Let’s start with this: No one seems to have any clue who will start for D.C. United at goalkeeper. There’s growing criticism of Troy Perkins, but United already missed its obvious chance to hand Bill Hamid his professional debut in last week’s U.S. Open Cup game against FC Dallas. Facing a must-win against Kansas City, will Hamid get the nod? Possibly, especially given the other fearless potential changes you’ll see mentioned below.
“I don’t want to comment on that publicly,” said United head coach Curt Onalfo. “We’re going to make the decision that we think is best to win the game.”
“My perspective is always to be focused and to be ready,” said Hamid. “Even if we weren’t in this situation, I’d still be prepared to play because you never know what can happen on the field.”
For a 19-year-old, he had some strong words for the current feeling within the team headed into the rematch against the Kansas City Wizards, too.
“Everybody’s focused,” said Hamid. “Everybody’s at the point where it’s do it or die. I guess it kind of seemed like we didn’t have that mentality, but now it’s like we’re willing to die for each other now out on the field, to do whatever we have to do to get the fans back in the stadium, to get the community behind us. We’re willing to do whatever we need to do to win.”
Goalkeeper may be up in the air, but I’m hearing that the back line should be unchanged from Saturday, when it included rookie Jordan Graye making his regular season debut three days after his MLS debut in the Dallas match. I may have been harsh about United choosing Graye with a fourth-round pick since they probably could’ve just invited him to training, but he’s been smooth and solid in the last two games.
“It’s tough situation because I know a lot of coaches, they like to insert young, new players when the team is playing well just to get them a positive perspective on things,” said Graye, who played at DeMatha in high school, and then started 45 of his final 46 games at North Carolina, including two in the 2008 College Cup. “But I mean, you just gotta come in and fight. The coaches did a good job of working me into training with the starting lineup so I could get more comfortable before my first start. It was a pretty good transition so I can’t really complain.”
As for the hometown boy made good? “It’s pretty awesome. I played for a lot of the youth teams, 14-16 as well as the U-20s and in PDL, so it’s almost like a dream come true. My family gets to come watch me play, my friends get to come or watch me on TV. Everyone texted me after the game, saying they saw me on TV and how awesome that is. It’s a good feeling, and the next step is get a few wins under our belt so it can feel even better.”
I’m also hearing of some shakeups in the midfield and at forward, perhaps as a reflection of United’s plan to eschew style in favor of possession and organization. It could also be form, given the disappointing showings from Santino Quaranta and Jaime Moreno last weekend. We also know that Luciano Emilio is still limited. In-form Adam Cristman is likely to keep his grip on one forward spot, but I’m not as sure about offensive-minded Andy Najar. Perhaps Danny Allsopp gets a shot to hold the ball up. And Boyzzz Khumalo has patiently waited behind Quaranta and others for a chance on the wing most of the season.
“We feel like we have a lot of good options up top, and that’s a good thing to have,” said Onalfo. “Having said that, Luciano’s not ready to play 90 minutes yet so that leaves us to utilize him in a reserve capacity, and it’s just finding the right balance of who can be successful to start the game and who can help us coming off the bench. It certainly is a good feeling knowing we have some good options as we look at those positions.”
What about Allsopp? “He was doing great right before he got injured. He was really looking he was turning the corner and getting adjusted to the speed and athleticism of our league. He’s been good in training, and he’s a guy that we can call upon as well.”
Also, keep an eye out for Stephen King, who was brought in for more than just cover in the central midfield. United general manager Dave Kasper pointed to the fact that King played 20 games as a rookie, and with the way D.C. is using more box-to-box midfielders now, King is expected to challenge for minutes. Once Clyde Simms is fully fit, Kurt Morsink should be on notice.
Last thoughts from Onalfo: “We felt like we weren’t utilizing the width very well in our attack early on in the season. We feel like we’ve remedied that. But now it’s just a matter of putting those chances away. We’ve had chances all the way through. It would be more disappointing if we weren’t creating those chances than it is right now. Whatever. At the end of the day, frustration is the key word. We’re very frustrated, and we have to get through it, whether its with scoring the first goal or just getting the points that we need. That’s what we’re going to do.”
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