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