The Boys in Blue head to our nation’s capitol this weekend as they look to close out the back end of a two game road trip with three points. Historically, the Union have played very well against D.C. United, including a 7-0 beatdown in their last matchup. With a new coach that caught international headlines and a few new signings, it is a different looking squad from that last matchup. These are our Founders Brewing Co. Pressing Points.
Rooney’s D.C.
SInce their previous matchup earlier in the season in which the Union won in a very convincing way, D.C. United has made changes both on the pitch and on the sidelines. They have moved on from their interim coach and have brought their former captain and English great, Wayne Rooney, in to lead the team. Union Head Coach Jim Curtin talked earlier about how Rooney has changed the team and has given them the boost they needed.
“When you look at their squad, you can tell Wayne is implementing new players, he’s building a culture, he’s building a team that you can tell wants to be stable defensively first and foremost, and you’ve seen that in their recent games,” Curtin said
After a tough loss this past Wednesday against FC Dallas, the Union have another difficult task to try and secure a big three points coming down the stretch of the season. Coach Curtin described what his team needed to do to secure a win on the road
“We’ll have to be on top of our game, and put together a strong performance to bring points back to Philadelphia,” Curtin said. “We hope that we can create more chances than we did, and be a little more dangerous than we were against FC Dallas. Our game is transition, hopefully we can execute that against a strong opponent in DC.”
Nate the Great
On Wednesday, homegrown right-back Nathan Harriel was called back into the starting lineup against FC Dallas. After having Olivier Mbaizo start at RB for the second half of the season, Harriel came in and played a stellar game, and received lots of praise from the Union Head Coach.
“I thought Nathan was excellent in the game, and did his job,” Curtin said. “He’s a big part of what’s been the best defense in the MLS this season, and he’s a great young player that’s only going to get better and better with time, so happy with how he performed.
With a heavy schedule, it is always difficult for a coach to make adjustments to keep their team fresh. The Union training and medical staff has done a great job ensuring players’ health and fitness throughout the season to keep everyone health.
“We’re recovered as best we could, everyone’s healthy and available for the game, so it’s a matter of keeping things fresh as possible,” Curtin said heading into their third game in eight days. “We’ll put a group that has the right balance in each line of freshness, and we’ll approach the game like we always do: stable defense, win the transitions, and be a little bit sharper with the ball than we were last time out.
Catch the Boys in Blue this Saturday night at 7:30 against DC United on PHL 17.
