Three things stood out on Saturday as DC United ground out a 3-0 win over Charlotte FC. The highlight was Christian Benteke’s amazing bicycle kick in the 75th minute, followed by the fulfilment of a young man’s dream by Jacob Greene. Yet, the biggest takeaway is the success of the three-back system recently adopted.
Let’s begin with the goal of the year candidate which calmed DC nerves as the team defended a single goal lead against a determined adversary. Like the third goal, it came about from a willingness to keep the ball in play in the box.
Benteke’s primary strategy to score goals and assist others to do so is as target man. He is to gain control under pressure and feed the movement of his teammates or turn into attack himself. Until his wonder goal he had been well contained, winning duels at a good rate, but without the near total dominance which is his custom.
At the critical moment, his marker left a tiny space behind him which was all he needed to cash in what all strikers hope will come their way.
On the young player front, Greene performed a lengthy stint alternating with Andy Najar as a defender and wide attacker in the 3-5-2 system during Wednesday’s Cup match. At the time, he indicated his pleasure at the chance to get closer to goal, “I was looking to get a goal or maybe an assist”. Asked if he hoped to play more offense, he enthusiastically replied, “Hopefully, yeah.”
As fate would have it, the 20-year-old got his wish as he came on in the 87th minute to score eight minutes later. The photo shows the joy shared by his teammates. Rooney observed that Greene’s goal was inspiring to the young and homegrown players as, “Everyone, we’re all delighted for Greeney. I think he’s come into the team this season and done very well.”
Finally, let’s consider the most meaningful circumstance of the night, the change to a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formation. That’s right, DC United opened the game with a flat back five against Charlotte’s list of four attackers. False advertising, but effective.
Coach Wayne Rooney explained why the team had yielded a single goal in the last four games, “I think the change in shape has really helped. I think players are more comfortable. – – – As a team we’ve defended well, we’ve put the work in and gotten the reward.”
He complimented Viktor Palsson who was largely responsible for the success of that change. Palsson described his role, “It depends how you look at it. I am part of the back three, but when their striker drops into the hole, I go up to the midfield.” This occurs because the wide backs, if pulled back to make five, allow coverage for a center back to advance.
This adds the flexibility of central pressure to the threat of the wide backs as potential attackers. That requires the good communication and cohesiveness that United seems to have achieved. It is similar in effect to using two defensive midfielders in that it creates a set of internal triangles to maintain passing options while keeping the defense difficult to penetrate.
Rooney has been plagued by the difficulty of maintaining cohesiveness while integrating new players. With the adoption of the new system, he seems to have found a common denominator. This came about as Lewis O’Brien joined the team. I suspect that the introduction of a central player with a vision similar to Rooney’s may have a hand in the team’s success.
They move on to Cincinnati Saturday to take on the first of a series of tough competitors who will test the latest style.
