United Cruise Past Toronto, 4-1
Many doubts regarding D.C. United's attack were squelched Saturday night. Following a pair of 0-2 defeats last week, United had a chance to start fresh at home. Riding the strength of their high powered attack, they dispatched Toronto F.C. cleanly in front of 20,161 RFK faithful.
The result was never in question. United got off to a dream start with two goals in the opening five minutes, and their advantage was solidified when TFC lost a man to a red card in the 13th. D.C. showed attacking intent in the opening seconds and were instantly rewarded. Defensive midfielder Clyde Simms pushed forward to win a ball in the offensive half, and when the Toronto back line failed to clear it, Luciano Emilio punished them by shuttling his shot past the charging keeper.
The 2007 MLS Golden Boot winner came within a hair of a second goal minutes later, but his effort was not for naught. When his shot ricocheted down off the cross bar, there were three United players in the six yard box to TFC's one. Goalie Greg Sutton stopped Devon McTavish's header, but couldn't get a hand on Santino Quaranta's follow-up, and United surged ahead to a 2-0 lead. Perhaps frustrated by United's success, Toronto's Kevin Harmse mistimed a clumsy tackle at the legs of defender Gonzalo Peralta. The referee showed red to the midfielder for his transgression.
Though United enjoyed a man advantage, they didn't take advantage of it for the remainder of the first half. Each side developed legitimate chances, but strong goalkeeping from both teams kept the score at 2-0. The arrival of veteran Jaime Moreno in the second half gave United the stability and sophistication they needed to put the game away.
Seeing his first playing time in a month (thigh injury), United Coach Tom Soehn inserted Moreno for defender Marc Burch. The move paid off, as United's midfield combined with more fluidity; at one point they strung 29 passes together. Their success in the midfield afforded them more confidence as they pushed forward, and in the 52nd, they used their swagger (along with their man advantage) to tally their third goal. The sequence featured each of United's attackers making the correct pass deep in Toronto territory. Quaranta made the final one: a diagonal ball through the box that set up Marcelo Gallardo for an easy finish.
Soehn replaced Gallardo with Rod Dyachenko shortly after his goal. Courtesy and strategy played a part in his decision; the crowd acknowledged the Argentine's first MLS goal with a loud ovation upon his departure, while Soehn was able to preserve his playmaker's legs for a midweek game. United tallied their final goal following their third offensive substitution of the match.
Franco Niell came on for Luciano Emilio in the 77th. Sent on by Fred's impeccable ball over Toronto's defense, Niell chose to hold up the ball instead of challenging the goalkeeper with a shot. He instead found Moreno with a backheel, and Moreno beat his mark and the keeper with some clever footwork for his first goal of the season. Toronto added a late goal off of a somewhat fluky Maurice Edu header. At that point, however, United had emphatically put their stamp on the game.
United's scoring distribution constituted a best-case scenario. United fans received reassurances that their old standbys (Moreno and Emilio) would continue to produce, while their new pieces (Gallardo and Quaranta) were capable of adding an additional wrinkle to the attack. Of course, it's only the second game of the season; two goalless games doesn't equate to an offensive crisis, nor should a single 4-goal game acclaim an unstoppable scoring machine.
Wednesday night United will host Pachuca in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinal. As last year's Champions' Cup and Mexican Clausura winners, they should present a slightly bigger challenge than a 10-man Toronto squad.