Match 1- DC United x New York Red Bulls
April 2, 2006
RFK Stadium
Washington, DC- By Brian Weeks, Monday, April 3, 2006
A simple tactical adjustment made all the difference Sunday afternoon as DC United rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls in the 2006 home opener at RFK Stadium. 23,028 sun-kissed and festive United supporters were treated to a spirited display of attacking soccer in the second half as United responded to the inspired play of second-half sub Alecko Eskandarian. The University of Virginia product returned after a ten-month spell on the sidelines due to complications resulting from a concussion to score United’s first goal in the 55th minute. The goal was his first since he led United to an unprecedented fourth MLS Cup Championship with two first-half goals at the Home Depot Center in November 2004. The stakes were not as high this time around, but Eskandarian’s cathartic celebrations after scoring revealed the true magnitude of his emotions after his long injury layoff. Eskandarian helped to overcome United’s dire first-half performance by leading the fight back from a two-goal deficit.United could be forgiven for having flashbacks to their embarrassing exit from the 2005 MLS playoffs after a first half full of glaring mental errors on defense and anemic attacking forays into the offensive third. The absence of the inspirational Argentine Christian Gomez due to suspension led Coach Peter Nowak to deploy a trio of “destroyers” in central midfield. The triumvirate of Ben Olsen, Brian Carroll, and Clyde Simms struggled to gain control of the match from the opening whistle. United also lost defender Bobby Boswell, fresh off an encouraging off-season, who was relegated to the substitutes’ bench by a case of pharyngitis. The United defense consisted of John Wilson, Facundo Erpen, and Brandon Prideaux from left to right in front of goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Joshua Gros and Freddy Adu manned the wing midfield positions, and Argentine Lucio Filomeno joined Bolivian Jaime Moreno up top.
According to Coach Peter Nowak, United was “too slow and predictable” in their approach play in the first half. United had trouble building possession out of the back in the initial stages, and fell behind in the 15th minute after a piece of brilliance from Frenchman Youri Djorkaeff. Picking the ball up behind the midfield stripe, Djorkaeff set off on a sprint towards the United goal and was taken down by Adu 35 yards out from United’s goal. Djorkaeff stood over the free kick and sent a curling shot towards the upper right-hand corner of Perkins’ goal. Perkins reacted late to the shot and could only get a fingertip to it. Djorkaeff’s world-class strike sent the Red Bulls’ traveling supporters, bussed to RFK with all expenses paid by the new ownership, into frenzy. The Red Bulls’ supporters must have felt they were on their way to a rout when Edson Buddle made it 2-0 three minutes later. A seemingly innocuous cross from the right flank by ex-University of Maryland midfielder Seth Stammler was fumbled by Perkins and the Red Bulls’ new number 11 was on hand to finish into an empty net from eight yards out. Perkins struggled all afternoon coming off his line and did little to impress Nowak as he tries to win the starting job from regular starter Nick Rimando, out injured for the next few weeks with a foot injury. United was outplayed and out hustled in midfield in the first half, with the ageless Chris Henderson leading the workmanlike Red Bulls midfield. Facundo Erpen again struggled with his distribution out of the back, and forwards Moreno and Filomeno, bereft of service out of midfield, had a hard time adapting to the pace of the match. United did have one golden chance to score shortly before halftime. Adu was released down the left by Filomeno and got in behind former United States U-20 National Team teammate Marvell Wynne. However, Red Bulls’ goalkeeper Tony Meola cut down the angle well as Adu elected to shoot near post with his left foot. The resulting corner kick was cleared to safety, and United headed to the locker room in need of inspiration and attacking ideas.
The shadows slowly crept towards La Barra across the newly sodded turf of RFK Stadium as United emerged from the tunnel to start the second half. The shade may have cooled the emotions of the Red Bulls, but it seemed to give United the extra energy it lacked in the unseasonably warm sunshine which beat down mercilessly in the first half. The insertion of Eskandarian for Clyde Simms, the least effective of a generally ineffective central midfield triumvirate, necessitated a tactical realignment which went begging in the first half. Eskandarian became the point man in a three-man forward line, with Jaime Moreno on the right and Lucio Filomeno on the left, both slightly withdrawn. United played with three in midfield, all of them pinched centrally, as Olsen, Carroll, and Adu began to assert their will after a lackluster first half. Josh Gros took Prideaux’s right back position as Prideaux moved inside to partner Erpen in central defense. The Red Bulls continued with the same lineup which had frustrated United in the opening stanza.
United looked like a different side from the opening whistle of the second half. They were able to establish the tempo which was so lacking in the first half as the Red Bulls sat back and launched speculative long balls which United’s four-man backline easily dealt with. Olsen was all over the field in the first five minutes, and his blast from 25 yards out in the 50th minute was an early warning to the Red Bulls defense. Gros was able to exploit the space on the right flank created by Nowak’s tactical realignment to assist on United’s first goal in the 55th minute. Gros made a surging run down the right and crossed from near the corner flag. The beautifully struck cross was met with a rasping first-time drive from Eskandarian’s left foot at the corner of the six-yard box. Meola was helpless as the ball flew past him, and United was back in the match. United continued to pepper Meola with shots, and the Red Bulls looked even more disjointed than United had in the first half. The Red Bulls youthful and inexperienced defense of Wynne, Jeff Parke, Carlos Mendes, and Taylor Graham were undone by Eskandarian’s pace and persistence and the constant pressure being forced on them from all angles as United attacked in waves. The giant Graham, newly signed from the Kansas City Wizards and starting in central defense, seemed particularly shaky in the second half as Meola was forced to make four saves on United’s eight shots. By contrast, the Red Bulls had eight shots in the entire game. United’s equalizer came from an unlikely source. Adu played a wonderfully flighted cross-field pass to Ben Olsen at the corner of the 18 yard box. Olsen controlled and teed the ball up for an onrushing Facundo Erpen who struck the ball first time from 25 yards out. The ball took a slight deflection off defender Jeff Parke on its way past Meola. The goal was the Argentine’s second in his DC United career. Parke had a wonderful opportunity to make amends in the 79th minute, but he contrived to miss an open net after Perkins had misjudged an Amado Guevara corner kick. The introduction of Santino Quaranta for Lucio Filomeno added an injection of energy into a United side lagging a bit after clawing their way back from two goals down. Quaranta had United’s best opportunity to grab the winner when his blast from over 35 yards out was punched away by Meola in the 82nd minute. United, perhaps missing the set-piece prowess of Boswell, was unable to connect on a number of corner kicks in the dying moments of the match.
United will be back in action next weekend at RFK when they take on a new-look Chivas USA side, 3-0 winners over Real Salt Lake on Sunday. For Nowak and the rest of the team, the second-half performance went a long way towards regaining some of the pride lost after a flat first half. The contributions of Eskandarian didn’t go unnoticed either. Nowak said, “Alecko is always a very valuable member to our team… we were very anxious to bring him back.” Nowak may be tempted to start Eskandarian against Chivas after his stellar performance off the bench Sunday. With Gomez coming back into contention, Nowak could have a selection headache on his hands, especially after Quaranta’s encouraging display. Besides Rimando’s injury, United should be fully healthy after a remarkably even-tempered match against United’s Atlantic Cup rivals. There were a total of 31 fouls and four cautions in Sunday’s match, and the play never degenerated into the proverbial kicking match. For their part, the Red Bulls look like a solid, compact side with questions in defense. Mo Johnston, who has never lost to United, should benefit from having a full preseason with the team, and they will look to improve on last season’s fourth place finish.