Partnership of Kitchen, Jakovic still needs work Perry Kitchen’s welcome to Major League Soccer moment was as difficult to stomach as the illness he brought back with him from Guatemala after playing for the U.S. under-20 national team.
The rookie center back saw more goals scored against D.C. United in the Red Bulls’ 4-0 thrashing last week than in any match during his lone season with NCAA champion Akron last fall.
Though he still has just two starts on his professional resume, Kitchen understands it’s his responsibility to help pull the United back line together.
| UP NEXT |
| D.C. United at Dynamo |
| Where » Robertson Stadium, Houston |
| When » Friday, 8:30 p.m. |
| TV » Fox Soccer |
“We’re working some kinks out,” Kitchen said of his partnership with fellow center back Dejan Jakovic.
In theory, they’re the perfect complementary match: Kitchen is a determined, vocal organizer, while Jakovic is the tall, athletic ball-winner. The reality is that Jakovic isn’t absolved from working on his communication, and Kitchen is still learning how to set a better tone with aggressiveness and focus.
“It’s just a mentality, and we’ve been working on that,” Kitchen said. “It’s not so much repetition, just being harder.”
Against both the Red Bulls and the Los Angeles Galaxy, United (2-3-1) gave up goals by losing track of the opposing attackers, not just centrally but on the wing, where Marc Burch and Chris Korb were both exposed by their Red Bulls marks.
“It’s not being responsible defensively,” United assistant coach Chad Ashton said. “When a guy ball watches for half a second and then we’re not able to make up for that mistake, we’re not able to recover.”
D.C. United’s frailties on defense have been exacerbated by the relative youth of starting goalkeeper Bill Hamid. He also hasn’t quite returned to full sharpness, particularly on reaction save situations, after his long layoff because of shoulder surgery. Hamid is still likely to start in the net even though Friday will be Pat Onstad’s first return to Houston to face the franchise he represented for the last eight years.
United could satisfy a need for more bite and leadership at the Dynamo (2-1-3) with the return of right back Jed Zayner, who said he’s ready to play 90 minutes after sitting out since the season opener with a left hamstring strain.
“That’s one thing I would think I pride myself on, being attentive on every play and being vocal with that,” Zayner said. “I hope to bring that to the team and give them a little more juice in that area.”
