Just a week after throttling the Vancouver Whitecaps, D.C. United were shut out at home on Saturday evening, falling 1-0 to Toronto F.C.
It took Sebastian Giovinco just 53 seconds to nab TFC’s eventual game-winner. The Italian playmaker ran on to a loose ball in the box, touching it home from close range. United were defensively sound otherwise, but an anemic offensive performance kept them from extracting any positive result from the match.
It’s early going yet, but United have reason for concern: in seven matches, the Black-and-Red have scored more than a single goal on only one occasion, their rout of Vancouver. What’s more, they’ve been shutout three times.
Giovinco’s goal, the only thing worth watching from this one:
The Good: D.C.’s steady backline. In a largely forgettable match, D.C.’s backline turned in another decent shift. Giovinco’s opener proved to be their only slip-up of the match—after terrorizing United last year, the former Juventus forward had a quiet night on Saturday, with his goal proving to be his only real scoring chance of the match.
D.C. have been anemic, offensively, yes, but their back line has kept them competitive in most of their matches.
The Bad: Another early goal allowed. Saturday’s opening goal was just the latest data point in a maddening trend. In 2015, United allowed a goal inside of the first five minutes of the match on seven occasions. Little seems to have changed in 2016—in addition to Giovinco’s strike, D.C. allowed an early opener in their CCL return leg match earlier this year.
They’ve also allowed a bevy of late goals over the past year. In a hushed United locker room after the match, there were few explanations for this latest misstep.
““I’ll take blame for that,” United head coach Ben Olsen said after the match. “That’s something we don’t know about—we don’t discuss. We don’t go out and say, ‘Hey we can take the first five minutes off, right?’ They’ve heard me yell and scream enough about it. We have to get better in that aspect. Again, everything you do all week, now changes because of one minute.”
Added United fullback Sean Franklin: ““It’s frustrating. We’ve given up early goals this year and it really puts you in a hole going down in the first minute. That’s something that we’ve got to fix. We can’t come out on our home field and let someone score in the first minute—let alone at all. It’s just frustrating.”
The Rest: As we noted last week, supporters across MLS voiced their displeasure with D.C. United & Major League Soccer’s one-year ban of a D.C. supporter. Those protests continued this week, with fans at multiple venues hoisting banners in protest. Hundreds marched in protest in Seattle, while the Timbers Army, Portland’s largest supporters group, showed their displeasure as well:
Missed this yesterday – in SEA, @WeAreECS marched in silently in solidarity w/#DCU supporters (h/t @AmericanCasual1) pic.twitter.com/0Ysuj5i10Z
— Pablo Maurer (@MLSist) April 17, 2016
.@timbersarmy w/a nice little tip of the cap to @DistrictUltrasX…. w/smoke, even! #DCU ?: @caitlinmurr pic.twitter.com/1BJgBKbWAM
— Pablo Maurer (@MLSist) April 14, 2016