The hard part is watching the film. The easy part is getting back out on the practice field.
D.C. United returned to work Tuesday, focused on turning the page from Sunday’s defeat at New York, a task made easier by the impending arrival of reigning MLS Cup championsLos Angeles Galaxy on Saturday (CSN, 7).
“The important part now is to put that behind us and move forward against, obviously, a very good team in L.A.,” United Head Coach Ben Olsen said.
A few highlights from Tuesday’s training session:
- Reviewing the tape is a necessary evil. Upon that second look, Olsen described New York’s first goal as, “A fly ball – ‘You got it, I got it,’ – and communication solves that.”
- Luis Silva, D.C. United’s co-leading scorer in 2014 with 11 goals, was back in full training. Olsen said that the next steps are fitness and confidence as Silva looks toward his first minutes of the season. Michael Farfan is also on the mend, and Markus Halsti continues to make progress.
- Taylor Kemp, who came off the bench in New York for his first minutes of the season, will appear in studio on Comcast SportsNet's Sports Talk Live on Tuesday evening at 10 p.m.
- D.C. United didn’t receive any international call-ups for the coming weekend, but the Galaxy will be without forwards Robbie Keane (Ireland) and Gyasi Zardes (U.S.), as well as goalkeeper Jaime Penedo (Panama).
“It’s a good time to play them,” Olsen said. “I’m not going to lie about that.”
*While Sunday’s starters were spared some of the hardest work in Tuesday’s session, the full roster will be in action on Wednesday. Saturday’s match promises to be another storied clash between the two most successful clubs in Major League Soccer history.
“I know we’re going to have a very good crowd and atmosphere so I’m really looking forward the weekend,” Olsen said. “We always take this day to review the weekend, get it out of our system, and then start fresh tomorrow.”
