DC United Youngsters Perform Well Against FC Paderborn in 1-0 Loss

DC United took advantage of the international break to host FC Paderborn, a team newly promoted to the top German Bundesliga.  Although it was Paderborn’s last stop in their tour of the US, they played with enough enthusiasm to give DC’s patchwork squad a good test.

Three United players stood out, Hosei Kijima, Kamil Castillo, and Oscar Avilez.  The first has most frequently seen action as a late substitute to bring energy when needed in close games.  Against Paderborn he was his usual effective self.  He won his fair share of duels in which he clearly loved to participate.  It is that contribution that may have encouraged Coach Rene Weiler to start him on Saturday against a powerful Miami side.

Kamil Castillo also performed well in front of his DC family, expressing how it felt, “My family’s always the largest ones in the crowd.  So now being able to do it at Audi Field is yeah, it means the world.”  Beyond the family presence, he was also struck by the chance to compete, “Like as a little kid, you watched the Bundesliga games, La Liga games, and to like be it’s a friendly, but to be playing against them is incredible.”  In terms of contributing to the team, he was fearless and aggressive, ringing the crossbar on a shot that came down but failed to cross the goal line.

The most effective of the youngsters was Avilez, who was fouled so often that the referee should have eventually handed a Paderborn player a caution for persistent infringement, a tactic frequently used against a team’s most dangerous player.  That spoke volumes about his potential.  He evaluated his day, “I’m glad, I’m happy about the performance.  Yeah, just keep working hard and that’s part of the game.“

Weiler chose to test a few interesting options during the Paderborn game when he started defender Nikola Markovic as a forward and midfielder Joao Peglow as a defender.  He has since moved Markovic to midfield, returning Peglow to his accustomed role.  He appears to seek more flexibility in search of more effective play.  Placing Jackson Hopkins in a striker role in Louis Munteanu’s absence further illustrates the coach’s dilemma.

The calendar over 21 days, with 7 games to be played starting last Saturday, will place heavy stress on depth, giving a chance for the youngsters to contribute toward the drive for a playoff spot which Weiler has insisted is only a secondary goal behind developing a stronger squad for the future.  That future may be here already with the youngsters, to be boosted with an international impact player before next year’s transitional short season.

United’s running of the gauntlet continues against Red Bull New York on Wednesday at Audi Field.

Follow us on bluesky

Follow us on Twitter