D.C. United and Orlando City both will look to build off away victories when they meet for a second time this season on Saturday night at Orlando, Fla.
Orlando (3-2-2, 11 points) earned a 1-1 draw in early March in the previous meeting at the nation’s capital, despite D.C. United (2-4-2, 8 points) creating the majority of the chances.
That was part of a long stretch in which D.C. came up just short. Before Saturday’s 1-0 win at Montreal, United had gone winless in six games while only being outscored 10-4.
A 1-0 win over CF Montreal last Saturday — sparked by the first goal of the season from new loan signing Lewis O’Brien — came against the last-place team in the Eastern Conference. But for manager Wayne Rooney, it may have started a stretch where he feels he knows his best lineup.
“I think obviously we’ve had a lot of players in from the end of the last year. We’ve made signings and (brought) them all in and getting to know each other’s game is important and it takes obviously time,” Rooney said. “And the more games you play together, the better that’ll become.
“Realistic for me is trying to get a really consistent team on the pitch. And we’ve rarely been able to do that. Probably Saturday coming up against Orlando is the first time I’ve got the option.”
Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja can relate after balancing league play with a tough first-round series in the CONCACAF Champions League with Tigres UANL in March.
Orlando lost the series on the away goals tiebreaker, but the glut of games helped unearth some squad depth, including striker Duncan McGuire.
The rookie scored his first professional goal in the 1-1 draw at D.C. in a starting role. His second, in a substitute’s role, came in second-half stoppage time to complete Orlando’s 2-1 victory at Minnesota United last Saturday night.
Without anyone else scoring at a regular clip, McGuire could find himself in contention to start a second game for the Lions against the Black-and-Red.
“Duncan has a very natural characteristic. He wants to fight for every single ball,” Pareja said. “He understands his weaknesses and he’s trying very hard by training on correcting and improving, but his heart is always there and (we) really appreciate it.”
–Field Level Media
