What a difference three days make. Just 72 hours removed from a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw against Philadelphia on Sunday evening, D.C. United regained its winning form at home, soundly defeating the Chicago Fire 4-2 in front of a meager crowd of 10,291 at RFK Stadium. With the win, United is 10-0-4 since losing to Kansas City in week one and is just one win away from equaling their longest home unbeaten streak in franchise history.
“It motivated them,” United Head Coach Ben Olsen said of the draw on Sunday. “We still feel a little bit wronged from the other night, I think it’s still a little bit on all of our minds. I’m glad we responded in the right way.”
Facing a Chicago side that has to be considered one of the hottest in MLS at the moment, United controlled the game from the get-go, a relief to many fans who’ve almost grown accustomed to DCU’s lack of urgency out of the gate. It took the home side just 19 minutes to draw first blood, as Dwayne De Rosario would take advantage of some shoddy goalkeeping by Chicago’s Sean Johnson, easily tapping it home to make it 1-0. It was DeRo’s first goal since May 19, and put him at 99 career MLS goals—just one shy of the century mark, a feat only achieved by seven other players in the league’s history.
“[Dwayne] getting that goal was big,” Olsen said after the match. “But even more so, I saw Dwayne back today a little bit more. I think the last two games he’s really stepped up his game. I think he senses that this team needs him now and the team needs him to be great.”
DeRo’s return to form was one of several story lines for United on Wednesday night. With Emiliano Dudar serving the red card suspension he earned against Philly, Marcelo Saragosa found himself thrust into a defensive midfield role alongside Perry Kitchen. The two performed surprisingly well and made several key stops throughout the evening to help United preserve the victory. Chris Pontius was once again playing like a man destined for things a bit bigger than MLS, but by far the most compelling story of the evening was Andy Najar’s emergence as a true force at right back.
With Dudar suspended and Robbie Russell still injured, Olsen again shifted the Honduran into the backfield—a position he’s played before, but sparingly. Speaking to the clubs Capital Soccer Show earlier this week, Olsen referred to Najar as the club’s “right back of the future.” After last night’s performance, you have to wonder—is the future now?
When asked whether he’d consider playing Andy at right back permanently, the coach gave a wide smile and nodded. “I mean [tonight] was pretty impressive. It was fun to watch, that’s for sure.”
Najar would play a part in United’s second goal of the night. After the Fire pulled level in the 44th minute, Andy went to work. Streaking down the right flank, he put on a dizzying display of footwork to evade two Chicago defenders. Given an inch of daylight, Najar played an absolutely stunning cross—really, honestly, you’ll rarely see a better ball than Andy Najar’s assist on this goal—which newcomer Lionard Pajoy headed home. It was Pajoy’s first in a United kit.
The black and red would add two more—a phenomenal strike from Brandon McDonald (care of a Chris Korb cross) and a Long Tan howler that somehow managed to evade Johnson, who had a terrible night in goal for the fire. I’ll let Long describe his goal for you:
As for McDonald’s goal, he and Korb combined brilliantly on it—a far cry from their last collaboration, a post-game shouting match after a nationally televised game earlier in the week. “After my goal,” McDonald joked “Korb came up to me and said, ‘Maybe we should get into it after every game.'”
Najar’s performance last night was breathtaking for sure, and it creates a bit of a dilemma for Olsen. Do you put him there for good? At 19, it’s a tough thing to swallow—the idea that you’ll be further from goal. I asked Andy what his preference was—if he had to choose—between playing at his usual spot on the wing or playing a more defensive role.
“After tonight, it’s a lot tougher to say,” he told me in Spanish. “I think I might stay at right back. I loved the way it worked out tonight.” He continued: “Brandon has always told me that right back is my natural position. But nobody listens to Brandon.”
McDonald, for his part, would indeed have him there forever. “I’d like to welcome our new right back Cafu to the team,” he said, comparing Najar to the legendary Brazilian defender, known for his quick feet and tireless overlapping runs.
United will look to ride its momentum into the weekend—the team travels to Montreal for another important match-up on Saturday. It’s hard to believe, but it’s already crunch time. United has just 10 games remaining, and only four of them are at home. The team will follow its encounter with the Impact with another Wednesday night tilt at RFK—United will “welcome” the New York Red Bulls to RFK for the rubber match of this years Atlantic Cup.
