DC United had to battle past MLS sides FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake to then take on the Richmond Kickers who went down 2-0 in a reasonably contested game. Last night’s 2-0 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders was less difficult to achieve, but the outcome remained in doubt, however feeble, until Harrisburg went down to 10 men with the ejection of Tyler Ruthven in the 75th minute.

Throughout the evening DC proved faster of foot and faster in thought and execution. Their superior ball control individually and collectively allowed them a level of comfort and confidence the pleased the 2,089 in attendance.

DC Coach Curt Onalfo had certain expectations, “Our whole goal going into this game was to make sure we had the right approach, and we started well. I thought we started both halves very well; I thought there were times we played very good soccer as well.”

He got exactly what he hoped for in the very first minute of the game as Santino Quaranta broke down the left side and slid a perfect ball across to a fast closing Branko Boskovic who simply pushed it neatly into the net. Harrisburg held to their strategy, but their odds of an upset went way down.

The entire plan of lower division sides is to play hard and athletically, hoping to take the game out of the technical realm by unbalancing their more skillful opponent. The longer a tie stands, the better chance the weaker side has to somehow slip a goal in and walk out a winner.

Veteran Captain Carey Talley has seen it before, “They still came out and a lot of credit to them, they actually played some good soccer, even when they were down a man. You can see why they were tough to beat. With these teams, a lot of the time they’re going to be younger players and they’re going to come out and they’re going to run hard.”

Still, try as they might, Harrisburg failed to make even one shot on goal while United had nine and saw their second go in as Boyzzz Khumalo chipped what looked like cross in from the right wing only to see it sail over the surprised keeper and into the net in minute 47.

Among the other seven DC United shots were several powerful strikes by Quaranta who seems to have encountered a magic wall that has sent his blasts barely off target or just within the keeper’s range. It could easily have been much worse for the City Islanders.

According to Talley, the game provided an excellent chance to break in Pablo Hernandez and Boskovic in a competitive environment, “They’ve shown a lot of grit in their play, which is much needed in MLS. For a lot of foreigners there’s an adjustment period and I think that they’ve come and done a pretty good job in trying to match the intensity of the players in this league.

“Mixed with that, you throw in some of their savvy and I think they had a pretty good game tonight. It’s nice to play with technical players like Boskovic. Hernandez is a lot younger, but he has his qualities and he’s grown up in a soccer environment.”

Although the game has its primary value in securing a spot in the Semi-Finals against the Columbus Crew at RFK on 1 September, it provided a good transition to another preparatory event, the exhibition match against Portsmouth this Saturday.

Onalfo will make good use of that meeting, “Again, we want to utilize that opportunity to get more minutes for Boskovic, and even Hernandez. We want to work on how we play tactically, and it is an opportunity for all of the other guys to continue to make a statement on who should be playing and where.”

The team anxiously awaits the recuperation of Marc Burch, Rodney Wallace, Adam Christman, Juan Pena, and Chris Pontius, all of whom watched from the stands in good spirits. Their condition prompted Onalfo’s comment, “We need to see how we are physically, and then move forward and make sure that we approach the Portsmouth game in a professional manner.”

Pontius’ foot injury is “only” a bruise and he is walking normally, but will likely rest against Portsmouth. United goes into a series of weekly MLS contests in the month of August and that period should see all of the above returning to service.

Neither team played well enough to deserve to win as the stifling heat took the edge off physical and mental creativity. While United has steadily grown into a more disciplined team, its shape on the evening was less dynamic than that of the well coached Sounders.

Coach Sigi Schmidt has trained the Seattle Sounders not only to hold shape, but to do so while in constant motion to create opportunities. It was a tribute to DC United’s own discipline that they were able to contain Seattle for so much of the game. The difference in initiative between the two teams finally paid off with a fine Roger Levesque finish of a well-placed Freddy Montero cross.

Jordan Graye, the rookie who has been pressed into a starting role by a series of injuries to DC defenders, was impressive for much of the night, but fell victim to his own ambition to present the clever Montero with a golden opportunity.

The youngster describes the sequence, “We needed 3 points and the coaches started telling me to push up further and further up the field…Unfortunately I made that mistake. It was kind of a casual play. The throw-in came to me and I took kind of a bad touch. I missed the ball so he picked it up. I tried to get back, but I couldn’t in time.”

Although Graye arrived in time to cut off a direct attack on goal, Montero made a great cross just before Graye could cover that angle. Levesque just beat his own defender, Dejan Jakovic, to score the winner.

The coaches had good reason to urge Graye forward as he had earlier had occasional success overlapping into space. Onalfo offered that, “At the end of the game we pushed the game because we needed, in our mind, we wanted to get three points out of this game. We gave away a terrible ball to give away in our part of the field and we got punished.”

Clyde Simms, the man in charge of cutting off dangerous Seattle forays understood Graye’s performance, “I feel like every rookie goes through it. I remember one time last year, I think in Kansas City, Rodney (Wallace) made the same mistake and he hasn’t made the same mistake since. “When you play a rookie that much, that kind of stuff is going to happen, no matter who the player is.”

Montero was the engine of much of Seattle’s attack throughout the game, and Simms described how DC adjusted, “In the second half we did a much better job of following him into the midfield.” Montero had been too free to possess the ball and turn into attack. “Julius and Dejan did a much better job of following him into midfield and keeping the pressure on him.”

Simms’ partner in midfield, Stephen King, had a similar view of events, “There’s too many times that their forwards, mostly Montero, was coming off and collecting the ball in between the midfield and the backs. It’s something we addressed at halftime and I thought coming out in the second half we actually started playing better.”

DC’s two new signings made late appearances and played with too tentative a style to be very effective. Pablo Hernandez looked skillful, but out of sync with his teammates on several forays. Branko Boskovic appeared even more briefly and was clearly not yet fit enough to meet the stiff opposition he encountered.

He understands that his integration will take time since, “The level everywhere now is high. Everybody runs well, you must be physically very good – MLS is the same. I need to keep playing, and I hope the next game physically I am much better.”

One area in which he will need to adapt is the heat which was very evident Thursday. Even Tino Quaranta, who is a local lad with plenty of experience with the heat, felt it, “It’s very difficult to play like this. It seems like you’re playing in a steam room. It’s no excuse, but it’s terrible.”

He himself had two excellent chances, the first as Najar showed no respect for his elder, Kasey Keller, to beat him to a ball down the wing. Keller injured his ankle in the attempt to win the ball and stayed down for a few minutes.

The ball went to Quaranta whose chip over the fallen Keller was headed away just before crossing the goal. He had earlier come close on an amazing shot that passed under a defender’s legs and yet had to be tipped over the crossbar in an extraordinary athletic display by Keller. It just wasn’t United’s night.

Still, the experienced Sigi Schmidt explained why DC United will probably play the remainder of the season above .500, “I think D.C. has had a little bit of hard luck because they’ve taken a lot of late goals as well.

“As they integrate their two new players – when they get Hernandez up to speed, you know because training with the team and playing in games is different. We had Nkufo here today but he needs to get used to it, I want him to see the game up close and so forth.

“But as those two [D.C. United] players come along, I think they could be a dangerous team. (Andy) Najar is playing very well for them on the wing – he’s a dangerous player, and (Chris) Pontius I think is a dangerous player as well.”

Scoring Summary:

SEA — Roger Levesque 1 (Fredy Montero 7, Sanna Nyassi 1) 89

Seattle Sounders — Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jeff Parke (Tyrone Marshall 62), Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez, Pat Noonan (Sanna Nyassi 88), Nathan Sturgis, Mike Seamon (Osvaldo Alonso 73), Steve Zakuani, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero.

D.C. United — Troy Perkins, Devon McTavish (Adam Cristman 81), Dejan Jakovic, Julius James, Jordan Graye, Andy Najar, Stephen King (Branko Boskovic 72), Clyde Simms, Chris Pontius, Jaime Moreno (Pablo Hernandez 56), Santino Quaranta.

Misconduct Summary:

DC — Julius James (caution; Reckless Tackle) 54
SEA — Leo Gonzalez (caution; Tactical Foul) 85

Referee: Alex Prus
Referee’s Assistants: Cyril Madukanya; Brian Poeschel
4th Official: Michael Kennedy
Attendance: 13,716
Weather: Cloudy and 89 degrees

That game will move back to the previous default Open Cup venue when United takes on Harrisburg on 21 July at 7:30 PM at the Maryland Soccerplex.

Open Cup games prior to the semifinals tend to feature mostly reserve teams representing MLS sides. This one was a bit of an exception, if only because United has had to give significant playing time in regular season matches to many players who might normally spend most pf their in practice or on the bench.

Coach Curt Onalfo has managed an onslaught of injuries by careful integration of his bench into first team action while building a cohesive and increasingly effective overall team. Last Saturday’s loss at Columbus came significantly against the run of play as the team continues to improve.

The Open Cup match was an almost surreal event as the sun created visual effects similar to a video game. Uniform colors, red on one hand and black on the other, with both of similar color saturation, combined with the severe backlighting made it difficult to distinguish players.

Richmond had difficulty maintaining possession throughout the game and their ineffectiveness was mirrored by United in the first half. Onalfo spoke with his players at halftime and their play for the remainder of the game became quicker and sharper.

Santino Quaranta, who was inserted for Luciano Emilio, was particularly aggressive, adding an urgency the drove the team to victory.

The official lineup, listed as a 4-3-3 with Andy Najar playing at right back, was really a 4-4-2 as Jaime Moreno provided a second surprise by holding down a wide midfield position. After all, Open Cup matches at this level do allow some latitude for experimentation.

In 2008, Coach Tom Soehn responded to stressful roster losses by using Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace in a variety of roles and saw them blossom. Onalfo’s testing of Najar on defense, while primarily driven by the sheer lack of healthy defenders, also provided the youngster with a real opportunity for growth.

Pontius humorously referred to Najar as, “Dani Alves. I thought he did a good job. It took him a bit of time to settle into the game, but I thought in the second half he looked comfortable there. He’s a smart player, so wherever you’re going to play him he still understands the game.”

In contrast to the World Cup, where the drone of Vuvuzelas makes verbal communication nearly impossible for the players, the fans in the stands could clearly hear keeper Bill Hamid directing Andy’s positioning, a reflection of Hamid’s maturation and Najar’s adaptation.

Pontius noted that playing defense had its merits, “I played right back for two years in college.” He went on to say that such changes provide a different vision of the game, “Andy playing right back, he’s usually going against a right back or left back and having his guy go at him he realizes how he can expose defenses a little bit better because if he got exposed on a play he realizes that maybe it’s a little bit tougher for defenders to defend that type of run or type of move.”

With the recent signings of creative midfielder Branko Boskovic and forward Pablo Hernandez, United will have extraordinary depth everywhere except on defense. Until the return to full service of Bryan Namoff, Julius James, and Marc Burch, Rodney Wallace, and Carey Talley, Onalfo will have to manufacture a defense with whoever is available and competent.

The team is basically two-thirds solid and working on the rest.

Tino Quaranta hit on it directly, “The most important thing is that this team is pretty hard to play against right now. We’re not giving up a lot. The guys bought in to what Curt (Onalfo) believes and I think that with a couple of guys coming back we’ve lifted the team and made them understand that we have to push through this.”

The return from injury of a significant number of impact players is the tangible factor. They provide the critical mass for the intangible to work. Notice how Quaranta puts the two together to describe Real Salt Lake, “They’re a well coached team. Their shape is great. All around their quality of players is the reason they won the MLS Cup last year.”

Translate that discipline and skill to the rehabbed DC United and it explains his description of his own team, “We’re a tough team to play against right now. I don’t know how many shots they had, but it didn’t seem like a lot.” Indeed, on Saturday night, Troy Perkins faced only one shot that required a save.

On the offensive, DC United provided some of the most exciting attacking soccer of the year for the first 15 minutes before heat and humidity along with smart coaching adjustments by RSL Coach Jason Kreis slowed the pace to a calmer level.

United’s sensational young winger Andy Najar had the Salt Lake defense off balance repeatedly with aggressive and effective direct attacks. It was almost as if they believed that Najar’s sparkling goal on Wednesday had been a fluke only to realize their error just in time.

Quaranta saw it, “They understood. They put some numbers behind him. He’s gonna have to understand that in his development when that happens he’s got to play a little quicker and get it off his feet. It’s all a learning experience for him. He’s a great kid.”

His observation mirrored Onalfo’s observation about the learning process of his prodigy. Recent interviews with United players clearly shows a thorough commonality of belief in themselves, the coaches’ vision, and the steps to a successful season.

They have bought the Onalfo plan, and it appears to be a good one. I asked Quaranta about the influence of a coach that so many involved with United share, Bruce Arena, “Bruce has been a mentor for myself and also for Curt, and Benny, and Kelderman, and Simo (Mark Simpson) as well. I think we all understand that it takes a lot of effort, a lot of work. Organization and shape in this league wins games.”

At both club and National Team levels, Arena’s practices are highly organized and strictly structured. “Curt’s are too.” noted Quaranta, “He’s scientific. It’s down to the minute. Everything is well organized. The guys enjoy Curt.”

Specifically, Arena’s drills all tend to contain four elements, vision and control, at speed, under pressure. They simulate game conditions and reinforce responses and initiatives that the coach desires. A team plays best within a comfort zone in which the pace and understanding are constantly reinforced.

Quaranta clearly feels the common bond, “Curt’s the same way. He pushes and he’s a very positive guy too. The scientific part of it, he does that, but then he’s very positive. He keeps guys going and urges them on and when they have a good play, he comments on it. Guys need that.”

Returning to the subject of the tangible, United will soon see the return of Marc Burch who is already running and cutting on his nearly fully healed foot. His recovery is especially urgent as Rodney Wallace took a bone bruise in the area near his fibula. X-rays today should resolve the issue of his own recovery time, minimal if a bone bruise and more if a small fracture.

Finally, the World Cup break may allow United to acquire the major tangible they need to return to former glory, a strong creative midfielder. Is there a latter-day Etcheverry out there?

Still, there seemed to be something more at work. I spoke with an experienced coach about it and received an interesting explanation. He described two key elements, the quality of the coach’s plan and the degree of player understanding and consequent buyin.

He would explain to his players that his plan could be good or bad and their buy into it could likewise be either. If his scheme was poor and they bought it or his scheme was good and they didn’t, the result would be mediocre at best.

The 2009 DC United players would invariably answer when interviewed that they bought Tom Soehn’s plan, but they often strayed from it during games, indicating by their actions that they didn’t fully buy it. Mediocrity ensued. Piled on top of a demanding overall schedule, the team fell below even that standard.

Enter Curt Onalfo, a legacy of the legendary DC United. Add an assistant from that same era, Ben Olsen, and you have two disciples of the Bruce Arena school of discipline. One would expect their plan to be a good one and their training to emulate the organization and focus which are Arena characteristics.

United’s first coach had a similar rocky beginning to his tenure, but righted the ship and piloted it to glory. Let’s take that analogy one step further. Arena took a while to integrate a major element of his style into the team, the effective creative midfielder. Onalfo came into 2010 with that same element lacking.

For whatever reason, over the offseason DC United did not acquire the midfield engine that they so clearly needed. Onalfo tested Santino Quaranta there, but found that the young veteran’s natural talents lend themselves to wide midfield or flexible striker play. He has had to resort to a less effective plan until the front office gets him the DP creator that will optimize the roster.

The reason that United can now approach a decent mediocrity (albeit with flashes of brilliance) lies in the players’ buying into the current plan. That plan is well described by a series of quotes from Tino Quaranta:

“We clearly went over this week what we wanted from each individual…We wanted to build off the AC Milan performance in terms of the way we defended, collectively from the forwards to the midfielders to the backs. We had a plan and we followed it to a tee.” That is classic Arena ball: press, control, and go fast when the opportunity arises.

It takes a while to become comfortable and confident. One must be patient, “At halftime I told the guys that if it takes us until the 90th minute to win this game tonight then that’s what it does, but we have to stay patient.”

The patient player has confidence that he and his teammates will fulfill each others’ expectations and that good things will come from overall focus, “It was a disciplined performance. In the past we would put our head down when the 78th-79th minute goal would go in. Tonight we lifted the guys. We kept pushing, we went forward. It was the type of performance we expect from these guys.”

Confidence is infectious, “Once they scored that second goal, I just looked around at the guys and I felt that we were gonna win this game.”

A large part of that confidence comes from the knowledge that the whole team is on the same page. Carey Talley, another Arena legacy, said it well, “We established a rhythm…It came from 1 through 15, however many played tonight….For us we’re starting to see the hard work, the discipline, pay off.

“There has to be a system established, like you say in Houston, where guys step in and do their role. We’re still obviously working on that and every guy is stepping in and trying to do what’s asked of him and you can’t complain about that.”

The defender, who wears the captain’s armband when Jaime Moreno is out, has made his own contribution to team development with his advice to the young Jordan Graye who continues to develop into a solid right defender.

In turn, Graye has begun to pass on his knowledge to 17 year old Andy Najar , who played in front of him, “He’s aware of where I am and I’m aware of where he is. He’s really good defensively.” Success comes about because, “The communication is key. Pena and Talley keep me in check and keep me focused on doing the right things during the game and I kinda put that on Andy too.”

Just as Olsen absorbed the lessons from John Harkes and Marco Etcheverry, the latest number 14, Najar, is growing rapidly, “He takes it seriously. Like Curt says, he’s wise beyond his years when it comes to professionalism in soccer, and that’s why he’s playing for the first team.”

The Open Cup match and regular season games that fill out the rest of this week will sorely test the team’s new found confidence. To Onalfo’s credit, he has slowly built a certain amount of depth into the squad which may see them past Real Salt Lake.

Two of MLS’ most successful coaches over time, Dom Kinnear of Houston and Steve Nicol of New England, built teams with solid systems which gave each player a clear role and obtained their buyin. Onalfo may well be on the right track, requiring only a creative midfielder to make it all work.

United’s traditional control game failed them in 2009 because the team focused too narrowly on central attack and became predictable. The control game is best defeated by quick counterattacks, but becomes vulnerable to even more varied attacks if the side attempting to maintain control loses its own discipline and leaves spaces within its midfield.

The opponent gains the initiative since defenders need to cover slashing runs into vulnerable space which takes some of their focus off runs into space behind them. Coach Curt Onalfo’s choice to play double holding midfielders, Clyde Simms and Kurt Morsink, has helped to deny that option to opponents.

That adjustment has allowed United to play reasonably well defensively despite a lack of running speed in central defense. Simms’ and Morsink’s control create just enough certainty and deflect enough forays that DC can keep opponents at bay for much of the game.

The several recent quotes from Carey Talley in which he explains how Jordan Graye has learned to turn wing attacks wide to delay or deny runs in behind him illustrate how a mature defense can work with strong midfield support.

However, defensive support comes with a price, an anemic attack. The players who have expressed opinions agree that service from midfield is the primary weakness. With a rash of injuries, the team lacks just enough talent to deny DC that two-way midfield that any good team must have.

In the away game Saturday at Houston, Onalfo could continue the emphasis on defense, hoping that his minions can hold Houston scoreless well into the second half and then switch to an offensive style by replacing either central midfielder with an attacker.

Instead, I think he should go for attack from the start. The 2010 MLS postseason is sufficiently out of sight that the team should focus on the Open Cup in its stead, while building a system that will pay dividends later this year and next.

If Morsink or Simms is replaced by an attacking midfielder like Andy Najar, the wide midfielders will have to be very disciplined and work both ways consistently to support the center. Midfield work rate will become the key to the game.

Substitutions should focus there, with Jaime Moreno (for Najar), Simms or Morsink (for the other), and Boyzz Khumalo, Chris Pontius, or Brandon Barklage for a wide midfielder.

Houston is a flexible well-coached team even with several top players missing. Dom Kinnear has a strong system which allows his players to slot into it comfortably. Still, he will probably plan for United to try the semi-bunker and counter strategy which is classic for an away team.

A change in emphasis should put Kinnear’s team slightly off their own plan, but they will adjust fairly quickly. In essence, Onalfo would be gambling on two things, the possibility of an early goal before Houston adjusts and the ability of his own side to maintain enough discipline throughout the game within United’s changed midfield.

In the short term, the switch in emphasis is very much a gamble. For the longer term, it is almost essential if United is to improve its record and also be competitive in the Open Cup.

In the next month and one half, United plays very few MLS games and only the Open Cup on 2 June has specific significance. By that game, Tino Quaranta and Chris Pontius should be solidly back in form. By the time MLS returns to full swing, United should have Dejan Jakovic back on defense and may have acquired the creative midfielder who could drive a more potent attack.

The MLS season presents little hope of fulfillment, but the remainder of the season may well see a stronger side and even an Open Cup trophy by the end.

United’s traditional control game failed them in 2009 because the team focused too narrowly on central attack and became predictable. The control game is best defeated by quick counterattacks, but becomes vulnerable to even more varied attacks if the side attempting to maintain control loses its own discipline and leaves spaces within its midfield.

The opponent gains the initiative since defenders need to cover slashing runs into vulnerable space which takes some of their focus off runs into space behind them. Coach Curt Onalfo’s choice to play double holding midfielders, Clyde Simms and Kurt Morsink, has helped to deny that option to opponents.

That adjustment has allowed United to play reasonably well defensively despite a lack of running speed in central defense. Simms’ and Morsink’s control create just enough certainty and deflect enough forays that DC can keep opponents at bay for much of the game.

The several recent quotes from Carey Talley in which he explains how Jordan Graye has learned to turn wing attacks wide to delay or deny runs in behind him illustrate how a mature defense can work with strong midfield support.

However, defensive support comes with a price, an anemic attack. The players who have expressed opinions agree that service from midfield is the primary weakness. With a rash of injuries, the team lacks just enough talent to deny DC that two-way midfield that any good team must have.

In the away game Saturday at Houston, Onalfo could continue the emphasis on defense, hoping that his minions can hold Houston scoreless well into the second half and then switch to an offensive style by replacing either central midfielder with an attacker.

Instead, I think he should go for attack from the start. The 2010 MLS postseason is sufficiently out of sight that the team should focus on the Open Cup in its stead, while building a system that will pay dividends later this year and next.

If Morsink or Simms is replaced by an attacking midfielder like Andy Najar, the wide midfielders will have to be very disciplined and work both ways consistently to support the center. Midfield work rate will become the key to the game.

Substitutions should focus there, with Jaime Moreno (for Najar), Simms or Morsink (for the other), and Boyzz Khumalo, Chris Pontius, or Brandon Barklage for a wide midfielder.

Houston is a flexible well-coached team even with several top players missing. Dom Kinnear has a strong system which allows his players to slot into it comfortably. Still, he will probably plan for United to try the semi-bunker and counter strategy which is classic for an away team.

A change in emphasis should put Kinnear’s team slightly off their own plan, but they will adjust fairly quickly. In essence, Onalfo would be gambling on two things, the possibility of an early goal before Houston adjusts and the ability of his own side to maintain enough discipline throughout the game within United’s changed midfield.

In the short term, the switch in emphasis is very much a gamble. For the longer term, it is almost essential if United is to improve its record and also be competitive in the Open Cup.

In the next month and one half, United plays very few MLS games and only the Open Cup on 2 June has specific significance. By that game, Tino Quaranta and Chris Pontius should be solidly back in form. By the time MLS returns to full swing, United should have Dejan Jakovic back on defense and may have acquired the creative midfielder who could drive a more potent attack.

The MLS season presents little hope of fulfillment, but the remainder of the season may well see a stronger side and even an Open Cup trophy by the end.

United’s traditional control game failed them in 2009 because the team focused too narrowly on central attack and became predictable. The control game is best defeated by quick counterattacks, but becomes vulnerable to even more varied attacks if the side attempting to maintain control loses its own discipline and leaves spaces within its midfield.

The opponent gains the initiative since defenders need to cover slashing runs into vulnerable space which takes some of their focus off runs into space behind them. Coach Curt Onalfo’s choice to play double holding midfielders, Clyde Simms and Kurt Morsink, has helped to deny that option to opponents.

That adjustment has allowed United to play reasonably well defensively despite a lack of running speed in central defense. Simms’ and Morsink’s control create just enough certainty and deflect enough forays that DC can keep opponents at bay for much of the game.

The several recent quotes from Carey Talley in which he explains how Jordan Graye has learned to turn wing attacks wide to delay or deny runs in behind him illustrate how a mature defense can work with strong midfield support.

However, defensive support comes with a price, an anemic attack. The players who have expressed opinions agree that service from midfield is the primary weakness. With a rash of injuries, the team lacks just enough talent to deny DC that two-way midfield that any good team must have.

In the away game Saturday at Houston, Onalfo could continue the emphasis on defense, hoping that his minions can hold Houston scoreless well into the second half and then switch to an offensive style by replacing either central midfielder with an attacker.

Instead, I think he should go for attack from the start. The 2010 MLS postseason is sufficiently out of sight that the team should focus on the Open Cup in its stead, while building a system that will pay dividends later this year and next.

If Morsink or Simms is replaced by an attacking midfielder like Andy Najar, the wide midfielders will have to be very disciplined and work both ways consistently to support the center. Midfield work rate will become the key to the game.

Substitutions should focus there, with Jaime Moreno (for Najar), Simms or Morsink (for the other), and Boyzz Khumalo, Chris Pontius, or Brandon Barklage for a wide midfielder.

Houston is a flexible well-coached team even with several top players missing. Dom Kinnear has a strong system which allows his players to slot into it comfortably. Still, he will probably plan for United to try the semi-bunker and counter strategy which is classic for an away team.

A change in emphasis should put Kinnear’s team slightly off their own plan, but they will adjust fairly quickly. In essence, Onalfo would be gambling on two things, the possibility of an early goal before Houston adjusts and the ability of his own side to maintain enough discipline throughout the game within United’s changed midfield.

In the short term, the switch in emphasis is very much a gamble. For the longer term, it is almost essential if United is to improve its record and also be competitive in the Open Cup.

In the next month and one half, United plays very few MLS games and only the Open Cup on 2 June has specific significance. By that game, Tino Quaranta and Chris Pontius should be solidly back in form. By the time MLS returns to full swing, United should have Dejan Jakovic back on defense and may have acquired the creative midfielder who could drive a more potent attack.

The MLS season presents little hope of fulfillment, but the remainder of the season may well see a stronger side and even an Open Cup trophy by the end.

The youngster rose to the occasion with several brilliant saves and a stead y presence in the box against eleven corner kicks. He was well supported by the hard work of the entire team in front of him. Tino Quaranta, who came on late to minimize stress on a bone bruise on his foot, fell right in with the team’s mutual support concept, “If a guy didn’t make the play, somebody backed him up.”

Clyde Simms put in yet another strong effort paired with continued strong focus by Kurt Morsink, “We talked about effort. I think that’s where those extra balls won in the middle were coming from,” said Simms. “The communication was good tonight from the two center backs to Kurt and me in the middle.”

Their success in clogging the center grew out of Onalfo’s recognition of the Wizards’ formation, “We talked about the way that [Kansas City] plays, they really play a 4-5-1 and basically we’re in a 4-4-2 so we’re outnumbered in the middle of the midfield so tactically you have to do a good job of how do you deal with that extra player and that’s what we worked on in the last couple of days.”

With renewed confidence in support behind them, United’s midfielders committed early to tackles, which disrupted Kansas City’s rhythm. This tactic of “diving in” yielded a few extra cautions and increased pressure on the defense. It succeeded only because of excellent team discipline.

As the midfield pressured KC, the wide defenders, Rodney Wallace and Jordan Graye shaded to the center, ceding the wings to the Wizards. It played into the opponent’s tendencies. “That’s the way they play, with two wingers up high. So a lot of times they’re gonna get the ball out wide”, noted Simms.

Carey Talley has worn the Captain’s armband for several games now, a tribute to his insight and guidance of the younger players, especially Graye, “I think that the fact that we were able to have them try to play around us makes it a lot easier for a team to defend.

“It’s when balls are being played through us that’s the toughest thing and that’s what we’ve been having in the first five games. Balls were just played through huge gaps to guys running at goal. Now we kept our shape, we kept our discipline. We were a solid four. We were a solid six sometimes.

“The ball goes out on the wing, we cover in the middle, the winger gets beat, and the center back is over to help. Things like that just enable guys to read each other when you keep your discipline like that. I thought we did pretty good.”

During Graye’s debut, Talley had told him that the way to adjust to the fast Brek Shea was to shade to the center and yield the wide side. He explained how that worked, “as long as he’s not out on the wing where the guy can run in behind him. You saw it his first game the other night. It happened a couple of times. He’s (Graye) the fastest guy on the field, hands down, but was getting beaten behind because he was too far out on the wing. He was closer in this time so if the ball is over his head, he can close him down and nail him in the corner.”

A final change in United’s approach to the game was the choice to rip shots from outside that yielded Allsopp his two goals. It is interesting to note that his chance for a hat trick went awry when he opted for placement instead of power.

DC United has a history of being cute and creative and frustrating fans. Jaime Moreno, who rarely chooses to shoot, did make one attempt from outside the penalty area, but his choice of placement over power yielded a miss wide left.

Talley attributed Allsopp’s ripped shots to the Aussie’s background, “That’s the style of player Danny is. He’s played in England for a long time and in the A league. You’ve got a lot of guys from England playing there, or who’ve been in England. They’re goal scoring opportunists. Put your head down, put your toe down, smash it.”

As a defender himself, he recognizes the value of a varied attack,“It definitely keeps goalkeepers honest. When there are shots being taken outside, it opens it up for little slips inside to maybe put past him….If they know that you’re just gonna play pretty and try to walk it into goal, they can keep you in front of them the whole time and not have to worry about you getting in behind. If they have to defend against the shot from thirty yards, the defenders gotta make a decision.”

Soccer historically rewards intuitive forwards and disciplined defenders. Contrast Talley’s analytical approach to that of Allsopp. Here’s his analysis of his first goal – “I can’t really remember it at the moment. I don’t think I thought about it too much, and that’s probably the best thing really – to get a chance and just not think about it. I tried to connect [with the ball] but I can’t remember too much about it.”

DC United now travels to Dallas Saturday with several impact players relatively rested. Onalfo relied on his system to get results while keeping his players reasonably fresh. A hallmark of the Houston Dynamo success has been the interchangeability of many players. Perhaps Onalfo is onto something.

Scoring Summary:

DC — Danny Allsopp 1 (Rodney Wallace 1) 12
DC — Danny Allsopp 2 (Adam Cristman 1) 34
KC — Kei Kamara 3 (Josh Wolff 1, Teal Bunbury 1) 92+

Misconduct Summary:

KC — Ryan Smith (caution; Reckless Tackle) 50
DC — Danny Allsopp (caution; Reckless Tackle) 56
DC — Christian Castillo (caution; Reckless Tackle) 59
DC — Kurt Morsink (caution; Persistent Infringement) 72
KC — Michael Harrington (caution; Reckless Tackle) 88
DC — Santino Quaranta (caution; Reckless Tackle) 89

Kansas City Wizards — Jimmy Nielsen, Michael Harrington, Jimmy Conrad, Pablo Escobar, Santiago Hirsig (Kei Kamara 46), Stephane Auvray (Craig Rocastle 73), Roger Espinoza, Jack Jewsbury, Chance Myers (Teal Bunbury 51), Ryan Smith, Josh Wolff.

D.C. United — Bill Hamid, Jordan Graye, Carey Talley, Juan Manuel Pena (Devon McTavish 88), Rodney Wallace, Thabiso Khumalo (Santino Quaranta 79), Kurt Morsink, Clyde Simms, Christian Castillo, Adam Cristman (Jaime Moreno 71), Danny Allsopp.

Referee: Alex Prus
Referee’s Assistants: James Conlee; Peter Balciunas
4th Official: Chris Penso
Time of Game: 1:52
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees

Attendance: 10,038

Tino Quaranta, who entered in the second half explained how it worked out, “Guys understood we had to get that win. I’m another year older. Clyde’s another year older. ….It’s a good mixture of guys (young and older) and we just try to come in and slow the game down and do what we have to do to win.”

Carey Talley, who played the entire 90 minutes, elaborated, “It’s gotta be addressed as a group. It’s gotta be the older guys with the balls that they give, in the right spots that enable us to get the ball and just make it easier on the young guys.”

The younger players picked right up on the idea. “We were helping set each other out. It wasn’t, ‘I’m just gonna play it into a guy and wherever it lands, I hope he does well with it.’ We were actually thinking about things.”

The play of two particular youngsters set up and then helped hold together United’s well-executed game plan. Coach Curt Onalfo wanted his players to come out hard and seek the early goal. Sure enough, it came in the 4th minute through the aggressive play of 17 year old Andy Najar topped off by a clever chip of the solid veteran Adam Cristman.

Najar earned his first goal for DC United in the 51st minute when he positioned himself perfectly to finish a fine cross from Cristman who displayed similar energy and initiative all night. Each used his own particular talent to unbalance and surprise the Dallas defense all night.

Najar gave them no rest, demonstrating that he is learning fast how to handle the physical challenge of older players. His own strength with the ball and also in challenging for it continue to improve at a phenomenal rate.

Cristman used his own physicality and guile to alternately pressure or slip into good locations as the flow of the game presented him opportunities.

Meanwhile, Jordan Graye made his first start for DC and it went about as one would expect for a rookie. Quaranta described the feelings from his own now long past experience, “You get very nervous your first game, especially at RFK. It’s not easy, but he’s done well. He’s young and he’ll have a lot of years here.”

Talley pointed out how Graye quickly adapted after being beaten several times by the fast and athletic Brek Shea, “A couple of us said something to him, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be closer to us. Don’t stand out there on the sideline because then he’ll get in behind you. If you’re closer to us, he’s going to the corner. I think he figured that out and put it to use.”

The rookie agreed and explained, “With long balls over the top, he kinda caught me on my blind side a little bit. I’m a pretty fast player, so I like to gauge how people are. He kinda caught me by surprise that first time. But I adjusted well to that.”

Graye grew increasingly confident as the game went on and he moved more often into attack, “As I get more comfortable I start to play more of my game.” To his credit, he joined his teammates in the judicious control of the ball in the final fifteen minutes as they saw the game out.

Clyde Simms entered the game in the 56th minute as Kurt Morsink took a knock. His 34 minutes were a perfect reintroduction to competitive play as he comes off a hamstring strain. He played effectively, but feels that he is not quite where he wants to be.

He is not yet at full speed because, “I did my knee in pre season and only had a week and a half until I did my hamstring. So, it’s been a while since I played.” It is common to get an injury to another limb coming off surgery as the body compensates with unexpected imbalance. He is focusing on taking this rehab at a good pace and expects to see action in the following 10 days as United has three more closely spaced games.

Like his predecessor, Brian Carroll, he believes in preparing his mental game as well, by reviewing game tapes. “I’ve always been good at remembering every play in my head, but it’s different on film. I’m good at that, learning from my mistakes.”

He went on to echo Curt Onalfo’s idea that players should not overanalyze, “Every team is different, every game is different, so when you watch the film, you don’t want to put too much into that. You can psych yourself out a bit.” He observed that learning the general principal was where the value is found.

DC United will take on the Red Bulls on Saturday at 4:00 PM as part of a doubleheader with the Washington Freedom. With important members of the already stretched roster playing just enough minutes to stay sharp, United has cause to hope for continued solid team play and good results.

Match Facts

FC Dallas vs. D.C. United, April 28, 2010 — RFK Stadium
U.S. Open Cup play-in game

Scoring Summary:
DC — Adam Cristman (Andy Najar) 4
DC — Christian Castillo (unassisted) 39
DC — Andy Najar (Adam Cristman) 51
DAL — Bruno Guarda (unassisted) 52
DAL — Dax McCarty (penalty kick) 57
DC — Adam Cristman (Clyde Simms) 59

FC Dallas — Kevin Hartman, Ugo Ihemelu (George John 46), Anthony Wallace, Edson Edward, Zach Loyd, Eric Alexander (Dax McCarty 46), Bruno Guarda, Brek Shea, Atiba Harris (Heath Pearce 65), Eric Avila (Andrew Wiedeman 76), Jason Yeisley. Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Cunningham, David Ferreira, Dario Sala.

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Brek Shea 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Dax McCarty 2); FOULS: 13 (Eric Avila 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (3 tied with 1); CORNER KICKS: 1 (Heath Pearce 1); SAVES: 1 (Kevin Hartman 1)

D.C. United — Troy Perkins, Jordan Graye, Devon McTavish, Carey Talley, Rodney Wallace, Andy Najar, Kurt Morsink (Clyde Simms 56), Brandon Barklage (Santino Quaranta 63), Christian Castillo (Jaime Moreno 75), Adam Cristman (Tiyi Shipalene 86), Thabiso Khumalo. Substitutes Not Used: Lyle Adams, Barry Rice, Bill Hamid.

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Adam Cristman 3, Andy Najar 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Adam Cristman 2, Andy Najar 2); FOULS: 15 (6 tied with 2); OFFSIDES: 3 (Adam Cristman 2); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Christian Castillo 3); SAVES: 5 (Troy Perkins 5)

Misconduct Summary:
DC — Kurt Morsink (caution; Reckless Tackle) 21
DC — Rodney Wallace (caution; Reckless Foul) 28
DAL — Anthony Wallace (caution; Reckless Foul) 67
DAL — Edson Edward (caution; Reckless Foul) 72

Referee: Chris Penso
Referee’s Assistants: -Adam Wienckowski; Corey Parker
4th Official: Bryan Roslund
Attendance: 2,804
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-57-degrees