DC United Youngsters Rally for a Spirited 2-2 Tie With Toronto
06/04/2024 08:53 PM
In their usual half-game style, DC United made up a 2-0 deficit to tie Toronto, reversing their past home game where they failed to see out a game. This time it was Toronto's failure under solid pressure from a rejuvenated United squad.
Toronto cautions outnumbered United's 9 – 0 with the second caution to Federico Bernardeschi in the 87thh minute putting Toronto under still more pressure which resulted in a penalty kick which Mateusz Klich converted for DC in the 95th minute.
Coach Troy Lesesne pointed out the good side of the night's events, "A lot of these young guys are gaining valuable experiences in these situations and they’re fighting and they’re showing that they have quality to be able to help us compete and get points." He referred to, "The young players that were on the field in the end. You have a 17-year-old left center back (Matai Akinmboni), Garrison Tubbs (22) had his first start tonight in his rookie season, Jacob Murrell, 19, Jackson Hopkins 19, and Kristian Fletcher, 18 – – – Ku (Ted KuDipietro scores, a goal. He’s 22."
The first half was spent with the preferred long ball outlet to a usually effective Christian Benteke which often resulted in a longer transition to attack by Toronto who were able to work strongly down the wings, especially on the left with Toronto's Bernardeschi crossing effectively.
The second half saw a switch to comprehensive attack development as Benteke went out with a minor injury to be replaced by Murrell in the 61st minute. Eighteen minutes later the young DiPietro struck and was promptly replaced by Gabriel Pirani who added his own energy to the game. The move had been pre-planned by the coach, "And I think that was that was the right decision based on how Gabby impacted the game."
The coach was concerned about Benteke's minor injury but saw the short term bright side, "I’m very hopeful that he’s going to recover quickly and not be out for very long – – – what we did whenever he went off the field, I think that that’s a very, you know, bright spot for some of these guys that got to come into the game and impact the game. But over the course of the next 17 matches, if we want to have a chance to be able to get where we want to get, then we need Christian Benteke in our lineup."
The team's defensive issues were further exacerbated as Captain Steven Birnbaum was replaced by Akinmboni at half time to assure that a possible knee issue would be avoided. Matti Peltola will return to the lineup next game to help cover the back line, but if he fills in for Birnbaum, the defensive midfield will then lack his presence.
In this game, relieving Hopkins with Martin Rodriguez in the 61st minute worked well enough as Pirani pushed the game into Toronto's end, relieving some stress on that defensive role. Hpwever, the defense will need greater depth to see out games at one end of the half and avoid opponent's scores at the beginning of games. To that end, United is rumored to be seeking to acquire Austrian National Team left defender David Schnegg. It's been two weeks and no definite word yet.
On the young player front, Lesesne would prefer to keep Akinmboni at Loudoun, "I was a little reluctant to actually to bring him back into the squad because I I don’t want to take away from a young player's development if I don’t make sure that he’s going to impact the team, but tonight’s circumstance, he got an opportunity and I think because of the matches he had recently with Loudoun in that experience, he was in good form for us in that second-half."
Garrison Tubbs at 22 was happy to get a full game in, "Troy, always gives me a lot of confidence in myself and in my abilities and that’s really important for, you know, a young player like myself getting his first minutes in MLS. So, for him to instill that confidence within me is really important and that’s something that I think I utilize in the games.
The status of Birnbaum and Benteke, as well as the possible accession of Schnegg will decide the use of several young players after the international break. Another bright spot on the evening was the aggressive play of 18-year-old Kristian Fletcher who relieved Pedro Santos in the 71st minute. His charges down the left side helped shift momentum as United scrambled to come from behind.
The coach recognizes that problems remain with early lapses in defense, "We don’t start strong enough so I take full responsibility for that first. – – – We’re going to come into the back half of the season. We have to make an improvement in this type of area."
