Andy Najar is a quiet kid.
On the field, the 19-year-old Honduran is a thrill to watch—his long, overlapping runs down the right flank have become a staple of D.C. United’s offense, even after his transition earlier in the year from midfielder to defensive back. It was a change that was difficult for a young, attack-minded player to handle, but Najar had a firm grasp on the idea that the crest on his uniform should trump his pride.
So naturally, when Najar needlessly flung the ball at referee Jair Maruffo and was ejected in the 71st minute of United’s 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night, it wasn’t something many of the 17,556 fans in attendance at RFK Stadium expected. Gone was Najar’s calm composure, replaced by the sort of petulant outburst more typical of some of Major League Soccer’s less composed phenoms and overpriced superstars.
Facing a Red Bulls team featuring the likes of Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill and Rafa Marquez, United’s playoff inexperience finally got a chance to rear its head Saturday night, and Najar wasn’t the only one who came up short. Fellow first-timer Chris Pontius failed to convert a crucial penalty kick in the first half, and New York’s only goal came courtesy of a Bill Hamid goalkeeping error. The Red Bulls’ players, in fact, have more games of World Cup experience than United’s have in the MLS playoffs.
United’s coaches and players, for their part, weren’t having any part of the inexperience talk. “I don’t think inexperience was an issue at all,” Head Coach Ben Olsen said after the match. “I like that group of guys in there and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to go up to New York taking on the tough task of winning at Red Bull Arena.” When asked if maturity was an issue, Pontius was similarly defiant. “I don’t know, did you see any inexperience out there?” he fired back.
Aside from those three errors, United actually played fairly well, and generated the lion’s share of the games offensive chances. Just a minute and a half after the opening whistle, defender Chris Korb almost scored the game’s opening goal, running onto a failed clearance and stinging a left-footed ball that Red Bulls goalie Luis Robles pushed just wide of the far post. Some 20 minutes later, Pontius sent a ball across the area to midfielder Nick DeLeon, but United’s rookie-of-the-year candidate failed to put it on frame.
United had an opportunity in the 32nd minute when Connor Lade’s handball in the box set up a penalty kick for Pontius. Pontius stepped up to the spot and drilled it just left of center, but Robles confidently stopped the attempt. Robles said after the match that he’d been studying United’s kick-takers on film; the research paid off.
“We knew in the last three penalty kicks, Pontius waited for the keeper to move and waited and waited,” he said. “If you are a forward and waiting until the very last second for the goalkeeper to move, it kind of forces them to not shoot as low as they would like to and in that case I was fortunate.”
United had other chances later, but they ended up needing some help from New York to get on the scoreboard. Luckily, Red Bulls defender Roy Miller in an awful soccer player, a trait he displayed when he clinically finished a bending cross from Korb into his own goal, handing United a 1-0 lead in the 61st minute. United, unfortunately, were all too eager to return the favor, as Hamid made a meal of a ball in the 6-yard box and landed behind his own goal line.
Hamid later claimed that he thought he’d been fouled by Red Bulls defender Marcus Holgersson.
“He knew I was going to jump. I was inside the 6 and he decided to bump me right before my jump,” Hamid said. “I guess that’s not a foul. I thought it was going to be called. I thought it was going to be a clear call. When the keeper comes out for the ball and he gets bumped that’s a foul, but it is what it is.”
Luckily for United, New York sat back for the remainder of the match, seemingly content with a 1-1 away result. Hamid’s error aside, there were some brighter spots for the black and red. Pontius minced his way through Connor Lade and Dax McCarty en route to his best game in months. Korb and Perry Kitchen both came up huge on defense. Lionard Pajoy’s work rate was phenomenal, and he did a good job holding the ball up top. But make no mistake: D.C. United face a tall order now, forced to play the return leg in a hostile environment without their starting right back. United haven’t been particularly stellar on the road this year, and Red Bull Arena is a difficult place to play—something we learned during the team’s 3-2 loss in June.
But Wednesday could be the next in a long string of surprises by United this season. We’re talking about a squad that has gone 5-0-3 since losing Dwayne De Rosario; a team that many picked to finish near the bottom of the standings, yet clawed its way to a second place finish; a team that will likely take the field on Wednesday evening eager to prove that they’re not too green to win a playoff series.
“You’ve got to have short-term memory,” Pontius said, seemingly unfazed by the tie. “We’ve got a game on Wednesday. We came out tonight, we battled, we went a man down and we still battled and had some opportunities. I like the fight and character of this team.”
On Wednesday, more than any other night this season, we’ll likely find out what United are truly made of. Here’s to hoping that DCist won’t be changing its logo back to the classic design on Thursday.
Team Notes: DCist will be in Harrison, N.J. on Wednesday night to cover the second leg of United’s playoff series with the New York Red Bulls. Follow along at @DCist_Pablo for updates during the game and quotes from coaches and layers afterward … We reported last week that defending MLS most valuable player Dwayne De Rosario was continuing his recovery at a swift pace, running sprints in practice and participating in short-sided games. That continues to develop, as De Rosario was upgraded to “questionable” on the injury report for Wednesday’s game. He didn’t make the 18-man roster on saturday, but could see action in New York. More than likely, we won’t see De Rosario until the Conference Finals, if United qualifies. … Mayor Vince Gray was in attendance. … MLS Commissioner Don Garber was also there and assured those in attendance that the game on Wednesday go forward as planned. The power at Red Bull Arena has been restored, though it is highly unlikely that PATH trains between New York City and New Jersey will be operational in time for the match.
