WASHINGTON ā Ben Olsen called it a ācircus.ā For Steve Birnbaum, it was a āgut punch.ā
With two red cards, one questionable penalty-kick decision for the game-winning goal, myriad heated flashpoints and one late-game rain shower to soak the whole thing, Wednesdayās 2-1 Atlantic Cup loss to the New York Red Bulls was full of drama, sound and fury.
Unfortunately for D.C. United, it also extended, and encapsulated, their prolonged summer swoon and further eroded what was once a comfortable position among the MLS Eastern Conference elite. Itās left the Black-and-Red in fifth place, with little to no margin for error as they enter the rugged home stretch ā their next three games are road trips to Philadelphia (Saturday, 7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; DAZN in Canada), Montreal and Portland and they must visit RBNY on Sept. 29 ā in a season that began with championship aspirations.
āItās difficult now,ā admitted winger Paul Arriola. āWeāve put ourselves in a situation a little bit lower in the Eastern Conference and now we face Philly [on Saturday], whoās obviously a good team. So we donāt have too much time to talk about what we shouldāve done, what we couldāve done. Got to look forward to Philly now.ā
Noted Birnbaum: āWe have to snap out of it.ā
D.C. were dominant for long stretches of the spring, looking the part of a top MLS Cup contender with both the attacking star power of Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta and a cohesive collective approach to possession and team shape. So what happened?
Birnbaum noted their propensity to fall behind early in matches, especially at home, a habit that contributed to dropped points in four home draws as well as the loss to the Red Bulls. Veteran reserve Quincy Amarikwa cited complacency.
āItās a slow process that eats at you, especially when you start off so good at the beginning of the year. You can tend to get high on your own supply a little bit. And thatās part of the process,ā said Amarikwa. āItās a gut check, it can go one of two ways. It either goes spiraling down or you use that as fuel to catapult you forward.ā
Rooney alluded to an inability to create and finish scoring chances with regularity.
āWe need to refocus,ā said the English superstar, whose second red card of the season left United shorthanded against RBNY. āObviously three tough away games coming up, and we need some points from them games. I think if the lads show what they showed today with 10 men, weāll be OK.
āFor a lot of the games weāve struggled to score goals or create the chances we want. So thatās something we need to try and improve rapidly going into this last run of games. itās been frustrating for us all,ā he added. āWeāre in a tough spot at the moment in terms of, itās tight now for the playoffs, very tight.ā
Many on the outside looking in would expect a destabilizing effect from Rooneyās unexpected decision to return to England at yearās end to join Derby County, combined with uncertainty around Acosta, who is in the final months of his contract and could leave on a free transfer come winter.
āTo be honest, I donāt think so,ā said Arriola. āLosing key players is difficult, but itās also part of the cycle of football and part of being a professional player ā players come in and out. I think we came into the season with the right mindset, the right attitude, with the belief. We still have the belief ā our focus right now is obviously getting ourselves together and pushing ourselves into a top spot into the Eastern Conference.ā
With a clock ticking above the heads of his two most prominent attackers, Olsen faces the delicate task of getting the most out of Rooney and Acosta without compromising the group dynamic. Acosta has been left out of the starting XI in three straight matches, while Rooney has not scored or created a goal in D.C.'s last six games and has missed or exited early in three of them.
Olsen said that Rooney has ābeen business as usualā since his Derby County decision, though conceded that āsome of these things are popping upā when asked about the combination of illness, ejection and personal time off that have limited the Designated Playerās impact during that span.
Unitedās long-serving head coach asserted, however, that his teamās trajectory can turn upward even more quickly than it declined.
āYou can change the course of a season in a game,ā said Olsen. āIt can happen really quickly. So we go to Philadelphia and we try to win that game, and then we go to Montreal and we try to win that game and thatās how we dig ourselves out of this right now. Things, I donāt think, have gone our way, but thatās just talk. Weāve got to do it. Weāve got to figure out the best group, weāve got to have guys make sure they show up each game and play at the level that they can. Weāve got to finish up plays. I think thereās a group in there that can do it. But itās got to happen soon.ā