HARRISON, N.J. — D.C. United entered Red Bull Arena for their Eastern Conference semifinal clash with New York on Sunday evening as a confident side, one unbeaten in eight of their last nine games, one brimming with confidence.
They left it in a world of trouble.
United dropped the encounter 2-0, victimized by a couple of world-class Thierry Henry assists and their own lackluster play. The result isn’t the end of the world for United, but the end is nigh. D.C. must come up with 3 goals in the return leg of the series next Saturday at RFK Stadium, or their season is over.
“In a game like this you have to have everybody play well,” United head coach Ben Olsen told DCist after the match. “We had very little of that. Our passing was poor, we lacked ideas. It wasn’t for lack of want, it just was an off night. It is not a good time to have a bad night.”
“Everybody knows New York can punish you,” added D.C. forward Fabian Espindola. “If you enter a game without being mentally prepared to play a serious game, you shouldn’t be in the playoffs. That’s what happened to us. We just didn’t rise to the occasion.”
Let’s take a look at the highlights, including New York goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Peguy Luyindula:
The Good: Bill Hamid and Chris Rolfe
In a game that offered few highlights for D.C. United fans, Bill Hamid once again came up huge for the team, keeping the affair from getting out of control. Frankly, the guy sort of blends in at this point, putting in one great performance after another. He’ll need to come up huge for United in the return leg, as conceding a precious away goal to the Red Bulls would surely be the end of things for his side.
Rolfe made his first appearance in nearly two months after recovering from a broken left arm. He entered the match as a sub, only seeing 15 minutes or so of action, but immediately brought a bit of flair to United’s attack that they’d badly been missing. He’ll likely play a larger role in the game next weekend.
Honorable Mention: DC United’s traveling support
United’s supporters groups bussed some 300 fans up for the game, and they were loud. No surprise there.
The Bad: Lots of shit
D.C. looked disconnected throughout the match, the exception being an opening 15 minutes where they didn’t look particularly good, but at least looked energetic.
United were without the services of Luis Silva — their team leader in goals scored — while he recovers from a hamstring injury, and it showed. The combination of Eddie Johnson and Fabian Espindola, one which has in recent matches been a productive one, was simply ineffective. United’s poor play through midfield didn’t exactly help, as New York suffocated build-up after build-up.
After the match, in a very sedate United locker room, most of the players I spoke with were pretty realistic about their performance.
“I think we didn’t take care of business,” said Espindola. “We didn’t play good soccer, they found space in midfield. We were pinned back for most of the game, unable to combine well with our midfielders. You can’t play a soccer game like that.”
“We lost confidence,” added Rolfe. “Lost energy, stopped believing in each other, stopped moving for each other. Everything that built us as a team we stopped doing for some reason. We’ve put ourselves in a big hole now. It’s going to be a tough game next week.”
Moment of the Match: Peguy Luyindula’s 73rd minute insurance tally
This one put the game away, and it may just prove to put the series away. And the ball from Henry? My god, it’s just obscene. Can we all just agree that he’s the classiest player MLS has ever seen?
The Rest: Sean Franklin, normally a lock starter at outside back, started the match on the bench, likely still recovering from what the club last week called a “lower body muscular injury.” … Wright-Phillips, who tied the MLS single-season scoring record with 27 goals this year, added another to his yearlong total on Sunday, his 30 goals just three shy of the all-time MLS record for goals in a calendar year (Roy Lassiter, 1996.) … The return leg of United’s series with New York is set for a 2:30 p.m. start and will be televised on NBC.
