D.C. United could head into World Cup break first in the Eastern Conference. The Black-and-Red (6-4-4) has to best Montreal (2-6-4), who is last in the East, to pass both Sporting Kansas City and New England at the top of the table.
“If we walk away after 15 games at the top of the table, give the guys a few days off before coming back for the Open Cup the following week — psychologically that’s a big deal,” said Goalkeeping Coach Preston Burpo.
United tied the Impact in its last meeting with the Canadian side, courtesy of an Eddie Johnson header in the 84th minute. Either a tie or a win will put DCU in first place, but three points will set United apart from the rest. Burpo explains what it’s going to take to get the win at Montreal.
“It’s still trying to find Eddie in the box when he is making those runs,” he said. “Fabián [Espíndola] just needs to keep doing what he has been doing. We need to find Chris Rolfe a little bit more than we did in the last game, especially in the attacking third. We need to keep getting Nicky [DeLeon] in the box. If we can keep moving, there should be some gaps in their team that we should be able to exploit.”
While DCU focuses on finding the back of the net on the offensive side, the Impact has top-class forwards who can do the same.
“Jack McInerney runs the line very well. Marco Di Vaio will be offside eight times, but the one time he is on, he will do something with it; he’ll get a quality chance,” Burpo explained. “McInerney does the same thing and on their counter attacks, they win the ball and both or one of them are on the move right away.”
They’re not the only ones to keep an eye on, though. With Justin Mapp, Andrés Romero, Patrice Bernier, Hernán Bernadello, the Impact, despite its record, has weapons. As six shutouts in 14 games proves, United is prepared and understands what it takes to shut them down.
“[Saturday] was our 6th clean sheet so far this year, which is a big deal,” Burpo said. “We limited the Crew to a couple good chances. Our defensive shape was great. Wednesday, we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing and keep moving up the table.”
Watch D.C. United face the Impact on Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30 pm live on CSN.
