D.C. United‘s club-record 20-game unbeaten home streak was snapped on Saturday night, as a pair of world-class goals by Sebastian Giovinco powered Toronto FC to a 2-1 victory over the Black and Red.
The result stunned the crowd of 17,105, who hadn’t seen United lose at RFK Stadium in nearly a calendar year as D.C. compiled an impressive run of 16 wins and 4 draws across all competitions.
Coming into Saturday’s match, United seemed to have an advantage with Toronto missing star midfielder Michael Bradley due to U.S. National Team duty. Toronto’s other USMNT regular, Jozy Altidore, was not expected to play due to a hamstring strain that had kept him out for the past several weeks, but he warmed up with his team before the match and appeared eager to go—perhaps an ominous sign for the home squad.
D.C. had plenty of injury problems of its own, most notably with banged-up goalkeeper Bill Hamid missing his second straight match. Midfielder Chris Pontius and defenders Taylor Kemp and Chris Korb were held out for various minor ailments, while midfielder Michael Farfan was definitely unavailable due to an ongoing hamstring issue. In the midst of their busiest stretch of the season, United head coach Ben Olsen has also been shuffling his lineups just to rest players, so a lack of rhythm and continuity was also a potential factor.
That said, United came out as the sharper, more energetic side, dominating play in the opening minutes and generating several chances with a furious attack spearheaded by the dangerous forward tandem of Fabian Espindola and Jairo Arrieta. Espindola’s speculative chip from just outside the penalty area caromed off the goalpost, but in the sixth minute, he delivered a corner kick into the middle of the six-yard box, where Steve Birnbaum stepped in front of Toronto defender Damien Perquis and tapped the ball into the goal with his right foot.
After weathering United’s early flourish, Toronto equalized in the 34th minute thanks to a superb individual effort from Giovinco. The former Juventus forward took a pass from teammate Luke Moore and began running at United defender Sean Franklin on the left side of the penalty area. United’s Bobby Boswell came over to help, but Giovinco eluded the double-team with a nifty elastico, quickly cutting to his left before putting away a left-footed finish from a severe angle.
United started strong again in the second half, mounting some threatening attacks along the wings, but lacking the final ball. Coming forward aggressively, midfielder Perry Kitchen had a promising shot blocked by Eriq Zavaleta in the 52nd minute, and sent another attempt high and wide four minutes later. Defender Kofi Opare appeared to score off an Espindola free kick in the 60th minute, but he was ruled offside despite vociferous protests from D.C. captain Boswell.
With Altidore warming up on the sideline throughout the second half, it seemed a question of when, rather than if, he would enter the fray. He finally came on for a late cameo in the 82nd minute, and with the United defense perhaps adjusting for the presence of the imposing forward, Toronto was able to strike the decisive blow just a minute later. After winning a ball from D.C.’s Davy Arnaud in the midfield, Toronto’s Benoit Cheyrou touched the ball toward Altidore, who smartly let the ball pass between his feet so it could reach an advancing Giovinco. The Italian forward gathered the ball with a couple of quick touches before unleashing a right-footed screamer from 25 yards that rocketed past diving United goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra for the game-winner.
“It’s pretty simple,” Olsen said after a match in which his team arguably played well enough to deserve a better result. “We went into the game trying to limit Giovinco’s influence and that didn’t go so well. But he’s a special player. We’re going to come up against very good players in this league, and he’s certainly at the top of that list. On any given day, he can do what he did today. He’s a difference-maker.”
Despite the loss, United (8-4-4) remain on top of the MLS standings with 28 points, two points ahead of Seattle Sounders FC. D.C. will travel for an away match on Sunday against Orlando City SC before returning to RFK Stadium for a showdown with Eastern Conference rivals New England Revolution on June 21.
