Saturday night’s meeting of D.C. United and Toronto FC looked like a mismatch on paper. An expansion team with the worst record in Major League Soccer lined up against the most decorated club in the league’s history and current point leaders. Add D.C.’s distinctive home field advantage and you have a recipe for a blowout. Yet for one half, TFC hung with their hosts.

Indeed, at many points in the first half Toronto was the better team on the field. Though their attacks were not particularly inspired, they created a few chances. They held United goalless while anticipating and adjusting to the home team’s offensive tactics. In the 14th minute, striker Carl Robinson scored on an expertly taken free kick just outside United’s penalty box. At the half, the 1-0 scoreline was hardly unjust.

The complexion of the game changed thoroughly in the second half. Guy-Roland Kpene found his way to the bench; a lackluster first half and a couple of missed chances made his exclusion the obvious decision. Josh Gros played more memorably than Kpene, but also found his seat on the bench at the 46th minute. In their places coach Tom Soehn inserted veterans Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen. Their creativity and energy awoke the dormant D.C. attack and put down TFC in one of the more dominating halves I have ever seen.

After five minutes revving their engines, D.C. United poured on four goals in 19 minutes. Twenty subsequent minutes of possession soccer sealed the win. It was as if Toronto’s ragtag band of rebels mounted an attack upon the imposing imperial fortress before United’s fully armed and operational battle station systematically obliterated its invaders.