Set piece defending woes plague DC United in loss to Austin FC
DC United dropped 1-0 match on the road to Austin FC on Sunday afternoon. An 82nd minute Christian Ramirez goal was the difference as set piece defending proved to be the major story.
DC United head coach René Weiler made two changes from the lineup that started the match last week against Philadelphia, with Hosei Kijima and Jared Stroud starting in place of Gabriel Pirani and Jackson Hopkins. Austin FC was able to dominate first half possession in the first half, holding the ball 61% of the time. That effort showed early as Austin was able to get several corner kicks, 4 in the first 6 minutes alone. DC United’s set piece defending struggled as Austin had great chances on each of those corners. In the fifth minute, Ilie Sanchez tried to get a header on a corner service for Austin, but DC United goalkeeper Sean Johnson was able the save and Peltola was able to get it out for another corner kick.
On the ensuing corner, Austin FC got another free header on goal. This time it was former DC United defender Brendan Hines-Ike that flicked it on to Guilherme Biro for the header, forcing Johnson to make another great save to end the effort for Austin.
The first half was played largely in DC United’s defensive half, as the midfield wasn’t able to get the fall forward. When they did, there were mistakes and turnovers that allowed Austin to continue to push down the field and get some chances. DC United was able to hold on despite mustering just four shots (two on goal), and Sean Johnson had five saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless at the halftime break.
Jackson Hopkins (Jared Stroud) and Gabriel Pirani (Hosei Kijima) subbed on at halftime, giving DC United the same lineup that started against Philadelphia. And with that, in the first 10 minutes, the Black-and-Red were much better at pushing the ball forward and getting into the offensive third. However, they almost let Austin capitalize on the counterattack. In the 57th minute, Austin was on the break, and the ball found its way to Facundo Torres. Torres fired a low shot towards the right corner, but Johnson made a terrific outstretched fingertip save on the ground to deflect the ball just wide.
DC wasn’t able to get any real pressure on goal. In the 77th minute, Louis Munteanu subbed on for João Peglow in the hopes that he can find the breakthrough. However, the breakthrough came 5 minutes later for the other side.
In the 82nd minute, disaster finally struck. Off a free kick caused by a soft Pirani foul, Sean Johnson misplayed the floating ball into the box, the ball floating past his outstretched hand. Besard Šabovic got a foot on it but it was blocked into the air in front of goal. Christian Ramirez was able to head it home, the ball bouncing off a United defender on its way into the net to make it 1-0 to Austin FC.
The Black-and-Red had to press at that point. They earned a quick corner off the restart, but weren’t able to capitalize on it. They weren’t able to generate anything moving forward in the form of goal creation. Austin was content to sit back and put pressure on the midfield to deny United a chance to move the ball through.
In the fourth minute of second half stoppage, Austin almost made it 2-0. Lucas Bartlett tried to run down a ball to pass back to Sean Johnson, but Bartlett scuffed the pass. Myrto Uzuni pounced on the ball in a dangerous position in front of the net. Thankfully, Kye Rowles was there to block his shot to keep DC United with a chance. That chance never came, and a minute later, the whistle sounded for full time.
“It wasn’t enough for at least one point. And at the end it was a set piece, one of their qualities, that decided this game,” René Weiler said after the match. “Of course we are disappointed, but it was a good game. It was difficult to create big chances for both the teams and at the end, their set piece was decisive.”
Weiler admitted that the team had some luck early in the match with Austin not being able to capitalize on several corner kick opportunities, but the luck ran out later in the match. “We were lucky at the beginning with three or four set pieces,” Weiler said. “At the end, we were unlucky that [Austin] got the goal eight minutes before the end because we defended well. But that’s our business. That’s our sport. Sometimes the details are responsible for the differences.”
DC United return home and will seek to make Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium their home away from home when they take on Inter Miami next Saturday.
The set pieces were atrocious on defense. This could have blown up in our face big time. I appreciate the effort, however. I am concerned that Stroud have continued to regress. hope I am wrong.
Off we go to Baltimore for he money grab. Messi will never play at Audi Field.
Great write up!
Stroud perplexes me. I just don’t see him as starting caliber. Certainly not over Hopkins at this point.
I’m glad to hear Weiler say he sees positive developments from his team. I think his experience as a manager is showing through. First road game, reconstructed roster, new tactics. Setting reasonable expectations. Not too soft, not too hard. If the biggest thing that broke this game is set pieces, as opposed to fitness, tactics, etc., I can take that. We can always work on set pieces.
Pleased to see how fit we looked. This early in the season we’re looking competitive athletically, if not tactically. Sogut made a point of saying after the Philly game how level of effort is going to be a defining trait for the DCU player archetype going forward. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but if we want to bring fans back to their seats at Audi, they need to see the lads giving a full 90 every week. I agree and I think we saw that today.
Pirani worries me in that regard. He’s athletic but I think his mental game needs work. He gets petulant before long. It’s a physical league, his build puts him at a disadvantage. He gets knocked around easier than Peglow, Clark, Hopkins. I think it wears him down mentally, so by the end of the game he’s punch drunk and ready to explode. It’s a liability for the team. Weiler needs to clean that up somehow. Man management, rotation management, whatever it takes.
On that note, very curious that Louis isn’t getting more minutes. Weiler letting him have a longer runway to get adjusted? Doesn’t want him to make the wrong first impression? Maybe just the simple fact that it was an away game, wants him to have the home crowd spotlight for his full debut?
I’ve seen enough to say that Peglow is looking like he’s leveled up from last season to this season along with Pirani. His tackling and pressuring has vastly improved, and he’s fit, fast, and hungry. I bet it’s hard for Weiler to put anyone above him in the depth chart. I wish his linkup play were stronger, but I think a big part of that is because Weiler has a hole to fill at #10, so Peglow doesn’t just have the one guy to build chemistry with. He’s trying to build chemistry with a mixture of Louis, Pirani, Clark, maybe others.
i have never liked the play of Peglow even though he is talented. He seems, as you say, to not link up with the team. I am not sure if it is just not his thing, but when he makes a mistake, he is quick to blame teammates. This is something that can be coached since the talent is there, so hopefully Weiller can bring him along.