Three observations (plus one) from D.C. United’s 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City:
No matter all the positive vibes that had come out of preseason, D.C. United looked like it should’ve looked in its season-opening 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City. United is a team with plenty of new faces that didn’t get nearly enough of a chance to play competitive minutes together during the preseason due to various factors.
Midfielder Chris Pontius was asked if the guys were in sync.
“No, it’s just that’ll take time,” Pontius said. “It’s not going to happen in the first game of the year. It’s a thing that takes time, a lot of practice and getting to know players’ runs and where they want the ball. I don’t expect it to be clicking next game. There are going to be times in the game where it’s looking good, and there’s going to be times where it looks off. But that’s all a process of figuring things out.”
Of course, D.C. United had still done enough for a scoreless draw after 92 minutes, and after plenty of shaky passes and tentative play early, there were times when they had the upper hand over last year’s top team in the Eastern Conference.
The central defensive pairing of Brandon McDonald and Dejan Jakovic was solid, with Jakovic in particular gaining in confidence and bite with every tackle. Robbie Russell is a pro on the right, even if Daniel Woolard is still limited on the left. But the mistakes were covered, and Bill Hamid looked utterly dominant and not the least disturbed by the shots that were coming at him.
“Look, Kansas City’s a good team,” United coach Ben Olsen said. “They are as good as it comes in this league right now. I thought they did a good job tonight, and credit to them.”
It was a disappointing start for United’s two designated players. Branko Boskovic and Hamdi Salihi need to be better if they’re going to spearhead D.C.’s retooled attack. Boskovic’s passing improved as the minutes wore on against Kansas City, but compared to Graham Zusi, he didn’t nearly command the middle of the field the way he should. It’s important to note, however, that it was just his first game back since his knee injury almost 11 months ago.
Salihi wasn’t exactly thrilled afterward, either. It’s clear that he and Boskovic have a connection, and they need more than three weeks of training together to unlock it, but Salihi also needs to do more than simply rely on service.
“First game, we play like maybe worse game that we play also from trainings, preseason,” he said. “Now we play every day we play much better, but today I think we start not good, maybe it’s because everybody want more and more to give and I think we are not clear in head how to go and how to score and how to win. But this is football.”
What was Olsen doing with Josh Wolff? It’s pretty clear that Boskovic wasn’t at his best tonight, even if we’ll need another game to truly be able to tell if it is was D.C. United’s matchup with Sporting KC’s 4-3-3 or something more. But the answer as his replacement at attacking midfielder doesn’t seem to be Josh Wolff, who replaced Boskovic in the 67th minute. Wolff may have been moved to player/assistant coach for salary cap reasons, but he looked like a coach filling in a game that had passed him by. Either De Rosario or Andy Najar have to be considered as additional options in that role. Perhaps De Rosario wasn’t fit enough, as he’s been battling a groin injury during preseason, but there’s got to be more that Najar can do besides run at people. Perhaps even his crossing from the wing might be better if he got the chance to make a few passes out of the middle. Either way, Wolff’s best position is as a forward, and that’s not where he was playing tonight.
Plus one: If it’s any sort of silver lining, D.C. United and Events DC agreed to terms on an RFK Stadium lease. Details should come this week.
