October 23, 2006
United Take First Step in Playoffs
Coming off of a string of bad play, bad breaks, and bad feelings, D.C. United buckled down and won their second game in their last nine tries Saturday, beating New York Red Bull 1-0 at the Meadowlands. United fought through a tightly contested game, made good on one of their few chances, and held on to their lead to take the advantage in the home-and-home series.
United scored in the 77th minute when Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno combined for a deftly executed give-and-go. Gomez found space among three of Red Bull's back line and laid the ball square to Moreno. With his first touch, Moreno chipped the ball directly into the path of the running Gomez. Gomez took the ball off the bounce and gave the it a side-footed flick over New York goalkeeper Jon Conway and into the back corner of the net. It was a combination that illustrated why the D.C. pair is perhaps the most dangerous attacking combination in the league.
United's defense remained organized for most of the game, and any shots or crosses they allowed were handled expertly by Troy Perkins, MLS's newly crowned Goalkeeper of the Year.
The win in no way signals a return to form for United; we're not going to take our sweaty hands off of the panic button quite yet. But, as the DCenters mused on Saturday, the win did seem to invoke some of the gutsy results the team reaped in their glorious first half of the season.
United travel back to RFK this Sunday to complete the quarterfinal series.
Photo by Kyle Gustafson
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Thanks for your continuing coverage of DC United. Everyone who hasn't already should come to one of the playoff games over the next two weekends to see why it is us United fans keep yammering on and on about the team and the RFK experience. When United are on, they're on, and the supporters clubs are always on. Come sing with us about the glory of Gomez-to-Moreno-to-Gomez.
This game certainly wasn't the best I've seen out of DCU, but they seemed to really take the right stance in approaching the game, and their postgame comments point to a renewed diligence and confidence. It should be a great game this Sunday, as United always takes advantage of RFK.
Where can I get tickets for Sunday's (10-29) game?
Just go to the team's homepage:
http://dcunited.
mlsnet.com/t
103/index.jsp
Kyle,
Nice meeting you at Trusty's on Saturday. Enjoyed the write up and thanks for letting me rant to you at the bar!
Yeah, that was alot of fun. And I wouldn't call that ranting. I thought you were spot on.
Matt and I are going to try to swing by the SE tailgate on Sunday, so we'll see you there.