DeRosario and DC United Tie Philadelphia 2-2

Philadelphia Union at DC United

Saturday night’s contest was an exciting one, at least on paper leading up to the match, as it put the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union on the road at DC United, who were excited to show off their new acquisition, MLS All-Star Dwayne DeRosario.

DC United Setup:

     Coach Ben Olsen had to be excited when DC made the trade to acquire Dwayne DeRosario from the Red Bulls in exchange for Dax McCarty. He featured him prominently in his first game for DC as they set up in a 4-4-2 with DeRosario playing the playmaker role behind the duo of Davies and Wolff. DeRosario was the link between the defense and the attack. Simms, who set up in the holding midfield position just in front of the back line would gather the ball from the defense and look for DeRosario, either long or short. Once DeRosario received the ball form Simms he looked to distribute anywhere and everywhere. He completed 43 of his 57 attempted passes (according to mlssoccer.com) with many of them long arcing balls down the flanks to either of the two strikers, or Pontius. Najar played wide right but was usually not as far forward as Pontius was on the left.

     It was obvious DC was working on integrating a new key player into their side, and were still working out the kinks. Their build up and passing was not very fluid and at times they seemed almost too concerned with making sure DeRosario received the ball. This led to their two strikers going long stretches of the game without being involved very much, as evidenced by their two combined shots.

Philadelphia Union Setup:

     The Union started out in a 4-4-2 just as they did last week. Much to the delight of the members of Keeping a Clean Sheet, Danny Mwanga was rewarded for his excellent second half performance last Saturday against Chivas USA. Carroll sat in the holding midfield position just in front of the back four and put in an excellent performance, much improved from last weeks’ game. He broke up many of DC’s attempted attacks and was useful in distribution as well, especially to Paunovic, who sat much more forward this game behind Ruiz and Mwanga. Paunovic had some nice passes but was not into the game a ton as DC had much more possession then Philadelphia did.

     Le Toux and Mapp played much more narrow than last week. Le Toux would often get in just behind the strikers, and even sometimes be up top in a forward position. When he did this the striker on his side would get wide almost all the way to the sideline to balance the attacking third. This was a different approach for the Union but because they lacked the ball so much throughout the game their attacking players did not have the necessary opportunities to create more goal scoring chances.

     Le Toux has still not shown the attacking prowess that he did last season. He had a few chances to put a goal to his name, most noteably in the 36’ minute when Carroll and Paunovic linked up. Then Paunovic found Ruiz who, with his back to goal, put a through ball to Le Toux down the right wing. Le Toux then missed the goal going for the far post. It was a noticeable opportunity in the sense that one would expect a Sebastian Le Toux in 2010 form to bury that chance.

1^st Half:

     DC dominated possession but didn’t have as much to show for it as they should have, as they lacked the cohesion to put together that final dangerous pass to lead to a goal scoring opportunity for most of the half, with the exception being in the final minutes. Najar played a through ball to DeRosario (one of his many outstanding off ball runs on the night that one has come to expect from him) who then beat Carroll like a drum with some nifty dribbling and was able to blast a cross across the face of goal that Wolff was able to deflect in for a 1-0 DC lead 

     It was clear that Philadelphia were content to sit on the counter in the first half. They let DC control the ball and looked to spring a counter attack after obtaining possession in their own third from DC. Mwanga and Ruiz were hardly involved as a result. Mapp and Le Toux had a few nice combinations but besides the Le Toux miss in the 36’ minute, it was a rather mundane half from the Union.

2^nd Half:

     The second half was a much more up and down affair than the first, and saw three of the game’s four goals. In the 49’ minute Pontius tried an ill-advised maneuver of chesting the ball down to DeRosario despite the fact that Paunovic was practically standing between them. Then he floated a cross that was at an awkward height for rookie right back Perry Kitchen who kicked the ball with his right foot into the goal to tie the score at 1. Kitchen was caught in between in terms of deciding which foot to use and maybe with some confidence lacking in his left foot was charged with an own goal.

     Just about 10 minutes later, Andy Najar dribbled the ball up field and with no one challenging him he unleashed a rocket that beat Mondragon. Carroll was too deep to come up field and challenge him and neither center back stepped up. This was also a problem for Philadelphia last week against Chivas, they need to close down the space and it has to start with Carroll.

     For the rest of the game DC was looking very comfortable and it seemed as though they would have enough to hold on to win. But, in the 84’ minute Le Toux, who had drifted inside right played a through ball to the right back Williams, who had toasted Pontius. Williams put a cross to Ruiz in who tied the game at 2 with a nifty finish. Philadelphia had to feel pretty good about getting a point, after an own goal and one defensive slip up from DC.

     

Conclusion:

     The Union were able to earn a point in a difficult environment against a tough team boasting their new star player. They showed why they are currently the class of the Eastern Conference with their performance. For next game it would seem as though they really need to get Mwanga and Ruiz more involved. Despite Ruiz’s limited supply of balls he was still able to net the game-tying goal.

     DC had to feel sick to their stomachs at the conclusion of the game. They let two points slip away and had only a draw to show for their performance despite dominating the ball for the majority of the game. On the positive side they look to be an improved side with the addition of DeRosario and he might give them the necessary boost to help them secure a playoff birth.