Jul 5, 2011

United Squander Points in De Rosario Debut

In what has become an all to common occurrence, the Black and Red let two much needed points slip away in a home game against I-95 rivals Philadelphia Union. The match against the Eastern Conference leading Union was also the debut for newly acquired play-maker Dwayne De Rosario who made his presence known throughout the game and assisted on Uniteds' first goal to Captain Josh Wolff in the 43d minute.


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The low light for United came from an own goal courtesy of rookie defender Perry Kitchen which leveled the game at 1-1. A close runner up for bad performance of the evening would have to go to D.C. United forward Charlie Davies who was barely heard from in this match. The leading scorer for United, fans had hoped to see Davies and De Rosario team up to be an unbeatable duo but where surely disappointed from the lack of results.

The highlight of the match was easily the goal from Andy Najar from an amazing distance out that put D.C. back up 2-1, possibly a goal of the year nominee.

Andy Najar talking about his goal:

I’m so happy for the goal I scored. I can’t believe I scored a goal like that from long distance.

However, with the game winding down and United only needing to fend off the Union for less than 5 minutes to assure the much needed 3 points, veteran Carlos Ruiz was able to easily get past the back line of D.C. and tie the game late. In a game where United could have easily made up some ground in the Eastern Conference they instead continued to suffer the same growing pains the team has dealt with all season. Hopefully head coach Ben Olsen can again work his magic to get the best from this lineup in time for a playoff run.

Ben Olsen speaking after the tie:

Overall I am very disappointed for not getting the three points, but I am pleased with some of the performances out there. And it’s not the end of the world. If that [Philadelphia Union] is the number one team in the East, I think we have a good chance. We just have to find a way to close our games when we are up.

Following the disappointing result D.C. United is in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 19 points. Will United make the playoffs, only time will tell.



Will D.C. United make the playoffs?

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