Match 35 - New York Red Bulls x DC United
October 21, 2006
Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey- By Joseph Schoenbauer, Wednesday, October 25, 2006
DC United Emerges Victorious From First Leg of Playoff Series
DC United goes into the second leg of their total-goals series knowing that they have put themselves in prime position to advance to the Eastern Conference finals following their 1-0 away victory over the Red Bulls last Saturday.
Speaking on the strategy used to achieve victory in the first leg, head coach Peter Nowak commented, “I am most pleased with every aspect of the game. We controlled the game…We know the game will open in the second half and we will have a chance and were going to score and win the game…We played as a team today, this is more important than anything.”
The lone goal of the game was scored in minute 77 on another brilliant combination between fellow South Americans Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez. Near the top of the box, Gomez found Moreno in a tight space, who duly flicked the ball back into Gomez’s continued run, who then spectacularly clipped the ball just over Red Bull goalie Jon Conway and into the back of the net with the Red Bull defenders chasing back in despair. Gomez’ celebration in front of DC United’s mass of traveling fans showed the emotion involved in the move.
Nowak spoke of the fans following the game, “They can put our fans on the lower bowl, or the high bowl, or maybe outside the stadium and we still will play for them. I’m very thankful to have this kind of fans and the team feels the same about them as they feel about us. They can put them in the parking lot and we’re still going to hear them. It was a great effort from them.”
Jaime Moreno continued about the DC United’s fans, “They are always here to support us and it’s always great for us. We don’t have words to say how much we appreciate that and I think they know we are just happy for the way they support us.”
Though it was not difficult to drown out the mere 8,000 Red Bull fans, one certainly cannot take away from the boisterous DC fans that made the 4-hour journey (though it was closer to 6 hours for some of us!).
Back to the game: the goal brought an extra intensity to the last 13 minutes of the game, mostly as New York could see their season slipping away. Their captain and leader, Amado Guevara, was visibly agitated and desperate to carry his team on his shoulders. Unfortunately, one player can’t make up for so many deficiencies, which ultimately led to Guevara’s increased frustration. Following a scramble in DC’s box, which produced a shot that Perkins had to save off his cross bar, Moreno received the ball on the right wing and began to push forward. With full intent to foul, Guevara came sprinting in, taking Moreno’s legs out in the process. With Moreno on the turf, teammate Ben Olsen was having none of it and was on the scene in no time, pushing and yelling in Guevara’s face.
In the locker room, Brandon Prideaux, who entered to close out the game following the goal, was quick to condemn Guevara’s actions, while also realizing that New York is now fighting for their lives, “I thought it was pretty dirty, pretty deliberate. But that’s playoff soccer. You know there’s going to be hard fouls and that’s just the way it goes. There is probably a little frustration that plays into it as well when you’re down 1-0, so he just kicked him because he couldn’t catch him. There will be more of that next week for sure.”
Alecko Eskandarian, who made it through 80 minutes before asking to be subbed off, was keen to focus on the key to the 1-0 victory, “We were very patient. That was the most important thing, being patient. Our defense stepped up big time today. They did a great job. Our goal was whether we score or not we keep it zero in the back. That was the challenge put on us today and our team defense I thought was the best it’s been all year long.”
Bobby Boswell voiced more of the same, “Our goal was to not give up any goals, especially on the road. We wanted to make sure we put ourselves in a good position next week at home. To come out and keep a clean sheet and then get a goal like that is just awesome. It feels good.”
From these comments, it is clear Peter Nowak and DC United had a clear game plan going into the first leg, which was to keep a clean sheet in order to close the game down at home in front of the home fans. DC United did just that.
The second leg is Sunday, 18:00 hours at RFK stadium. So show up early, bring a black shirt (or show up early and get a free one at the gate), and your voice because RFK promises to be jumping. Dale Mi Corazon.