CHESTER, Pa. – Just weeks after stringing together two wins for the first time since 2012, D.C. United took the pitch against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon and ended another dubious streak: not having won a road match in over a year and a half.
United would ride an early Chris Rolfe tally to victory, relying on a combination of sound defense and the occasional counterattack to preserve the result, their first away victory since a 1-0 win at Toronto in October of 2012.
“You know, I think this result says we’re growing,” reflected United head coach Ben Olsen after the match. “Some of the stuff hasn’t been good enough this season, it is now—I thought we played much better in Portland overall and came away with nothing. Here, maybe it wasn’t the greatest night but we found a way and I’m proud of the guys today, it says we’re not making these mistakes again.”
Highlights:
The Good: DC United’s game management. United has had the lead on the road more than a few times in the past year and a half, so what made Saturday’s result any different? Aside from the opponent—Philly has chronically underachieved this year and morale is at an all-time low in Chester—United avoided many of the types of mistakes they’ve made in previous outings.
Center backs Jeff Parke and Bobby Boswell were sound throughout the match—each of them had a huge clearance, Parke’s effort on Philly’s near-goal late in the match followed a similar effort from Boswell just minutes earlier. Cristian Fernandez and Chris Korb did well at outside back; Davy Arnaud and Perry Kitchen were solid in midfield. Lewis Neal—an oft-forgotten member of this United attack—displayed his class on the ball and range throughout both halves.
And Olsen’s substitutes were spot on: Conor Doyle and Luis Silva did well to smother the game in its later stages, several times winning possession deep in the offensive third. Put simply: everybody did their job on Saturday.
The Bad: The Philadelphia Union. I could probably find a United player or two to pick on here, but I’m giving them a pass on this one. The Union are just something else. Despite a series of high-profile acquisitions—Philly manager John Hackworth was given the chance to build “his team,” picking up U.S. National Team midfielder Maurice Edu in the process—the Union have faltered badly. It’s pretty easy to imagine Hackworth winning the MLS managerial “sack race” at this point, should he fail to right the ship.
Moment of the Match: Bill Hamid’s 64th minute double-save. Though United doesn’t get this result without Chris Rolfe’s game-winner—and Rolfe himself had an excellent match and continues to be one of the more interesting wrinkles in United’s attack—Hamid’s double-save was masterful. And, if we’re being honest, the homegrown keeper has probably bailed United out more than any other player over the past several years. Watch for yourself. Good stuff.
The Rest: United next gets Montreal at home this Saturday (7 p.m., CSN) …. The win, when combined with last weekend’s other results, puts United in third place in the East…United forward Eddie Johnson will likely be selected later this afternoon for the 30-man World Cup training camp roster, which will be announced at 3 p.m. Goal-less through nine games, EJ remains confident in regards to his World Cup prospects.
