WASHINGTON -- D.C. United hope that a dose of desperation, plus the return of captain Jaime Moreno, can help dig out an important road result against FC Dallas on Sunday, as the Black-and-Red find themselves in dire need for points thanks to a four-game winless streak in league play.
Despite the distraction of CONCACAF Champions League play, United are all too aware that a drove of playoff-chasing sides is hot on their trail as they cling to the final MLS postseason spot. Six teams lie within five points of D.C. in the overall league table and with closest pursuers Kansas City and Salt Lake in action on Saturday, United might well have slipped even further down the standings by the time Sunday afternoon's match kicks off at Pizza Hut Park.
A never-ending injury glut has played a central role in the club's struggles in domestic as well as international play, but the players' own frustration with their recent displays prompted a team-wide heart-to-heart after Wednesday's 2-0 CCL loss to CD Marathon in Honduras.
Urgency clearly defines the present mood around RFK Stadium. Defensive shortcomings continue to crop up with regularity and now an offense which once scored goals for fun has found the net only five times during the ongoing five-game skid in all competitions.
"We know what the situations are and we've got it very clear that we've got to get goals to make the playoffs," said Moreno on Friday. "So it's very simple, you know: if we don't get results then we won't make the playoffs."
A dearth of attacking imagination caused by the long-running absence of playmaker Marcelo Gallardo grew even more acute when a swollen knee forced Moreno out of the past two matches. But the Bolivian should be available against FCD, though perhaps not in a starting role, and Gallardo is expected to return from a two-week rehab stint in Argentina on Sunday and could be available as early as Wednesday, when Mexican side Cruz Azul visits RFK.
Meanwhile, important matches continue to arrive thick and fast. Other seasoned heads like Santino Quaranta have stepped up to remind the squad that their hopes for 2008 are presently perched on a knife's edge, and a sustained output of effort and intensity will be needed to keep them alive over the coming month.
"It's easy for a team at this point to make excuses and to have an easy way out, with the travel and the amount of guys out, and the losses and all this," said Quaranta. "At some point, forget about all that stuff and come together as a group and play, and make the season memorable for a lifetime ... or we can all go our separate ways and by December, forget about the whole season."
United have had little choice but to field inexperienced lineups at a crucial point in the season and even with the welcome return of several starters from injury and suspension, some momentum must be restored if the team is to stitch together a fall run amid lively competition for a playoff berth.
"If you're paying attention -- and I'm sure they all are -- if you look right behind us you've got about six hungry teams looking to get ahead of us. It's a reality and I think everybody knows it," said coach Tom Soehn, when asked about his squad's reaction to the tightening playoff picture.
But as the second-year boss was quick to add, "the fact is we still control our own destiny. ... So we just have to do our job and then we don't have to look and see how other teams are doing just yet, we can just focus on making sure that we do our business."
D.C. played host to Dallas just two weeks ago and gave up a deflating late equalizer in a 2-2 draw that saw strikers Kenny Cooper and Jeff Cunningham torture the United defense. The Hoops have since pushed on from that result with an impressive 4-1 win in Chicago.
"You know what they bring to the table, and they're a good side. You see they're dangerous up top with the two guys that they have right now," said Quaranta. "They had a great win in Chicago so they feel pretty good about themselves, I guess. But we're a team that is right now going to do whatever we can to get something out of this game."
There have been positive signs on the injury front. Defender Gonzalo Peralta logged 22 decent minutes in a substitute appearance on Wednesday, his first action in several weeks due to a hamstring strain. Devon McTavish's return from red-card suspension further bolsters the D.C. back line, which will line up in north Texas without a suspended Marc Burch. Up front, Soehn has also been encouraged by the continuing improvement shown by healing Brazilians Fred and Luciano Emilio.
Given the expense and ambition with which this year's team was assembled, failure to secure a playoff spot is seen as unacceptable and the likely repercussions are not lost on the playing squad.
"It's been rough, and it has to come to a point where we're fighting for our jobs now too," said Quaranta. "And at D.C. United not making the playoffs, next year there would be major changes and we've got to remember that as well."
