Champions collide in CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal - first leg
- By Joseph Schoenbauer Thu, April 7, 2005
DC United’s first game of the year at RFK Stadium against Mexican league champions Pumas had a special feeling to it as you reached the stadium. It was a buzz that was noticeably similar to the last time fans filled the stadium when DC United was playing for a spot in the MLS Cup final against the New England Revolution. Last night, after playing only one regular season game so far this season, DC United found itself, once again, playing for a spot in a final. And the significance was noticeable. In attendance were quite possibly the three biggest and important names in US Soccer today. Colorado billionaire Phil Anschutz, the owner of DC United and investor in MLS, Bruce Arena, the US National Team head coach, and Don Garber, the Commissioner of MLS were all in attendance and helped to make up the 21,185 lively fans that filled the lower bowl. And the fans could not have been disappointed with the show.
Pumas set the tone from the first whistle as only seconds into the game, Fernando Espinosa volleyed from 30-yards out, forcing goalkeeper Nick Rimando into a leaping save that led to a corner. Not to be out done, Jaime Moreno and company were quick on the attack as well, forcing two corners drawn by good play on the wings from Jaime Moreno and Josh Gros. On 9 minutes, Jaime Moreno was involved again when he fed a through ball to the speeding Ben Olsen through the center of the Pumas defense. Olsen reached it, but couldn’t properly connect with it and the ball squirmed out for a goal kick.
However, it was only a sign of things to come. In the 10th minute, a Pumas possession was broken up well inside DC United’s own half. Guppy reached the ball first and fed Moreno on the left side of the midfield. Without hesitation, Moreno was off on a brilliant individual effort, dancing by one sliding defender into open space. As he sped down the left wing, Gomez instinctively made a perfect run down the center of the field and into the box. Moreno, completely composed and nearing the end line, found him with a precise left footed cross around an oncoming defender. Gomez made no mistake, finishing off the counter attack with an unstoppable header.
La Barra Brava and the Screaming Eagles fans erupted in song, showing us that while RFK may look different these days, they still know how to make it bounce. Unfortunately for La Barra Brava, the Screaming Eagles, and the rest of the DC United fans in attendance, they were not in the majority. Of the 21,185 fans in attendance, around 75% of them were proud Mexicans cheering for the opposition, who are exactly the fans MLS Commissioner Don Garber wants filling the MLS stadiums on a regular basis.
Soon after DC United’s goal, Pumas began to dominate possession completely, resulting in chants of “DC U-ni-ted” being followed by chants of “Me-hi-co, Me-hi-co.” Much of Pumas possession was as a result of center midfielder Leandro Augusto. Calm and skillful on the ball, his influence on the game grew stronger as the game clock ticked. His running with the ball was strong, especially when coupled with his left footed distribution. His main target throughout the night was the lively and ever present Brazilian left winger Ailton, who was keeping right back David Stokes, filling in for the injured Bryan Namoff and flu-struck Brandon Prideaux, on his toes at all times.
It was this play that led to Pumas’s chances for the rest of the half. Twice Pumas could have scored, after crosses from the left found Fernando Espinosa and Gerardo Galindo on separate occasions. Both players connected well, but could not get their shots on target, as one sailed high and the other flew on the ground by goal keeper Rimando’s right post. As the half wore on DC United looked to be bunkered into what resembled a 4-5-1 formation, with Steve Guppy pinned in at left back, and Jaime Moreno and Alecko Eskandarian dropping back on the left and right side of midfield, leaving Christian Gomez furthest forward in the middle. The team, as a whole, was soaking up pressure like a thick sponge. At the heart of it all was the defensive unit of Mike Petke, Bobby Boswell and David Stokes, who were proving themselves to be strong in the tackle. To the chagrin of Coach Nowak, their passing out of the back, when they did win the ball, was not finding teammates, and the pressure was never relieved for long before it came straight back.
But DC United proved that while pinned back soaking up pressure, they could still be dangerous on the counter. After more half chances by Pumas, which included a dangerous run by Bolivian international Joaquin Botero that was thwarted by an onrushing Rimando, DC almost struck again.
In what was almost a mirror image of his run that produced the games first goal, Jaime Moreno received the ball on the left of midfield. Once again, he flew past a helpless defender on a 40-yard run to reach the end line. This time, it was Brian Carroll making the wind sprint to the far post. Moreno picked him out nicely, but Carroll just couldn’t reach it, and sent the ball far off target and out for a goal kick.
The second half began as the last 35 minutes of the first half had been. Leandro Augusto influence on the game continued to be as strong as his blond “Maxi Lopez” hair was long, and it didn’t look like wavering anytime soon. 5 minutes had passed in the second half when Jaime Moreno was forced all the way back to his own box again. Another cross from Leandro Augusto from the left went long to the other side of the box. Right back Israel Castro anticipated well and found the perfect position. After bringing the ball under control, he turned abruptly away from goal, right into Jaime Moreno’s path, and fell to the ground.
Despite the protests from the DC United players and fans, the referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. After the game, Jaime Moreno chose not to speak to much about the penalty call against him, as he was obviously infuriated by it. Nevertheless, play moved on and Ailton coolly slotted the penalty kick to his left, much to the enjoyment of the thousands of Mexican fans in attendance rooting for Pumas. “Me-hi-co, Me-hi-co” rang out again, but this time it was louder than before.
DC United had a look of frustration on their faces. Just as evident, though, was that DC United’s fitness level began to show as well. It is quite an advantage to Pumas, currently over halfway through their regular season, to be playing a DC United team who just played their very first game of the season on Saturday, and it showed. Steve Guppy didn’t have the legs to make it out of his own half and was finding water bottles on the sidelines 30 minutes into the game. By the time Pumas had equalized, his crosses were floating high and off target. But he was not alone. Christian Gomez couldn’t find the energy to free himself any space in the middle, while Jaime Moreno had several traps get caught under his feet and go out of bounds. Meanwhile, Eskandarian was finding it hard to get any touches of the ball at all. The one player who started the game who didn’t look in need of a break was Josh Gros. Coming off his game-winning goal on the weekend, Gros had energy to burn and used it all night up and down the wing. He was a constant outlet and when Jaime Moreno, Brian Carroll or Ben Olsen did find space for themselves, they could always find Gros available up the wing.
DC United’s first opportunity of the half came surprisingly from David Stokes, who managed for the first time all night, to find time and space to get forward with the ball. After muscling his way past two defenders, he sent in a well placed cross to Ben Olsen who was making a run near the top of the box. Unfortunately, it was just out of reach and Olsen could only snap at it, sending it harmlessly out of play.
Finally, in the 69th minute, Coach Nowak made his much needed first substitution, bringing on Santino Quaranta for Steve Guppy. And the change almost paid off instantly. Gros, who switched over to the left, sent in an in swinger that was cleared only as far as Carroll. Carroll controlled the clearance nicely and shot strongly, but right at Pumas goalkeeper Sergio Bernal.
Much to the hopes of the DC United faithful, it looked as though the substitution had brought life back into the team, and at the same time, sucked a little out of Pumas. For it was their turn to look a little tired. Bolivian forward Joaquin Botero, who arguably had done little, if anything, productive all night, was being neutralized by DC’s defense and right winger Fernando Espinosa had disappeared off the radar.
In the 75th minute, Moreno drew another one of DC’s 7 corners on the night. Stokes, taking advantage of Pumas’s lack of height, rose strongly to Gomez’s ball and forced the goalie to punch clear while seemingly pushing Stokes out of the way in the process. The ball was immediately put back in the box, and Stokes rose high above the rest again, heading the ball towards goal, only for a sliding defender to clear it off the line and away from danger.
Peter Nowak was then forced to make his second change on the night, bringing on Freddy Adu for goal scorer Christian Gomez in the 79th minute, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. And the enjoyment didn’t stop there. 15-year old Freddy Adu sensed the tired legs in the Pumas defense and successfully ran straight at them every time he got the ball. Freddy Adu showed what he is fully capable of in the 90th minute. Picking up the ball on the left, near the half way line, Freddy Adu dribbled straight toward Leandro Augusto, the star of the game, and with ease, went right by him. Augusto played catch-up for the next 20 yards before being forced to haul Adu down from behind, receiving a yellow card in the process. Adu’s resulting free kick, another strong curling ball to the far post, met Petke’s head but Pumas’s defense did enough to force it off target in the end
It what seemed to be an endless amount of injury time, Pumas and DC created chances to steal the win from each other, but both defenses stood firm. The best opportunity fell to Adu once again. Played through by a deft Jaime Moreno pass, Freddy Adu had just one defender to beat. After several shimmies, Adu pushed the ball to the left and shot, but the defender got just enough on it to send it out for a corner kick.
The referee blew the whistle shortly after, bringing the game, filled to the brim with passion from the players and the fans, to an end.
At 1-1, Pumas perhaps went a long way to securing their passage to the final. The 2nd leg is to be played next Wednesday at Pumas’ home stadium in Mexico City, which seats 72,000 and is at a high altitude, making it even harder to breath for the DC United players who are just finding their legs at such an early stage of their season. Pumas also may have the ability to field three more of their top players in Mexican international Jaime Lozano, Argentinean forward Bruno Marioni, and their leading scorer, Diego Alonso. Nevertheless, DC United proved they could score, that they can be dangerous on the counter, that they can be dangerous on set pieces, and that they can get a result over 90 minutes.
Head Coach Peter Nowak reflected on his teams’ performance after the game. He was impressed with Bobby Boswell’s game, sighting he “is a very young player that is going to get experience playing in international games such as these.” He also commented on Freddy Adu, claiming that he “did exactly what we needed for the last 15 minutes [of the game].” However, his lasting quote was about the team as a whole. When asked about the level at which DC United are playing and the chances the team has for progressing to the final of the tournament, Nowak commented honestly, “There is still a lot of work to do.”
Mike Petke was in agreement with his coach, claiming “I expect a lot more pressure next Wednesday.” The odds may be stacked against them, but DC United knows what it takes to win this tournament, and there is still everything to play for.
Notes: DC United’s next game is their season home-opener this Saturday night at RFK Stadium against the Chicago Fire.
The CONCACAF Champions Cup is played over two legs, and the winner is decided on goal difference. Therefore, away goals do not count for more than home goals, meaning next Wednesday’s game will not be decided after 90 minutes in case of a tie.