLS MVP Gomez at the top.  He is having another solid campaign, but his numbers are down as he draws constant attention from the opposition.  It is also worth noting that he is a more effective player when he has two defensive midfielders working behind him in a 3-5-2.  In the 4-4-2, he gets drawn deeper in the midfield and doesn’t touch the ball around the 18 as much as he might like.  Behind him is Simms.  Carroll is out through suspension, but Simms had already supplanted him as first choice.  Simms is athletic and is developing more of a positioning sense that makes him useful as a starter.  Fred will start on the left; the Brazilian was disappointing at the start of the campaign, but has really turned it on lately.  He has emerged as an offensive focal point, taking pressure off of Gomez and Moreno.  On the right, Olsen mans the flank.  He was rested for the Toronto game due to his nagging injuries, but is likely to play in Dallas.  The veteran got off to a great start this season before some of his injuries caught up to him.  There is a chance he could be rested again, in which case Mediate will see the field.  Mediate is a workhorse, but is not consistent.  DeRoux will back up Fred on the left, and has tons of pace.  Moose backs up in the middle, but at this point in his career doesn’t provide much more than hard work.

The FCD midfield will undergo some changes with the addition of Denilson and subtraction of Saratoga.  Dallas are expected to retain their 4-2-1-3 look, but the central three will have a different feel to it.  Ricchetti will of course remain in the lineup as a defensive midfielder.  However, the position next to him will change.  When occupied by Saragosa, it was strictly a defensive position and was not involved in the attack.  Now, however, it will be manned by Dax or Toja, and operate with more of a two-way flavor.  This is the role that Toja originally found success with, and his play should revert back to the level it was at in the beginning of the season.  He is much more effective when coming from deep in the midfield to join an attack than he is at spearheading the attack from the top of the midfield.  Dax, who has performed admirably for the past several games, will serve as his backup.  Dax is a solid player with a lot of energy, but is guilty of giving the ball away rather easily at times.  He, too, should be better when attacking from deep.  Toja is officially listed as questionable, but by all accounts had a good practice on Friday.  His recovery will determine whether or not he starts.  I would expect him to be held out for cautionary reasons and come in off the bench.  Eventually, Denilson will man the attacking midfield spot, but until he is fit Ricardinho will do the job.  We have only seen the young Brazilian perform in the middle once this season, as a reserve, but he looked pretty solid.  He was ineffective against Houston in the last match, but the week off may allow him to get his legs back.

Advantage: DC.  Toja and Denilson are not 100% yet, and the United midfield is quite good.

THE FORWARDS

Neither of the first choice strikers for DC were available in their last match.  Moreno was rested, while Emilio, the leading goal scorer in the league this season, was out with a bad hamstring and is still listed as questionable for Dallas.  In their place, Dyachenko and Addlery were very ineffective.  Dyachenko hasn’t shown much all season, while Addlery has speed and that’s about it.  Kpene is athletic and can provide a spark off the bench, but hasn’t shown much over 90 minutes.  Depth at forward has been a problem for DC for years; while the players are better this year, none are proven.  If Addlery and Dayachenko start again, it is another sign that Soehn has chosen to play for the draw, as Addlery is only effective with speed on the counter, and Dayachenko is simply used as a target to knock the ball back to midfielders.

Alvarez and Ruiz are locks for Dallas; the third forward is a bit of a question.  With Dax/Toja moving back to a deeper position, this opens the attacking midfield position for Ricardinho.  If Ricardinho moves back as expected, then Oduro will start on the left wing.  He brings pace, but has been more effective off the bench as a late sub than he has been starting.  The key is Alvarez; he was dynamic during the Superliga, and consistent performances in MLS play will take attention away from Ruiz.  Ruiz has started to score goals again, just in time for Dallas to make its push for a division title.

Advantage: Dallas.  This is a no-brainer with Emilio out.

POSSIBLE LINEUPS

FC Dallas

This is a bit of a guess, with the fitness levels of Denilson and Toja unknown.  The are both expected to come into the game as subs in the second half.

DC United

WHEN DALLAS ATTACKS

The Hoops have a massive athletic advantage on the wings if they can isolate DC’s outside defenders.  That is a big ‘if’, however.  United play very well as a unit and cover for each other quite nicely.  They sag back into the box, not allowing the other team to take advantage of their lack of speed, and rely on Simms in the defensive midfield to harass opposing players enough to slow an attack up the middle. 

Simms effectiveness, however, can be limited if two players attack from the midfield.  Last week, Edu was able to attack from deep and had several opportunities.  Look for Dax/Toja to get involved in the attack and have a big impact on the match.  Toronto created several opportunities last week, but their finishing let them down.  Dallas have much better players in the attack and should be able to score.  The involvement of the extra central midfielder will eventually force DC to push their defensive line up in order to limit the space the Dallas midfielders can operate in.  Once this adjustment is made, it opens up the DC backline to be exposed on the wings.

WHEN DC ATTACKS

With Moreno and Emelio out, the threat comes from the midfield more than it does up top.  DC will look to sag back defensively and counter through Fred, Olsen, and Gomez.  The forwards will be mainly asked to serve as targets and either play the ball wide to the wings or back to Gomez.  Ricchetti, Gbandi, and Moor should be able to contain Fred, Olsen, and Gomez.  In the last game, DC were able to beat the Dallas offsides trap on the outside, and score through the starting forwards.  However, a lot of the problems were caused by Serioux’s inclusion in the lineup when he wasn’t fit, as well as the constant movement off the ball from Emelio.  Expect a much better performance from the Dallas defense, and DC do not have the guns to finish their chances right now. 

FINAL ANALYSIS

Dallas have struggled against the better teams in the league all season long.  However, they are finally getting healthy and with the addition of Denilson will have a much more effective and consistent offensive look for the stretch run.  DC, on the other hand, are struggling with injuries and are not at their best offensively.  They are trying to earn points until they can get their starters back.

Dallas needs to win this match.  Dallas score a goal in the first half through Alvarez and Ruiz.  After Denilson and Toja are brought on in the 60th minute, FC Dallas put the pressure on and United finally give up the second goal as Dallas walk away with the three points.

FCD 2, DCU 0

Categories: Match Preview.

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