Energy looking for PDL boost
Jimmy Nielsen already planned to give Energy U23 players minutes during Tuesday’s friendly vs. Pachuca.
With the club’s facing an ongoing depth crisis, he doesn’t have much of a choice in playing these prospects.
The Energy called up five players from the U23 team, its Premier Development League squad, ahead of Tuesday’s friendly vs. Liga MX club Pachuca.
The players called up are defenders Jordan Haynes, Fernando Machado and Jacob VanCompernolle, and midfielders Christian Okeke and Caio Ruiz. Okeke is the U23’s second leading scorer with five goals.
The U23 team has the best record in the PDL (11-1-1) and is tied for the best goal differential in the league (+28).
“I’m bringing those guys in, and they will all play Tuesday,” Nielsen said.
The Energy are in need of these additional players, particularly the midfielders, after a combination of injuries and red card suspensions has decimated its depth. The club is winless since June 16, and part of its struggles can be attributed to the lack of consistency within its lineups.
The depth issues were on display during Saturday’s loss to Tulsa when Chad Bond, a reserve midfielder who signed with the club last month, had to start at forward. The club’s first three choices at forward (Andy Craven, Miguel Gonzalez, Wojciech Wojcik) were unavailable Saturday, and Craven injured himself in Saturday’s prematch warmups.
“Andy Craven getting injured was a big loss,” Nielsen said. “So is Wojcik being out. It happens to every team. The guys who step on the field have to do their job, and we aren’t getting the job done at the moment. That’s on all of us.”
Pachuca, the defending CONCACAF champions, will not have defender Omar Gonzalez, who is with the United States Men’s National Team at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Despite Gonzalez’s absence, Pachuca has brought its first team roster and plans to play most of those players.