Apr 20, 2024; New York, New York, USA; D.C. United forward Cristian Dajome (11) goes down after contact with New York City FC forward Hannes Wolff (17) during the second half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Good: Boy this will be tough. Look it is incredibly tough to pick out anything that was necessarily good tonight. DC United entered this match with both hands tied behind their back due to suspensions and injuries. They got one half decent chance from Benteke and he put it wide. DC generated little else, but at the very least weren’t run off the field by a much more equipped NYCFC side.
I will give some small props to Peltola, who showed some real chops in as a third center-back. He shifted there after Troy subbed Akinmboni off for Martin Rodriguez. The way he intercepted passes and broke up plays to continue the attack shows just how much promise he has. Also worth mentioning Bono, who had some truly acrobatic plays in goal to keep this once closer than it probably should have been.
The Not So Good: Let’s start with Matai Akinmboni. It isn’t necessarily fair since he is only 17, but he looked entirely lost out there and early mistakes helped NYCFC punish DC. On the first goal he fails to track Santi Rodriguez who easily slotted home the leading goal. Overall he was sloppy and just looked out of place. He is young so hopefully as the years go on he progresses and starts to show the talent he clearly has. I will say in the second half he looked much more solid, so perhaps it is case of needing more reps.
This probably isn’t entirely fair either, but Christian Benteke was the only attacking DP out there, and just simply didn’t look up to it. He gets the one good opportunity and puts it wide of his head. He gets a a few other moments, but they were few and far between. Still this was the nature of the game for DC United considering the absences and injuries. They are playing on a knife’s edge until Mckay can go in and make some roster room.
All in all, this is game where everyone needed to be perfect to get really anything as far as a result, and no one was. It was also an opportunity for others to step up, and no one really did. That at the end of the day could be DC’s Achilles heal this year. We know guys like Benteke, Herrera, Klich, and Ted can step up in big moments. But when most of those guys are gone, who is left to do that? It hasn’t been clear this year, and there hasn’t really been a major surprise from this team sans McVey and Bartlett looking solid at CB. Every other player has basically given what has been expected this year.
I want to take you back to the first game of 2022 against TFC for a moment. DC was hurt to start the year. Rodriguez went down for the year and Taxi went down for the first few months. There was a lot of uncertainty about the team. They went down 2-1 to TFC. DC needed someone step up. In steps Ted Ku-Dipietro off the bench. He then goes on to provide Benteke the tying goal and then slams home the winner. I would argue that is something we haven’t seen so far this year. We haven’t seen a moment like that this year really. Yes, I am aware that Fletcher got the tying goal against Portland so maybe that is in the ball park, but we haven’t seen that evolve Kristen the way we saw that moment evolve Ted.
And yes, this is targeted at our young homegrown talent. I am going to remove Matti and Pirani from this conversation. Their performances have been mixed, but there conversation is a little different. For Matai, Jackson, and Kristen they need recognize the moment they are in. DC is a rebuilding team that is hamstrung by bad contracts. This is their moment to step up and gain a stake in this team, and frankly none of them have really done anything to say they should get more time. Now, they are all under 20 and Ted didn’t emerge until he was 21. Regardless, they are being presented with way more opportunities than Ted was when he was 18. They are wasting away this opportunity. Mackay isn’t going to wait around and hope they figure it out. He is going to make moves and plays over the next several transfer windows. If they aren’t careful they will find their minutes dwindling before they know it.
Player Spotlight: I don’t think I have given the spotlight to Matuez Klich yet, and I am going to in a game where he didn’t play. I think he illustrated just how important he is. Yes he can serve a ball and provide a passing threat, but his ability to provide the press and disrupt other teams is highly underrated. DC looked extremely passive in the middle of the field and a large part of that is because Klich wasn’t there. Also he lives fully in the dark arts of the game. He is a master at it. I know those aren’t things that are true to soccer but they make a difference. Having a guy out there opponents don’t like takes them away from their fundamentals. Part of his act means suspensions are more likely with him. He can find a way to ride that fence and say on the right side DC will be better for it.
Looking Ahead: DC gets two home games in a row now. They get a match against Seattle and then tougher match against Philadelphia. Frankly next week is a must win. They dropped the last result at home, and need to gain some momentum. They will have big players back from suspension and hopefully some reinforcements back from injury. They need to find a way to get 3 points and turn this ship around.
Final Thoughts: It is very easy to write this one off. Injuries and suspensions made DC United’s lineup look like a farce. No team should have the deficit they have. The players from previous administrations on this roster combined with bad luck have weighed this season down. I hope Ally has this lineup placed in front of him with a note of “Never Again.” He has done incredible work and made some smart moves to raise the floor of this team. But against teams who previously did things well, it shows just how much more work DC needs to do. I am confident things will get better, but it is a stark reminder of how much work there is still to do.