WASHINGTON ā Thereās little time for D.C. United to dwell on the weekend loss to Colorado as the team prepares for a busy week that began Tuesday.
The club trained in windy and rainy conditions, and with two games in four days ā a US Open Cup play-in game against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, before Supportersā Shield holders LA Galaxy come to town this weekend ā DC are looking to bounce back from two straight losses in league play.
āItās a big week for us,ā Olsen said. āThe Open Cup we always take pride in and want to advance there, and obviously the matchup against LA.ā
Having had a couple of days to analyze and go over the tape from the 4-1 loss against the Rapids, Olsen wasnāt too upset despite the lopsided score line.
āColoradoās never an easy task, but as I look at that game and kind of fine-tooth it, it wasnāt that bad,ā he said. āThere was some really good stuff and I thought battling back and getting that goal, we were right where we wanted to be at that point in the game.
āIām not discouraged, Iām disappointed, itās never fun to lose those games but again, this is a process, weāre going to learn week-in, week-out who we are and weāre going to get better.ā
[inline_node:332208]Things are positive on the injury front as well. Both Jed Zayner and Clyde Simms, who sat out the last two games with minor injuries, were back in training Tuesday. Forward Charlie Davies, who was a late scratch from the weekend trip to Colorado, didnāt train, but he could still be available for the weekend game.
Olsen also indicated that defender Perry Kitchen could be available as well after the US U-20s' CONCACAF qualifying game against Guatemala on Wednesday ā depending if coach Thomas Rongen agrees to release the rookie defender. Dejan Jakovic returns from his red-card suspension.
At this point in the season, itās still early, but players understand that itās a big week. Finding a way to put together a few wins is important.
āItās so early in the season, but you look at this game and look at the home games, and this [LA game] is a big one,ā midfielder Santino Quaranta said. āYou have the Open Cup Wednesday, and Saturday ā you donāt want to lose three games in a row, and next week you go to Toronto, itās not easy.ā
Olsen stressed that this is still a team coming into its own, looking to come together as a group, and itās going to take some time. This week will provide another early test for a young team.
āThis is a process with us,ā he said. āWeāre always optimistic and think everythingās going to click right away, but the reality is, itās a new group. Weāre a young group and weāre going to have days when we learn hard lessons.ā