\NYRB’s debutant Kemar Lawrence during one of his incursions into DCU’s half.
Whose ready for a little derby game?
Despite what the Major League Soccer and Heineken might tell you D.C. United’s biggest rival is the New York Red Bulls. On Sunday the two sides get rekindle the rivalry one more during the 2016 season (for now) as the Red Bulls will host United at 1pm. The match will be shown on ESPN for those who need more Taylor Twellman action.
Thus far in 2016 United have gotten the best of the Red Bulls. United blanked New York 2-0 back in March and came back from a 2-0 deficit just three weeks ago to earn a point. The difference in this match is that it will be the first played this season at Red Bull Arena. Since 2011, D.C. United have not won a single match in Harrison, New Jersey.
If United are to be successful on Sunday it will be in part due to the effort of midfielder Lloyd Sam. Sam was traded from the Red Bulls to United this summer in exchange for allocation money. Sam along with forward Patrick Mullins have completely changed the dynamic of United, making the side much more open and able to create attacking chances. Look for Sam and midfielder Luciano Acosta to provide service into the box for Mullins, who has scored five goals in eight matches.
The other thing going in United’s favor entering this match is that the Red Bulls are starting a stretch where they will be playing three games in eight days. With midfielders Mike Grella and Alex Muyl out due to suspension it will be interesting to see if coach Jessie Marsch finally chooses Omar Damari and Daniel Royer the chance to show what they can do. Damari was picked up from Red Bull Leipzig over the summer while Royer was signed FC Midtjylland.
What will be interesting to see is how Marsch chooses to use midfielder Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan featured for the United States Men’s National Team in both of their World Cup Qualification matches over the past week. If Marsch chooses to start him it could be bad news for United as Kljestan and forward Bradley Wright-Phillips. The two have scored 22 of the Red Bulls 47 goals and have formed a strong partnership with Kljestan taking a more advanced role in the club’s attack.
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In other news and notes D.C. United announced on Friday that they had released Andrea Mancini from his contract. Mancini did not play in any league matches, although he did come on as a late substitute in their loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the U.S. Open Cup.
With Mancini gone United does have an open international spot on their roster. Forward Alhaji Kamara has been out for the past six matches with a hamstring issue. Assuming Kamara is healthy he could find himself back United’s eighteen.
Beer of the Week: Flying Dog Brewery’s The Gourd Stands Pumpkin IPA
