Ahead of Friday's nationally televised match at Children's Mercy Park, SportingKC.com caught up with Goal.com's Thomas Floyd to preview #SKCvDC. Live pregame coverage of Friday's match is available at 8:30 p.m. CT on 38 The Spot (KMCI) and Univision Deportes Network.
D.C. United is 3-5-4 through 12 matches heading into Friday's match. How would you assess the club's performance this season?
D.C. United has been a bit up and down this season. They started very slow out of the gate when they were coming off some offseason moves. They really revamped their attack and brought in a lot of new pieces. You could tell there was a gelling process under way through their first few games of the MLS season as well as their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal loss to Queretaro. They've since made some progress and you get the since they are starting to find some chemistry in the final third.
A guy like Luciano Acosta, who was their big offseason acquisition, is starting to find more of a rhythm with his teammates. He's really developed chemistry with Alvaro Saborio, the lone striker the last few games. However going into this match at Kansas City, Saborio is out on Copa America duty as is Steve Birnbaum so they'll need to have a bit of a different look when they face Sporting KC. That will be one thing to keep an eye on.
Both teams will have players missing the match due to international duty for Copa America. How do you see this impacting Friday's match?
I think it's going to make a big difference for both teams. Obviously, Kansas City have good depth in central defense with the loss of Matt Besler but anytime you're losing your captain and organizer in the back, it's going to make a difference. Graham Zusi is a pretty irreplaceable piece for that attack.
For D.C. United, Saborio has really found a rhythm the last few matches playing as the lone striker and he went on a little bit of a goal scoring surge. Not having him in the mix will hurt. The good news is they have Fabian Espindola back after suffering a hamstring strain. He's made appearances off the bench in their last few games so the assumption is he'll step back into the starting lineup. For D.C. fans, hopefully there's not much of a drop-off there.
The big loss is Steve Birnbaum in central defense. He has been an absolute rock for them this year and has really raised his game both on the field and being a leader in the locker room. Kofi Opare is most likely to step in and he's a solid replacement. He filled in for a long stretch for Birnbaum last year when Steve was out with an injury. He's (Opare) a guy D.C. can count on but will not be the level of Birnbaum. D.C. will have to get by with that absence in the back.
Goalkeeper Bill Hamid has yet to play this season due to a knee injury but what's his chances of starting on Friday?
Ben Olsen said Bill Hamid is likely to start Friday against Kansas City and will definitely be in the 18. The only thing that will keep him out of the lineup would be some sort of setback between now and Friday. He's been training for a few weeks and looks very sharp. Even though Travis Worra has been a very steady replacement, they're going to roll with Hamid and he makes them a better team. Although Worra has been playing pretty mistake free soccer, the thing with Hamid is that he more or less plays mistake free soccer and then also pulls out remarkable saves that no other goalkeeper in this league can make. Having that shot stopping ability and athleticism in the back can make D.C. a much better team and help compensate for the loss of Birnbaum.
What do you attribute to D.C. United's struggles on the road this season (0-2-3)?
D.C. historically under Ben Olsen has been a team that generally struggles on the road and then puts together a much better record at RFK Stadium. I think part of that dynamic is the style of play they use on the road. They tend to pack it in and try to play a pretty ugly game and grind out points on the road, either a 0-0 draw or 1-0 win. When you do that, you can get results. They've gotten a few draws this year, but you're not going to get many wins. I think that's why they've been winless on the road. They just a play a style where they go in and more or less playing for the draw. I'm not saying that's a good style or bad style but it sort of explains why they are able to get some draws but those wins are pretty scarce.
How important will an early goal be for either side and how could that affect the match?
An early goal will definitely make a big difference, largely because of the approach I just mentioned that D.C. takes on the road. If D.C. gets an early goal, they're only going to pack it in more and maybe look to score another one on the counter but more or less keep numbers back. They'll play very simple going forward and very direct. If Kansas City scores an early goal, that changes the game because D.C. will need to adjust that strategy and play more of an open game, trying to build out of the back a bit more. That really isn't D.C.'s forte, they're a very direct team who tries to bypass the midfield as much as possible. Kansas City getting that early goal will definitely force them to change things and we've seen that from D.C. United this year. There have been a couple results when they do allow a goal early, they don't bounce back and haven't been able to come from behind to get many results.
What's stood out to you from this season in MLS?
I'm really intrigued by the lack of balance between the conferences. Almost every team in the Eastern Conference would miss the playoffs in the West. It's really a remarkable thing that there's that much of a divide. That's something that I'm curious to see if that continues over the course of the season. I'm sure the law of averages will balance that out a little bit but the Western Conference is loaded with a lot of teams that look like MLS Cup contenders where a team like Kansas City, that before the season started most people would have lumped them into the conversation for at least a dark horse MLS Cup contender, are struggling. Whereas in the Eastern Conference, D.C. United has a lot of up and downs along the winless streak to start the season and they're still right in the thick of things, not too far out of first place. NYCFC loses a game 7-0 and they're still near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. That's really the thing I've found most fascinating to start this MLS season.
