Posted by

Ian Clarke ,

August 4, 2011 Email Ian Clarke

DC United: Washington, District of Columbia

Record: 6-8-6, 26 points, 6th in Western Conference

Goalscorer: Charlie Davies, 8 goals

Playmaker: Josh Wolff, 4 assists

Players to watch: Perry Kitchen M, Dwayne De Rosario M, Chris Pontius F First Thoughts

Toronto FC head into their third match of the week to face off against Eastern Conference rivals, the ascending D.C. United, at RFK Stadium. A field that the Reds have not traditionally done well in, save for last season on the back of Dwayne De Rosario, they now face their former captain and a much stronger side than their last visit at the end of 2010. D.C. has already delivered a humiliating 3-0 thumping at BMO Field and now it’s a chance at redemption for TFC. In their favour is that few players in the home fixture are still around, and the new faces have begun a good run of form over the last two weeks. However, D.C. are a step above the competition faced over the last fourteen days and the hard grind of the last week makes this match, and finding a result, a difficult task. Keep Thinking

When sizing up these two sides in an important Eastern Conference match-up, the first comparison to make is how the last week has played out for both. D.C. are coming off a solid road victory against San Jose that saw Dwayne De Rosario net a brace, and have spent the last week without a game, preparing for Saturday’s tilt. Toronto FC on the other hand went from Portland to Nicaragua, embarked on all the luxuries of traveling through this region, and came back home to leave for D.C. for the weekend. While they are highly trained and professional athletes, TFC, and especially their new arrivals, have been on a hard schedule for three weeks and will have to dig very deep to stay toe to toe through ninety minutes.



D.C. have already set the stage with their comprehensive 3-0 win mid-April, however, with all the new arrivals, there looks to be only three to four members of Toronto who will see the pitch Saturday. It is a much different side than the one who walked onto BMO half asleep and were down 2-0 before half the stadium arrived with their nachos, hot dogs, chip-butties, Tuborgs, burritos, meat pies, pizza slices or whatever else they needed to buy to keep them interested for the first half.



The one thing that will still be the same from April 16th is the weak link that remains for TFC is defending. Against Portland it was demonstrated how easily the Reds back four could be confused and taken apart when they were caught on the counter and direct pressure applied.



No one in the league is better in these situations than their former captain, Dwayne De Rosario. There is no question this is the player to watch, even more so than their leading scorer Charlie Davies. De Rosario has already formed a potent partnership with Chris Pontius and become a threat both on and off the ball. There are few players, especially on Toronto, who can handle his movement and against slow, plodding centre-backs, he will have a

field day.



Aron Winter will have to be especially shrewd when strategizing how to deal with the attack of D.C., as it would seem very unlikely a partnership of Ty Harden and Andy Iro would be able to weather the storm for a full ninety minutes. Doneil Henry has been a mixed bag so far this season, but his upside at just 18 is massive and his pace would be an asset against the likes of De Rosario and Davies. Laying Torsten Fings deep would be the best scenario to not only shore up the backline, but also bring much needed leadership and direction.



This is one of the few games where Toronto’s midfield, at least on paper, might not be overrun. An Andy Najar red card against San Jose means there will be one less threat to deal with and slightly tip the balance. While Frings has been stalwart in his first matches, Terry Dunfield has come in and quietly been a solid compliment to the German, and many are hoping Julian De Guzman will begin to show his flashes of pedigree and technique more consistently through the game. De Guzman is the one that the puzzle hinges on and if he can become more of a threat pushing forward, Toronto will benefit a great deal.



If TFC can withstand what will be a tricky and awkward attack delivered from Charlie Davies and Dwayne De Rosario, they stand a good chance of coming out of RFK with a result. D.C.’s back four are far from stellar and one of the Reds new threats in the attack, wing-play and cross-delivery, has been an achilles heel for their opponent. What has been demonstrated since the arrival of Danny Koevermans and Ryan Johnson are situations D.C. have had problems dealing with so far this season.



In this game though, everything for the Reds revolves around stamina and whether or not they can keep digging deep to last through a full ninety. D.C. are a much bigger task than Real Esteli, just a step above Portland, and RFK is another hostile away stadium that will fuel the home side the entire game. If Toronto can push through the breaking point, and Aron Winter makes the right substitutions as seen in Portland, there is a chance they could come away with another unexpected MLS road result.



In the End

Since their last encounter, Toronto has done well to close the gap talent-wise and bring in a much better mix of players to make a competitive side. Upon arriving almost three weeks ago, there has been barely a moment to breathe and new faces are still flying in through the revolving door. D.C. are a team who made a few tweaks, but the biggest has been adding Dwayne De Rosario who has made an immediate impact and delivered results. While Toronto are nowhere near the same team they were mid-April, they are still in the position where defending will always put them at a disadvantage, coupled with players still getting acclimatized to one another. A good week in terms of results, but not so much in terms of regeneration means up against a rested D.C. side might be too tall an order to come away with any points. Prediction

D.C. United 2 – Toronto FC 1