DC United put on a first-place performance in the first half and survived the second half to beat the New England Revolution 3-2 on Saturday night at RFK Stadium. Goals from Brandon McDonald, Dejan Jakovic, and Maicon Santos gave United three points for the third match in a row to take first place in the Eastern Conference.
So if you’re wondering if you read the last sentence correctly, chances are you did. That’s right, not one but BOTH center backs scored for DC United on Saturday, which was something I didn’t expect to see. As I recall in my preview, I picked Dwayne De Rosario and Branko Boskovic to score. Neither did, but both recorded assists to set up goals which is just as good in my book. It was good to see United jump out early again, since it wasn’t too long ago they were giving up goals in the first 15 minutes of each match it seemed.
Although let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. I was thrilled at halftime to be up 2-0, but all the first half happiness was sucked out of me when I watched United give up two goals in the first five minutes of the second half. One of the famous phrases in soccer states: “The most dangerous score in soccer is winning 2-0.” It rang true on Saturday for sure.
But thank you Maicon Santos for coming off the bench and grabbing the game winner. Because of his goal, United sit atop the Eastern Conference table, and won all three matches in their homestand over the past two weeks. They’ll get a well deserved rest for the next couple of weeks for the international break then make trips to Philadelphia and a much anticipated rematch against the New York Red Bulls the week after.
And speaking of the Red Bulls, I find it laughable that their fans are talking about how United’s position in first place shouldn’t count since we’ve played more games. Here are the facts Red Bull fans:
1. Just because you have played 13 matches compared to our 15 doesn’t mean those two extra matches are guaranteed wins for you.
2. You will get your chance to catch up to us in matches very soon.
3. We still have more points than you right now so back off.
Now since I have that off my chest, I should probably write a little about the Open Cup. On Tuesday, DC United will travel to Richmond, Virginia to face off against the Richmond Kickers in round three of the US Open Cup. I had a chance to watch the Richmond vs. Aegean Hawks match last week and had a great time, but from what I saw Richmond shouldn’t pose a threat to DC United. I would like to see United take the match seriously and win like they should. But it’s the Open Cup so who knows. We’ll probably see a DC reserve side take on Richmond while some players rest from the past few weeks. It will be United’s first away match in the Open Cup since 2007. If they win, they will host round four at the Maryland Soccerplex. Hopefully they do so I can travel to watch it. The Open Cup is arguably the easiest way to make the CONCACAF Champions League which should be a goal for every club every year.
Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys a great international break. United will be back in action in league play on June 16th and hopefully most of the players will be back from injury and ready to go. Until then, go USA!
(image courtesy of dcunited.com)
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