In the big picture, D.C. United collected five points in the standings from their four-game road trip - that’s not bad. United has only lost once in their last six League matches, but after letting some points slip away in the last two road outings, the two-game home stand this week is critical. The next game for D.C. is this Thursday, July 15 and the time has come for United to make a move up the standings.

In addition to two dates at home this week, the Black-and-red will soon have two talented new players, Pablo Hernandez and Branko Boskovic, at their disposal. Their availability will add to a team already gaining much-needed standings points and confidence.

Last week, when I asked Clyde Simms about the previous match-up against the Red Bulls back in May, he quickly said, “We’re a different team now.” No doubt. We know what D.C. United was like for the first several weeks of the season. That is definitely not who they are now. Every single element of the team has been improving little by little, and now the improvement is about to get significantly better.

Enter Pablo and Branko. As soon as they take the field, they will become two of United’s ten best players. I’m not saying that they will both be immediate starters, but they increase the talent level considerably. In the New York game, especially in the second half, United needed to move the ball a little faster, shoot the ball a little quicker, or play the pass a little sooner. Basically, D.C. needed their players to just be a little bit better, and when Pablo and Branko take the field, they will be.