Khumalo Makes Solid Debut, But United Draw 2-2
It's certainly been a long and winding road for D.C. United's recent addition Thabiso Khumalo. The South African forward was drafted in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago - but never saw the field. The man they call "Boyzzz" has subsequently been on a three year odyssey through a veritable tour of second and third division American soccer - stops in Charleston, Wilmington, and Pittsburgh have resulted in varying levels of success: twenty games per year, a few goals here and there, even recognition as one of the best players in USL-2. It's fair to say that the man (who is a co-founder of a non-profit which encourages South African youth, no less) has logged more than his fair share of miles in trying to grab a spot at the top.
Well, let us be the first to say it: Boyzzz, you're welcome here any time. Even though coach Tom Soehn admitted that the striker "came in nervous," Khumalo grasped his first chance to play in MLS and contributed an assist; but United missed a great number of second half chances and could only take a point against FC Dallas on Saturday evening, settling for a 2-2 draw at balmy RFK Stadium.
For most of the game, it was clear that United possessed the lion's share of the talent on the pitch. United earned 13 corners to Dallas' zero, doubled up the Hoops in second half shots, and easily had the most ferocious goalkeeping. The two missed points will wear on coach Tom Soehn, as it could be argued that United is about to face their roughest patch of the schedule this season - United still faces league fixtures at Los Angeles, Houston and conference leader Columbus - not to mention traveling for three games in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Honduras in the CONCACAF Champions League.
As recent fixtures at RFK have tended to do, the match started with an impressive attacking flurry. But this evening, it was FC Dallas taking most of the initial offensive. And it paid off: lackadaisical defending from United led to the match's first goal. A long lead pass from the Dallas defensive third found it's way to the feet of lengthy forward Kenny Cooper. Cooper made a quick turn to shake Marc Burch, leaving him one on one with Crayton, who had no chance to stop Cooper's rocket to the top corner. United, who had already lacked clarity and precision, were back on their heels. Crayton made a superb save in the 20th, when forward Jeff Cunningham took a tender first touch, piroeting back to front, and fired to the far post - but the Liberian denied the attempt with an outstretched arm. United were encouraged by the effort, as Santino Quaranta then come millimeters from leveling the match off Guerrero's lovely cross. After a crunching tackle forced Moreno to the ground grabbing his shoulder, Khumalo's stunning pace beat the defense to a ball on the right flank, and his ball to Moreno couldn't have been better. The captain easily headed in his tenth of the season, and the side was back to level pegging.
As expected, Fred entered the match for midfielder Quavas Kirk at halftime to provide an immediate boost to the United attack. His delicious cross into the area - almost handled by Dallas defender Wagner - was left unpunished. For the first 10 minutes of the second frame, D.C. continued to press - Moreno and Khumalo marked Dallas defenders tightly, not allowing them time on the ball to properly clear or distribute.
A bit of a tussle broke out in the 62nd minute, as Crayton dove to cover a loose ball in front of Cunningham's dangerous feet. Attacking midfielder Andre Rocha then plowed into the keeper as he lay vulnerable on the turf. The Dallas midfielder saw yellow, but the crowd was obviously disappointed to not see red for his reckless foul on the keeper. Proving his resiliency, Crayton then made the save of the game, again denying a free Cunningham with a kick save. Capping of the best fifteen minutes of the match for United, Quaranta found himself in the right place at the right time, breaking slyly on a interplay between Guerrero and Moreno, and sliding home a hit which ricocheted off Dallas netminder Dario Sala and into the back of the net.
With 20 minutes left, it was up to United's rickety defense to hold the lead as Dallas pushed four men up into the attack - a task they were unable to accomplish. Crayton again bailed out a misstep in the 76th, sprawling to save a quick shot from midfielder Bruno Guarda. In their best chance to kill the game, Rod Dyachenko, on in place of Guerrero, could have put the home side up two, but his attempt failed to beat the aggressive angle of Sala. With time running low, Cunningham - who had been running like a madman all night - took advantage of a slip by Clyde Simms and launched a dangerous ball through the box; eventually, it landed at the feet of Rocha, and he slipped it into the unoccupied near side of the net to equalize at two. United's furious attempts to pull back in front came too late - soon enough, time was up and two points were lost.
United's next league match comes next Saturday at David Beckham's Los Angeles, where they'll need to take all three points against the league cellar-dwellers in order to maintain their tenuous grip on the final MLS playoff position.