Helped by a man advantage for more than 40 minutes, D.C. United rode an early goal from Rod Dyachenko and secured a 1-0 SuperLiga win against Mexico's Club America at damp RFK Stadium on Sunday night.
D.C.'s second SuperLiga match played out in a series of unsettling parallels to their first, Wednesday's underwhelming 1-1 draw with Monarcas Morelia. The home side grabbed the lead and controlled much of play -- despite wasting many good chances -- then saw one of their opponents ejected for a foolhardy challenge just minutes after halftime.
"We learned a lot from four days ago," said United head coach Tom Soehn. "Every situation, you have to grow from. I think we did a good job of seeing it out."
This time United kept possession and held their nerve, forcing a tired America side to chase the ball and while the Black-and-Red missed several enticing chances to kill the game off, their defense prevented the Aguilas from directing a single shot on goal.
"Yeah, it's an important game to get the result at home, because we let that last one slip," said Soehn. "The situation was very similar, [but] you use every experience you can to make yourself better, and I thought the guys responded really well. We adjusted our formation better and the energy level was high, and we closed them off, we did a good job with the ball."
Dyachenko ran onto an astute headed layoff from Christian Gomez and lashed home his second goal of the season in the 12th minute, giving United the perfect start and quieting the substantial contingent of America fans among those in attendance.
"From the start we made it a point to go out there with energy, pressure everything out of them," said the Russian-born attacker, "and to get that goal early on was a huge relief for us and just a confidence builder for me personally, also."
With captain Jaime Moreno still sidelined by a hamstring strain, Gomez again inspired his team with another virtuoso performance, leading D.C. with five shots and directing play in his favored territory just behind Dyachenko and Luciano Emilio.
"We got an early goal and we were able to establish control of the ball, and I think that's the way D.C. United plays," said the Argentinean playmaker. "It was important, because they have very dangerous players up top and we were able to keep our concentration throughout the match, unlike Wednesday against Morelia when we couldn't hold on to the result even though we had a man advantage."
Soehn lamented his team's inability to convert more of their many scoring opportunities, but praised the composure his charges showed as they salted away the result with an extended session of keep-away to kill off the second half.
"We had enough chances to open it up and get two or three," said the first-year boss. "So obviously on that side, you're disappointed. As a team, you go through stretches, like I said. It would concern me if we weren't creating chances -- but when it comes, it comes in bundles.
"We had a chance to do that today, so of course you're concerned, but I still feel that on the day I was really proud of the way the guys competed and the way we possessed the ball and put it away."
