DC United came into Saturday night’s game knowing a win or a tie against the Crew would surely clinch them a spot in the 2012 MLS Playoffs, their first since 2007. The Columbus Crew had other ideas in mind as the Crew also were in search of a playoff spot sitting in 6th place at 49 points in the Eastern Conference, while DC United were in 3rd with 54 points. The regular season home finale at RFK was electric as the crowd created nonstop banter urging DC to attack in numbers and possess the ball. More importantly, DC needed the backing of their home fans, turning into what was truly the 12th man for DC United.
The first half started out very strong as both the Crew and DC tried to establish themselves in a series of tough tackles and long balls into one another’s boxes. The early yellow card for Arrieta against Jakovic showed the physical game that was about to be played. DC started on the front foot in the 6th minute as DC United countered on the Columbus defense with the likes of Santos, Pajoy and DeLeon combining and interlocking causing havoc. All of the DC United early pressure came to no avail as Eddie Gaven netted the games first goal in the 7th minute on a bad clearance in the DC box finding Hamid with almost no chance to make a save. Despite the early goal given up by United, there was constant pressure and interlocking play, but had serious troubles trying to keep possession. Almost every attacking player, most notably Lionard Pajoy and Maicon Santos were found guilty of holding the ball too long and trying to do too much.
DC were lacking the killer instinct in the Crew’s box as both Najar and Korb moved forward along the wings perfectly and provided crosses which were either driven well but no player was providing the near post run, or Gruenebaum asserted himself taking the ball right out of the air. What it comes down to, is that DC have to believe in their current system and DC coach, Ben Olsen has done just that. Ben Olsen was heard yelling to his players to make near post runs to hopefully connect on one of many crosses from Korb and Najar. The fans urged the players on although on the other side of the ball Higuain was very clever weaving his way through players. At the same time, Eddie Gaven proved a nuisance with his constant work ethic getting forward but also his tireless defending against Chris Pontius. Throughout the season, Perry Kitchen has matured immensely by simplifying the game, but also carrying a Paul Scholes (Manchester United) type presence about him with his cross field balls and his occasional long range shots.
DC finally found its breakthrough in the 39th minute as DeLeon connected on a deflection tap in on a great individual effort by Lionard Pajoy keeping the ball alive. DeLeon was far post, and after an initial shot by Pajoy was blocked by the Crew’s goalie, DeLeon was able to secure his 6th goal of the season, which is a new club record by a rookie. With that goal, RFK Stadium was united and louder than ever before: until disaster struck. Only two minutes later in the 41st minute, a well placed shot by Arrieta clanged off the post then taking an unfortunate bounce off of Bill Hamid’s heel into the back of his net to put Columbus back up 2-1. With the combination of Arrieta and Higuain, this left seven DC players ball watching because no one closed down the space. More importantly, Columbus’ goal did not silence the crowd-RFK Stadium continued to urge its players into advanced positions to try an secure at least a point. The most pivotal piece of information was whether or not the United attackers would work hard to get in front of the Columbus Crew goalkeeper and slot one past him, and many believed that would be with the injection of Hamdi Salihi.
The second half saw DC rapidly pick up the pace of their game and control the ball more in midfield. Saragosa picked the pockets of the attackers as well as found himself creating attacks, while Perry Kitchen remained resilient against the constant threat of Gaven and Higuain. The game became much more open with an end to end style of play with DC enjoying the majority of the crosses and possession. DC were rewarded for their hard work in the 59th minute as Najar and DeLeon found Columbus sleeping on a quickly taken free kick which McDonald reached out with his foot to deflect the ball to Saragosa who buried a bending shot into the right hand side of the net beyond the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper. The goal was Saragosa’s first goal of the season, and what a time to score it.
The following minutes proved to be very tense as Columbus needed a win and began throwing players farther forward to get the advantage, but DC remained strong. In the 69th minute Lewis Neal was subbed on for Maicon Santos, 81st Salihi for Pajoy, and 85th on came Boskovic, and these three switches proved to be the game changer. As DC and Columbus entered into stoppage time, defending became key until Hamdi Salihi collected a ball outside of his own eighteen yard box and sent it to Boskovic up at half field. Catching Columbus on the break, Lewis Neal and Boskovic were able to exploit the 2v1 as Boskovic glanced over his shoulder and flicked a ball beyond the Crew’s last defender which then subsequently saw Lewis Neal slot the ball into the back of the net, to end the game 3-2. RFK Stadium then erupted as the players also knew this win was significant in showing DC are back where they belong, in the MLS Playoffs.
DC United’s overall record improves to 17-10-6 (57 points) which is good for second place in the Eastern Conference only 3 points behind Sporting Kansas City. DC’s final match comes away on October 27th (Saturday) against the Chicago Fire who sit in third place with a record of 17-11-5 (56 points). Tonight I could not single handedly pick one man of the match, so tonight there will be a trio known as “The Men of the Match” which are Salihi, Boskovic, and the goal scorer Neal. Olsen brought these men onto the field at the right time and for the right reasons as all played a part in United’s eventual game winning goal with Lewis Neal having the composure to secure the game winner calmly into the back of the net.
(image courtesy of Richard A. Lipski/Washington Post)
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