DC United had their fair share of scoring chances during the first half, however just could not finish. DC entered the game with a much different approach with fielding more attacking options of both Maicon Santos and Lionard Pajoy up top, no Branko Boskovic in the starting eleven and Saragosa back in the midfield for DC. Entering the match looking for a third straight victory, DC were helped immensely by the Philadelphia Union who earned a 3-1 victory against the Houston Dynamo earlier on Sunday courtesy of Freddy Adu’s two goals.
Immediately in the first half, DC looked the more dangerous of the two teams with Maicon Santos taking shots from distance and the DC midfield controlling the majority of possession. For the third straight game, both McDonald and Jakovic seemingly looked even more comfortable with one another at the center of defense, who were both always there to quickly shut down any potential threats. On the other side of the ball, Shalrie Joseph controlled the midfield and was excellent at spreading the field with balls to LaBrocca and interlocking with Smith up top. Besides Joseph, Townshend and an occasional threat by Smith up top, Chivas USA dropped far back providing room for DC’s Chris Pontius, Nick DeLeon and even Perry Kitchen to maneuver an attack. Once United reached the eighteen, there were too many players packing the box causing a cluster of last ditch tackles. DC’s first real chance came from a 13th minute shot from Nick DeLeon’s left boot forcing a save out of Dan Kennedy, resulting in two consecutive corner kicks from Chris Pontius. At this point, it seemed only a matter of time until United got onto the score sheet, but Chivas USA remained resilient.
The midfield was not the only key for DC in the first half, but Pajoy and Santos worked tirelessly up top providing pressure on the Chivas USA backs. Pajoy and Santos both had chances, and moments of individual brilliance such as in the 18th minute Santos worked his magic eluding two defenders off a pass from Pajoy but was unable to finish. Shortly after in the 20th minute, Santos had another chance after Pajoy calmly settled down a pass with his chest, but a well saved shot by Kennedy occurred. On the flip side, twenty minutes into the match and Chivas USA had yet to register a shot on DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid. The playmaker of the first half for DC was most definitely Andy Najar as he made long, streaking runs along the right hand flank. The golden opportunity for DC came to Santos in the 27th minute, but he took a negative touch inside the box and the ball was eventually cleared out of danger. The reason United were gaining so many chances was because of the fact that Chivas USA had no patience and forced too many long passes that were eventually settled by McDonald and company. Yet, the tides turned as the final eight minutes proved to be real shaky for DC as Chivas began to imprint themselves in the game by gaining more possession and this resulted with Ben Olsen not liking the defensive posture his team had taken.
The start of the second half was much like the end of the first with Chivas USA still on the front foot. Primarily, Shalrie Joseph imposed himself in the center of midfield and was a large presence not only because of his size, but because of his style of play-driven balls to LaBrocca, Smith and Townshend. Chivas USA had pushed the Columbus Crew to the 89th minute midweek, and the crowd had an uneasy nature. The 51st minute saw Andy Najar nutmeg Bolanos but his shot was wide and weak. One minute later in the 52nd minute, Najar raced by four players then played a diagonal ball which was excellently saved by Kennedy which saw Santos pull up a little because of an injury he had sustained earlier in the match. On came Branko Boskovic in the 55th minute for Maicon Santos, and not even ten minutes later, he made his mark. In the 64th minute, Pajoy crossed a beautifully driven ball slightly out of reach of Boskovic, but that did not stop him-Boskovic converted past Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy with a diving header to put DC United 1-0 ahead. After just being put into the game, Boskovic’s header proved he had the courage and bravery to connect with the cross and convert into the lower left hand corner. The goal was Boskovic’s first of his DC United Career. United looked to double their tally in the 67th minute as Pontius placed a teasing ball just too far ahead of Lionard Pajoy outside of the six yard box. After DC began to amount attack after attack, the fans at RFK Stadium were buzzing and urging their team for another: DC were desperate to gain three points before heading onto two games on the road.
The first real scare of the second half came in the 74th minute as Nick DeLeon gave a gift to Bolanos of Chivas USA who couldn’t make the most of this gift as he rushed his shot and pushed it wide of Hamid’s goal. Chivas USA would not go down without a fight and in the 81st minute subbed on Jose Correa and Juan Agudelo to hopefully spark some creativity in the final third for Chivas USA. Compared to the last two games when DC let down in the final ten minutes, Hamid looked more solid in front of the net while Brandon McDonald and Jakovic made some key tackles to stop any potential threats. Tensions escalated in the 87th minute as Jakovic made a last minute tackle from eight yards out on Correa inside of the box. United seemed to be in the right place at the right time towards the end of the game, which Ben Olsen must have worked on after DC’s 1-0 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday. With that, United proved victorious with a 1-0 scoreline and a 3-0-0 mark the past three games. My Man of the Match was Andy Najar for his individual 1v1 defending as well as his tireless nature along the flanks providing crosses and connections with the midfield and even forwards. Areas of concern for United going into DC’s next game is that DC neglect to link up with Chris Pontius often: he seems to go ten or so minutes at a time without any real touches, and also Lionard Pajoy seems to hold onto the ball too much which correlates to possibly why Pontius is not getting enough touches. The win improves DC United to 11-0-4 in their past fifteen home games at RFK Stadium, a win streak spanning back to March 10th of this year. Another key point to put out is that Bill Hamid recorded his 7th shutout of the season.
DC’s record improves to 15-10-5 (50 points) placing them in 4th in the Eastern Conference, as DC take on the Portland Timbers on Saturday, September 29th at 10:30pm. Portland boosts a record of 7-15-8 (29 points) and out of playoff contention at the moment in 8th place in the Western Conference.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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