FOXBORO, MA – Another week, another city, another road loss. D.C. United took their woeful road show to Foxboro, Mass. on Saturday night, falling to the New England Revolution 2-1 and sinking their record away from RFK to an astounding 0-12-3.
Though United didn’t do much to help themselves on Saturday – they managed just a pair of shots on goal in the entire match – they certainly weren’t aided by the officiating crew, either.
D.C. jumped ahead early on an eleventh-minute own goal. United forward Luis Silva sent a dangerous ball into the box from the right flank, which New England midfielder Scott Caldwell attempted to clear. Caldwell would end up nudging the ball past his own keeper.
The 1-0 lead was United’s first advantage away from RFK since mid-October of 2012. It wouldn’t last particularly long.
Referee Juan Carlos Rivero would hand New England a lifeline in the 57th minute, though they wouldn’t take it. Lee Nguyen was met in the penalty area by United defender Dejan Jakovic. Though Jakovic appeared to have dispossessed the New England midfielder cleanly, Rivero did not hesitate to signal for a penalty kick. Nguyen himself stepped up to take the ensuing PK, which was saved by United keeper Bill Hamid.
The Revolution wouldn’t squander their second lucky break, which came just a minute later. Saer Sene found Diego Fagundez with a perfectly weighted through ball, which Fagundez finished routinely. There was just one problem for United – Fagundez was offside when the ball was played to him, something the officiating crew didn’t take note of.
United substitute Conor Doyle nearly put his side up again in the 83rd minute, catching Revolution keeper Matt Reis off his line and chipping a shot goalwards. Reis sprinted back, swatting the attempt away just inches from the goal line.
Just moments later, the Revolution would find their winner. Nguyen again charged into the box, and second-half substitute Lewis Neal was there to meet him. Unlike Jakovic’s challenge earlier in the game, Neal’s clumsy attempt was a clear foul. Waving multiple teammates off, Nguyen stepped up for his second penalty kick of the game. He wouldn’t miss this time.
“I think some questionable decisions led to the 2-1 result,” lamented United captain Dwayne De Rosario. “Not to take anything away from New England, but you give a penalty shot and then what looks to be offside goal, and then we have opportunity and the ball grabs the net or its on the line – that’s pretty much our season.”
A visibly frustrated Ben Olsen – who’s probably tired of paying fines – didn’t have much to say about the officiating on Saturday night: “What do you want me to say? We had stretches [in the first half]. We had chances. We were going up against too much today. Take that for what it’s worth.”
United’s complaints weren’t just limited to the officiating. Many players bemoaned the playing surface at Gillette stadium, which really couldn’t have been worse. The artificial surface, painted with (American) football lines, was barely playable.
“It’s very difficult to play on a field like that,” said De Rosario. “You know it’s terrible, it’s unacceptable. I think this is a great stadium but the pitch is a disaster. But, we have to deal with it. Every team has to deal with it and it’s very tough to play football on that field. A lot of the game I think you saw [the ball] was in the air bouncing, bobbling and it’s not a pretty game.”
