I hope a select few enjoyed the shout out to Rush with the title. But it was true! Hamdi Salihi and Dwayne De Rosario both scored goals to give DC United the 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium. Bill Hamid also earned his second shutout of the season. The win places United back in the second spot in the Eastern Conference.
This win was a nice one. Three points at home is almost always expected by any soccer fan, and the way this one came together was special. It was the first time De Rosario, Salihi, and Branko Boskovic all started together since the season opener, and it looked really good. Boskovic did a great job in the middle of the field and looks to be finally 100% match fit. Salihi took advantage of being in the right place at the right time for his goal, and De Rosario made an excellent run to receive a pass to get the match winner.
Some other newer faces made appearances tonight. The one which stands out to me the most was Lewis Neal from England. He’s been with the club for awhile now, but I hadn’t seen much of him myself until last night. And I was impressed. His pass to De Rosario to set up the first goal requires good vision and accuracy, both of which he used.
Despite the injuries that still plague the back line, I felt they held up pretty good last night. Granted, the Rapids were without Omar Cummings, which allowed more attention to be given to Conor Casey. Woolard has done a great job adjusting to the centerback role, while Najar has shown flexibility moving from the outside midfield position to outside back. Korb has been getting more experience, and McDonald has commanded the backline throughout all the change. I’m feeling more confident with this defense after every match (I say this and we’ll allow four goals against Toronto this Saturday…my luck).
Overall, this was the DC United team I envisioned at the beginning of the year. A good midfield setting up the forwards to score while the defense kept opponents at bay. Okay, yeah I know I sort of just described the perfect team, and we know there really is no such team. But I felt very comfortable with what I saw Wednesday night. They had an 82.5% passing accuracy and dominated the corner kick stat (9-3). What’s even better is our next opponent. Toronto FC is coming to RFK this Saturday still in search for their first win. They are a desperate club needing three points which could make them dangerous, but they’re fragile at this point. Theoretically, this match should be another three points, but they don’t play games on paper do they?
(image courtesy of Ned Dishman/Getty Images)
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