MATCHCENTER

BOYDS, Md. — D.C. United may be struggling in MLS play, but their U.S. Open Cup campaign has been a very different story and they extended their tournament run with an assured 2-0 quarterfinal victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders on Wednesday night.

United were gifted a goal in the first minute of the match and kicked on from there, using crisp possession to outwit the athleticism and intensity of their USL-2 foes. Branko Boskovic and Boyzzz Khumalo chipped in the goals for D.C. on a mellow night at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

D.C. coach Curt Onalfo mixed a number of reserves into the first XI for his team’s third match in six days. Boskovic was given his first United start, pairing with Curt Morsink in central midfield as Stephen King dropped to right fullback alongside Carey Talley, Barry Rice and left back Devon McTavish, while goalkeeper Bill Hamid made his first appearance in several weeks.

GOALS

	VS
D.C. UNITED		HARRISBURG

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Comparison

	D.C. UNITED		HARRISBURG
SHO Shots				SHO Shots
SOG Shots on Goal				SOG Shots on Goal
SVS Saves				SVS Saves
F Fouls				F Fouls
OFF Offsides				OFF Offsides
CK Corner Kicks				CK Corner Kicks

A Harrisburg defensive error handed D.C. a golden opportunity just 45 seconds into the match as center back Jerrit Thayer misplayed a straightforward clearance of McTavish’s through ball, allowing Santino Quaranta to break into the penalty box alone. His cutback to Boskovic set up the Montenegrin with a clear look at goal from 12 yards out and he did not miss, calmly drilling his finish past goalkeeper Danny Cepero to give United a very early lead.

D.C. striker Danny Allsopp beat the City Islanders’ offsides trap seven minutes later and saw his angled shot deflected wide of the net as the Black-and-Red continued to control the proceedings.

Harrisburg midfielder and former Chicago Fire reserve Kai Kasiguran flashed a glancing header just wide in the 12th minute as the visitors finally carved out some space for a promising cross from the left flank. Kasiguran was also the protagonist of his team’s next chance some 14 minutes later, latching on to a poor United clearance and hammering a half-volley just over D.C. netminder Bill Hamid’s crossbar as the USL-2 side began to haul themselves into contention.

In the 33rd minute Harrisburg midfielder J.T. Noone drew a yellow card from referee Hilario Grajeda for stepping on Curt Morsink’s leg after the United midfielder slid in to dispossess him with a hard tackle. But for the most part Grajeda showed remarkable patience despite the hard challenges and hot heads all around him, usually electing to chat with the offending parties rather than produce an abundance of yellow cards.

Given the significance of Thayer’s miscue in the game’s opening moments, Harrisburg coach Bill Becher was surely fuming when his side began the second half with another pivotal blunder. Less than two minutes after the restart, United winger Khumalo broke free down the right flank and sized up a far-post cross for teammate Pablo Hernandez, but mishit his delivery towards the City Islanders’ goal.

Cepero was caught completely off guard and could not recover in time as the ball floated over his head and dropped into the upper left corner of the net for a 2-0 D.C. advantage. To his credit, Khumalo made no attempt to conceal his own surprise at the lucky break, flashing a sheepish grin towards the fans along the near sideline.

Harrisburg kept toiling away, chasing gamely while D.C. pinged the ball around the pitch, but the USL-2 side’s inability to maintain possession kept them from mounting sustained pressure on Hamid’s goal. Their frustration finally erupted in the 75th minute when Tyler Ruthven launched himself into a nasty sliding challenge from behind on Khumalo, hacking down the South African and earning himself a straight red card.

With the visitors a man down, the match’s final stages essentially turned into a possession drill for United. McTavish rang an angled shot off the crossbar in the 83rd minute, but Onalfo’s men were content to run down the clock and claim a 2-0 victory that propels them into a semifinal matchup with the Columbus Crew at RFK Stadium on September 1.