WASHINGTON ā After seven months, 19 painful league losses and 36 overall games, there are only two matches left in D.C. Unitedās grueling 2010 campaign.
The seasonās cumulative physical and psychological toll tends to weigh most heavily on players in these final stages, so interim coach Ben Olsen has emphasized the importance of concluding 2010 with diligence and focus, starting with Saturdayās visit to Chicago.
āItās a tough spot for everybody right now,ā Olsen said. āYouāve got two more weeks in a season that hasnāt gone well at all, and Iāve asked the guys and the staff, and myself, to all make sure weāre seeing this out, not cutting corners, and making sure weāre doing the right thing for the next two weeks.
āAs the [end of the] season approaches, it always gets a little easier to throw in the towel and I want to make sure ā myself included ā weāre holding ourselves accountable and doing whatās best for the team.ā
[inline_node:292860]After fielding a barebones side against San Jose last week, Olsen will have substantially improved lineup options on Saturday. Everyday starters Julius Jones, Dejan Jakovic and Andy Najar return from international callups and yellow-card suspension, respectively.
United have also won two of their last three road games
āWeād like to end on some positive results,ā Olsen said Thursday. āWeāve got some guys back now and hopefully weāre able to continue what has been, recently, a good away form.ā
DC and the Fire have little to play for at this stage aside from pride and professionalism, although the history between the teams suggests that it could be an intense encounter nonetheless. Thanks to many hard-fought, high-stakes meetings over the years, thereās traditionally been little love lost between the two Eastern Conference foes.
Still, 2010 marks the first time since the Fireās inception in 1998 that neither Chicago or DC will compete in the postseason.
āTheyāre a good, quality team,ā United defender Jed Zayner said. āThey have a lot of veterans on their team, they know what it takes to win. This is the first year [theyāve missed the playoffs] in a while.
āItās going to be a hard-fought game. Theyāre playing for a lot of pride, as we are, so itās going to be a scrappy game.ā