United Stuns Red Bulls

It was DC vs. NY. De Rosario vs. McCarty. What was thought to be an offensive explosion turned into a defensive battle as Dwayne De Rosario’s 61st minute goal was all that was needed to give DC United the 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls on Saturday night. DC fans had to be relieved at the result which snaps a five match win-less streak, including the entire month of June. In fact, it was the first win for DC since May 29th against Portland. With DC slipping farther and farther down the Eastern Conference table, picking up three points on the road was a major deal.

The first 45 minutes were back and forth play with good chances on both sides but none finishing with a goal. United seemed to have the upper hand with better possession, winning 50/50 balls, and while it was pretty even play on both sides, DC was having the better game since they were the away team. New York needed to come out early and enforce their style of attacking soccer, which they couldn’t do against DC’s new-look defense. Bill Hamid had another very good game in net and probably deserves most of the credit for the shut-out. Offensively, DC looked alright but had no real chances until Davies broke through late in the first half. Going on a breakaway run, Davies slipped by Red Bulls keeper Greg Sutton and had an open goal to tap the ball into, but Tim Ream did a great job tracking back and denying Davies at the last second. The Red Bulls faithful echoed their approval.

In the second half, New York continued to push hard, but Hamid was able to deny every opportunity and keep the goose egg on the homeside’s score. In the 61st minute, Andy Najar passed a ball to Josh Wolff after De Rosario let it go past him. Wolff one timed it to De Rosario while he was making a run into the box, and De Rosario calmly shot it off the bounce to Sutton’s far post. It deflected off the sidebar and into the goal to silence most of the 22,200 people that attended the match.

The final result leaves me wondering what it would have been like if McCarty and De Rosario had not been traded. In short term, I think New York would have eventually scored on DC and maybe the result would have been different. Of course, it cannot be fairly analyzed until after a few more matches have been played, but maybe New York didn’t come away with what they thought. That being said, I think McCarty will do very well in his new environment without all the pressure he had on him at DC. The end result for DC has been positive in the short run, and maybe New York’s will be positive in the long run.

DC’s next match will be another tough one as they travel to Dallas to face one of the hottest teams in MLS right now. Given the fact that United have become pretty good at beating good teams at their place, I think fans can throw the records and points out the door when DC comes to town.

(image courtesy of dcunited.com)