After a thriller in San Antonio, New Mexico United is back at home for a final tune-up before the Open Cup showdown in LA. The club has a bit of momentum behind them, but it won’t be easy to continue their home unbeaten run against Orange County SC on Wednesday night.
Orange County returns to The Lab for the first time in nearly a year, but themselves in a similar spot to where they were last year. Sitting squarely in inconsistency, the California club have lost three of five and are mired in a wealth of injuries. The latest injury to hit the club was the loss of Brian Iloski for the rest of the year to a torn ACL. When healthy, they can compete with anyone in the league.
But, they aren’t healthy and it shows on the pitch. The injuries have prevented the club from developing any real chemistry in the attack and they’re lacking depth across the middle. Where they struggle the most is playing from the outside in. A lack of pace on the edge has forced them to play through the middle, where they don’t have much of a presence. Oddly enough, San Antonio showed how to beat United, but Orange County may not be physical enough to do it.
Player to Watch
Seth Casiple – Casiple is a veteran in the league who has already shown he can be an asset, even in a diminished role. With the injuries that OCSC is facing, Casiple could have a feature role against United as he’s capable of slicing up defenses with pinpoint passing.
It’s been a busy week for New Mexico after tough matches against both Colorado Springs and San Antonio. This midweek match against OCSC comes at an opportune time for the Black & Yellow. A previously scheduled match against Sacramento for the weekend was moved to accommodate both of those teams playing in the Open Cup next week. This gives United a chance to use less rotation and maintain league momentum, while also giving players a week to prepare for another MLS opponent.
The club may be without Mukwelle Akale, who was sent off during the match on Saturday for picking up two yellow cards, the second, due to a questionable simulation call by the center referee. In his place, United will likely use with Abu Danladi or Dayonn Harris on the left in order to keep taking advantage of the wide areas. Orange County doesn’t defend those areas well and will be forced out of shape in order to slow down the wing play of United. Pair that with overlapping runs from Chris Gloster and OCSC faces peril in potentially being turned around in front of goal.
In order fo United to take advantage of that, they’ll need the forwards, Daniel Bruce and Chris Hurst, to make creative runs into the area. This is something that United has struggled with at times, but they’ve excelled at playing off the shoulders of defenders. United will want to this to not only stay clear at the top of the west, but have momentum for next week.
Player to Watch
Chris Gloster – The former Red Bull has come on strong in recent weeks. His overlapping runs and ability to cross from the left has opened up opportunities for United in the area. His vision and understanding of what to do in this attack has improved and he could be integral in creating space for United on Wednesday.
Coverage of the Wednesday night match will begin with Adam Diehl and Andy Hageman on the pregame show, staring at 6 PM (MT). The coverage continues with every minute of every play, beginning with kickoff at 7 PM (MT). Diehl and Hageman bring coverage of New Mexico United all season long on ESPN Radio 101.7 FM The TEAM, The TEAM website, and The TEAM apps.
