Match 2- DC United x Olimpia (Honduras)
March 1, 2007
RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.- By Joseph Schoenbauer, Friday, March 2, 2007
He may have claimed he did not have the killer instinct because he was facing his old team, but newly acquired Brazilian forward Emilio still had no problems scoring twice. His game-winning goal in the 84th minute gave DC United a 3-2 win on the night and 7-3 score on aggregate over CD Olimpia of Honduras in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The victory came before a rain-soaked crowd of just over 8,000 fans at Estadio RFK on a stormy night in which allegiances were spread evenly between fans of DC United and of Hondurans cheering on their country’s most successful club team in recent years.
With the first leg finishing 4-1 to DC United, CD Olimpia knew they had a mountain to climb and started in earnest, using the quick field conditions to make several swift moves down the wings in the opening minutes only to find no one on the receiving end of some good balls played through the penalty area.
DC United’s attacking triangle of Gomez, Moreno and Emilio was always going to be dangerous on the break with Olimpia pressing forward and their experience in these situations showed. All three looked especially comfortable on the ball and combined for DC United’s first clear chance of the half near the 20 minute mark. Gomez broke free of his marker early in the move before finding Moreno positioned near the left hand side of the penalty box. Using his quick feet, he found Emilio before making a darting run forward into the box. Emilio magically found a way to get the ball through his tight markers and soon Moreno found himself in all alone with the keeper before unfortunately slipping his shot just wide.
Left winger Josh Gros, who looked to have gained in confidence following his first international cap with the US National team in the recent victory over Mexico, was also consistently involved, making smart moves up the line and holding the ball before getting other players involved.
The same confidence could not be seen in United’s backline however, perhaps because of the relentless pouring rain. In a 3-man backline, Facundo Erpen on the right and Bryan Namoff on the left were both guilty of poor passing or decision making, and it was duly punished in the 30th minute when Namoff failed to clear before cutting down Wilfred Barahona in the box with a sliding tackle.
Hendry Thomas finished the penalty down the middle, with Troy Perkins guessing to his right, much to the delight of the Hondurans in attendance.
Their lead lasted a mere 7 minutes. Moreno once again received a long ball out on the left side and proceeded to tease Olimpia’s defense before touching the ball back to Emilio who was waiting near the top of the box. With one touch back to his left, Emilio left 3 defenders out of position before neatly converting through the goalies legs to take the aggregate back to 5-2.
With Ben Olsen and the speedy Jamil Walker in at halftime, DC United looked to exploit Olimpia’s need to score three goals to level the aggregate score. 3 goals turned to 4 goals moments after halftime when Ben Olsen was tripped up in the box, gifting Christian Gomez a goal from the penalty spot in minute 49, his third goal in 2 games.
A further two goals in the second half, from Jose Pacini of Olimpia in minute 75 and a second from Emilio in minute 84 meant DC United was victorious 3-2 and moving on to meet CD Chivas de Guadalajara in the semifinals.
Chivas defeated W Connection in the quarterfinals, leaving it all to play for in the second leg having gone down 2-1 at W Connection. However, they made it look easy in the second leg, winning 3-0 despite missing a penalty with Mexican International Medina running the midfield and Sergio Santana, who weighed in with 2 goals, looking strong up front.
DC United can take some positives out of W Connection’s first leg victory over Chivas. It showed that they are not unbeatable and also that they will concede goals, especially on the road. However, DC United will do well to perform better than their last test against Mexican opposition in the competition. In the first leg tie with Pumas UNAM, DC United came away with a 1-1 draw at Estadio RFK, but was soundly beaten 5-0 in the second leg in Mexico.
Chivas is arguably a much better team now than Pumas was at that time, as they were last in their group and Hugo Sanchez was a short time away from getting fired.
As to be expected with DC United’s leading players, Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen had no qualms about matching up with Chivas in the next round.
Moreno was quick to the point: "That's what we want. We want to play with better teams so we get better, and I think everybody should be happy because it'll be an exciting game."
While Ben Olsen chose to reflect on past experiences: "I'm glad they went through and I'm glad we get a chance to play them. I've been to Guadalajara; I've been to that stadium, played in that stadium many times… It's going to be fun, and a great experience... They're (Chivas) good; they know what they're doing, so we've got our work cut out for us."
The work will begin March 15, when DC United will host Chivas at Estadio RFK. Please visit www.dcsoccer.com or DC United’s website, www.dcunited.com for ticket information.