Most of his D.C. United teammates only could stare in disbelief. They had just surrendered two goals in added time against Chicago on Saturday after scoring the game’s first goal on a 90th-minute penalty kick. But the toughest part for forward Charlie Davies was not having more of a chance to affect the outcome. “I’m physically fine,” said Davies, who has been relegated to less than 15 minutes in United’s last two games. “I can only do so much with the time that I have. I’m a guy that expects to play 90 minutes. I’m fit. I’m healthy, and it’s disappointing when you want to get the playing time to help the team win, and you only get 20, 15 minutes. I’ve done all I can do.”
That may be true, but Davies hasn’t found a consistent balance of tracking back and hanging on the last defender in search of a chance on goal. He hasn’t scored in his last five appearances since registering a hat trick at Chivas USA on Sept. 10.
As such, D.C. United coach Ben Olsen stuck with Dwayne De Rosario up top against the Fire instead of using him in the midfield — where he would have more touches — and adding a second forward such as Davies.
“I think putting [De Rosario] up top was the right move, if that’s what you’re asking,” Olsen said. “I think they put a lot of numbers in the midfield, and it’s a lot of work in there. That’s why we put some of the guys in there early, to deal with that. … I think everything worked out except the last couple minutes.”
– Craig Stouffer
