Columbus Crew vs. D.C. United: Preview, time, and how to watch
D.C. United remains on the road after dropping points to Charlotte and LA Galaxy. Tonight’s opponent? The Columbus Crew.
After recent losses, the Black-and-Red have fallen to 14th place in the Eastern Conference and will face an ascendant Crew team that has won five of its last six matches. D.C. has a hard road ahead to try to secure a playoff berth, especially with the recent shakeups and dismissals. A victory over Columbus could set the stage for a return to winning ways. But first, D.C. United will have to overcome a strong Crew squad.
According to interim head coach Kevin Flanagan, “There’s a lot of positivity in our locker room and some big-time characters and leaders who are confident and driven to turn things around.” We hope he’s right and the Black-and-Red turns a corner soon.
As for the 4th place Columbus Crew? They’ll be on the hunt to add to their point tally and move even further up the Eastern Conference table. Led by head coach Wilfred Nancy, the Crew remains in a good position to easily clinch a playoff spot this season.
Hear everything interim head coach Kevin Flanagan had to say in the pre-game press conference here.
Let us know your thoughts about tonight’s match in the comments below and be sure to join us live here during the game to chat with your fellow supporters.
Key Player: Gabriel Pirani
With star striker Christian Benteke’s status uncertain for tonight’s match, D.C. will look to Pirani to get them on the board. Pirani scored the team’s lone goal against Charlotte on Wednesday.
Watch Out For: Diego Rossi
Veteran striker Diego Rossi is a key player for the Crew and has recorded 11 goals across 22 appearances so far this season. The last time Columbus and D.C. met, Rossi scored the game-winner, dealing the Black-and-Red a loss at home.
Challenges: It’s no secret that times are tough for the Black-and-Red. A mid-season shake-up will test players’ mettle as they strive for a 2025 MLS Playoff berth.
Previously: The Crew bested D.C. at Audi Field, 2-1, back in March. Diego Rossi scored the game-winner for the visitors in the 65’.
Columbus Crew Availability:
Out: Malte Amundsen (knee), Rudy Camacho (thigh), Nicholas Hagen (thigh)
Questionable: Mo Farsi (pelvis)
D.C. United Availability:
Out: Kristian Fletcher (knee)
Questionable: Christian Benteke (thigh), Lukas MacNaughton (thigh)
Location: Lower.com Field, Columbus, OH
Kickoff time: 7:30 pm ET
Referee: Katja Koroleva
Available streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: iHeart App, 1190 AM, 104.7 FM, 101.1 HD2 (Dave Johnson and Bruce Murray)
Starting XI:
Barraza; Dodson, Herrera, Bartlett, Rowles, Schnegg; Enow, Servania, Pirani, Benteke, Peglow.
Subs: Kim, Tubbs, Peltola, Antley, Kijima, Stroud, Hopkins, Leal, Badji
Not sure what formation they’ll actually be lined up in.
Match is delayed
Game has kicked off and the Crew got a corner less than a minute in.
Pretty bad defending there by Bartlett.
I’m pretty sympathetic to the argument put forth especially by RFK Refugees that United’s defense looks worse than it is because their offense is so bad, and the defense keeps being put under the gun because of it. That said, I wouldn’t mind if the team went out and got a top tier center back this window or next.
Welp, there goes Herrera for the next game.
Certainly a theme I’ve voiced before, but for an away match, despite the thread provided (thank you, Sarah), there were only six comments from four different Commentariat.
I know for me, I have in-laws in town and wasn’t able to watch the game. And I would wager Will probably had rugby to attend to
I was at Rod Stewart.
The dude has such a show!
I started watching the game, but the US-England match affected my watching for a good portion of the first half. This was due to 2 lightning delays. The first lightning delay delayed kickoff from 5:05 to 6:05 then a 2nd lightning delay occurred in the 29′ and the match didn’t resume again till 7:21.
I was on an airplane.
Some scorekeeping weirdness: The MLSsoccer.com site gave Aaron Herrera credit for an assist on Benteke’s goal, but not Derek Dodson. Dodson’s cross ever so slightly deflected off a Columbus player, so I could understand him not getting credit (although that would be cruel), but then why would Herrera still get credit for the secondary assist? I feel that’s probably going to change in the morning.
A few observations.
This match showed DCU in a better structure than under Lesesne, but it also showed how far the team needs to go to become competitive.
A few observations.
Playing small ball in the off season doomed the team to playing to bottom quarter of the league (or lower).
The central midfield makes this pretty clear. Servania and Enow versus Rossi and Nagby. The latter were making superb penetrating passes. The former are serviceable but not in the same league.
Starting Dodson at outside midfield shows how far the team has to go. I understand the logic because he was getting burned in the previous game to outside back. But surely there are better options.
Benteke is the exception. He is so good and would sparkle if given more support.
The team did not substitute soon enough. It has been a couple weeks with games 2 times a week, so the coach should have done better on this.
It should be an interesting next couple of weeks with some new players (hopefully not small ball) and a new coach.