Has there ever been a crazier D.C. United match than the one that took place at RFK Stadium on Saturday night? Possibly — but if there had been, the memory of it has likely been replaced for the 11,684 who were on hand to witness the home side earn a 3-3 draw with Toronto FC.
How wild was the match? Well, it featured United keeper Bill Hamid being ejected but seven minutes into the match. United coach Ben Olsen followed suit in the second half. Reserve keeper Steve Cronin, who hadn’t played a match in 2011 for the first team, was forced into action. Oh, right, and there was the six-goal barrage, culminating in a manic punch-counterpunch sequence just before full time which saw Toronto take a 3-2 lead, only for United star Dwayne De Rosario to complete a hat trick from the penalty spot two minutes later.
The draw is hardly the result that United would have wanted from a home match with a Toronto side that had only won three times all season — but given the insanity of the evening, and having to play with ten men for almost the entire match, Olsen was feeling lucky to escape with some kind of reward.
“I wasn’t looking to get a draw against Toronto at home,” Olsen admitted. “[But] I thought everybody gave everything they had and I’m proud of that.”
Toronto’s second goal was the point of contention post-game — United had been trying to make a substitute while defender Brandon McDonald was down injured. But referee Jasen Anno ignored Olsen’s request, and Julian De Guzman took advantage of the hole in defense to lash a shot past Cronin. While Olsen remained cagey about criticizing the officiating, the man who almost single-handedly earned the team a point wasn’t so shy.
“I think that the second goal was questionable,” De Rosario said after the match. “We knew at the beginning of the season that the referees were not going to be as good as usual, based on what was said at the League meetings. I’ve just never seen anything like that.”
Of course, if they plan on playing into the postseason, United can’t afford to play at a level where their matches will be affected by a poor call by notoriously inconsistent MLS officials. After the draw, the club sits three points out of a playoff spot, with games in hand, including a match against league cellar-dwellar Vancouver next weekend.
