D.C. United welcomed New York City FC to RFK Stadium on Sunday evening, and NYCFC made themselves right at home.
The visitors rode a pair of second-half goals from former Spanish international David Villa and Khiry Shelton to an easy 2-0 victory, their second in as many games. United, on the other hand, slipped further down the table and now sit second-to-last in the Eastern Conference.
Highlights:
The Good: David Villa. With little to smile about on the home side, Villa gave the 14,000 or so fans who showed up at RFK their money’s worth. His 47th-minute goal was his seventh of the year, good enough for the league lead, and it was vintage Villa. The former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid legend was in the perfect spot, smashing his attempt home from 14 yards out.
But it was the build-up to the goal that had Villa smiling after the match. He was clinical in his finish, but heaped a ton of praise on Shelton and Thomas McNamara, who combined craftily around the penalty area on the assist.
“It was a team goal,” Villa told DCist in Spanish. “Un golazo colectivo.”
“I like seeing that,” he continued. “There was buildup there, from one side to the other, like we’ve been working on during the week. Obviously the ball in from Khiry was great and McNamara laid it off perfectly.”
Villa continues to be the model of what a designated player should be in Major League Soccer. In any given game that NYCFC play, he is simply the hardest-working player on the field, bar none.
The Bad: United’s injury woes, Alvaro Saborio. D.C. were dealt an early blow when Patrick Nyarko—who to this point in 2016 has been their most threatening attacking player—left the match with an apparent illness. The former Chicago Fire winger had been suffering with nausea all week.
His absence added to an already-large group of players who are unavailable for selection. Chris Rolfe missed the match, serving a one-game suspension earned for a harsh challenge last week, but it was later revealed that the former USMNT winger had suffered a concussion earlier in the week. His status remains unclear for future matches. Fabian Espindola, United’s go-to up top, failed a pre-game fitness test as he continues to recover from a hamstring ailment. Bill Hamid, D.C.’s first-choice keeper, is also on the mend as he continues to work back from knee surgery.
In place of Espindola, Saborio had a rough night up top. He missed two golden opportunities, badly botching one with a clunky first touch.
Let’s check in on Ben Olsen. Ben?
The Rest: D.C. may get a bit of attacking help sooner than later. Alhaji Kamara, a Sierra Leone international who last played with Norrkoping in Sweden’s top flight, has been in D.C. for a week and talks are underway between his representative and United. There is a wrinkle, though: Alhaji has a heart condition that led to the end of his playing days in Sweden. Doctors stateside, however, seem to have cleared him for play. The Post’s Steven Goff has more on that.
More importantly, though, Alhaji gave us this shining moment. Whatever he does in D.C., he’s already won me over. Here’s him responding to a red card:
