DC United Preview - 10/6/2006

DC United vs. New England Revolution
10/07/2006 7:30pm EST
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

So I checked around, this match means nothing but pride. Well, for DC United at least. United will not lose the Home field advantage if they lose tomorrow, nor will they lose the Supporters Shield (which infact is being presented to the club before tomorrow's match). Regardless of what happens tomorrow night, and the following Sunday night against the Chicago Fire, DC United will be playing a road match in either Kansas City or in New Jersey on the 21st. Either a night game or a day game. Either on grass or on field turf/carpet/gravel/swamp land.

So why do I want to see Peter Nowak's boys to go out there and kick the hell out of the Revolution? Because we need to. United needs to get a victory tomorrow night for their focus towards the playoffs. They were not focused last year, and what happened? They got bitch slapped in their own house. We need to win so we remember how to do it. We need to defend for 90 minutes so that we remember how to do it. We need to score 2 or more goals so that we remember how to do it.

That might have actually been a problem over the middle part of the season. The guys might have forgotten how to score more than one goal a game. 1-0. 1-0. 1-0. 1-1. Did they forget? We seemed to have remembered last home game, the 4-3 victory over RBNY. The only problem is that we were short handed and forgot to cover guys. We have two more matches, two matches that we can use to get things right.

Given the situation that we and the Revs are in, I feel that we can get the win tomorrow night, along with ensuring that key guys get enough rest and enough guys get time on the pitch. Taking a page from I-66, I don't want Jaime out there more than 45 minutes, and in my opinion, he should sit out the first half, just like against RBNY. Gomez should get in 60 minutes, then get a comfy spot on the heated bench, sipping a Gatoraid or two. I would like to see Donnet get some more activity in the playmaking role in the midfield, see what he and Freddy can do together.

All in all, tomorrow nights match should be a good one. The Revs are without Shalrie Joseph, who is essentially their enforcer; Pat Noonan is off in Deutchland getting a hernia taken care of and even Taylor Twellman is being listed as probable. As long as we play our own game, and remember how to actually play a full 90 minutes, we win.

Prediction: DC United 2 - 1 New England Revolution