D.C. United's recent woes continued on Thursday night as the Black-and-Red underwhelmed their home fans with a flat display against an inspired Columbus Crew side, succumbing 2-1 at RFK Stadium as Alejandro Moreno and Guillermo Barros Schelotto paced the visitors to their second-straight victory at the venerable old facility.
United head coach Tom Soehn essentially ran out his first-choice squad against the Crew, with Colombian center back Gonzalo Martinez having overcome a tight hamstring to return to the first XI.
Brian Carroll, making his first return to RFK after leaving D.C. in the expansion draft over the offseason, fouled Fred to set up an early set piece opportunity for United in the fourth minute - and after Marcelo Gallardo's delivery into the box, Luciano Emilio came within inches of netting the rebound only to be denied by a late block.
Carroll quickly redeemed himself by finding Robbie Rogers with a quick outlet pass that set the winger loose down the right wing, and after gliding past Bryan Namoff the young U.S. international had United goalkeeper Zach Wells at his mercy - not to mention Schelotto lurking to his left - but missed the target with a left-footed drive from 15 yards out.
Jaime Moreno seized on Danny O'Rourke's poor back pass deep in the Crew box in the 13th minute and dribbled in from the left channel, but despite passing options in the center of the box the Bolivian elected to shoot from a tight angle and his low drive skimmed into the outside of the net.
Minutes later, Emilio swung the ball wide for Fred and was rewarded with an excellent cross from his countryman, but despite a clear look at goal from close range, Emilio directed his header right at Crew netminder Will Hesmer.
Schelotto and Devon McTavish were waging an intriguing May-December battle along United's right flank and on the half-hour mark the veteran Argentine's quick feet helped him wrestle past the D.C. utility man and slip a delicate pass into Alejandro Moreno's path.
The Crew striker fought off Gonzalo Peralta to reach the ball just before it reached the endline and angle a cross to Schelotto, who saw the goal open up before him only for Wells to race off his line and throw himself at the former Boca Juniors star's feet, deflecting the shot wide and preserving the 0-0 scoreline.
Taking a cross-field pass down with his chest in the 32nd minute, Gallardo delivered a sublime curling ball right to Jaime Moreno, but the United captain's first touch was uncharacteristically heavy and Hesmer came out to collect gratefully.
Crew targetman Alejandro Moreno had been working hard up top and his efforts finally paid off when he arrived at the near post to cap a pretty passing sequence from the visitors in the 32nd minute. First Schelotto fed Frankie Hejduk's surging run into the D.C. box, and the evergreen right back shrugged off a jersey tug to reach the endline and center for Moreno, who bundled the ball home from close range despite Namoff's best efforts.
The goal stunned the RFK faithful and continued the Venezuelan's remarkable habit of scoring against United, both as a member of the Crew and in his time with the Houston Dynamo.
Soon after, Emilio latched onto Gallardo's far-post chip and seemed to have maneuvered past Hejduk only to hit the turf with the center back's arm around his midsection, but referee Jair Marrufo waved to play on, much to the displeasure of the United fans.
Namoff had been getting forward a bit from his right back spot and he took a stab at goal from long range that skipped just wide of Hesmer's right-hand post - but got an even better look just moments later when Emilio took possession at the top of the 18-yard box and spotted his late run down the right channel. Namoff collected the pass and drove a shot towards the far post, but Adam Moffat's sliding block completely redirected the effort and sent it spinning past a bewildered Hesmer to level matters at 1-1.
But the deadlock only lasted a matter of seconds. Columbus pushed forward immediately after the ensuing kickoff and Moffat somehow navigated through a sea of black jerseys and looped a right-wing cross over Wells and into the goalmouth, where Moreno jousted with Peralta and seemed to nod a header in - though a late clearance off the line led Marrufo to look for corroboration from assistant referee Steven Taylor before awarding the goal.
But upon closer review at the half, the final touch proved to have come off Peralta and while Moreno's challenge had clearly played a critical role in handing his team the lead, the tally was officially ruled an own goal.
Hejduk was logging another active evening along the Crew's right flank and he tried to follow his opposite number Namoff's lead in the 54th minute, cutting inside and lashing a rare left-footer on goal, drawing a composed diving save from Wells.
Seemingly content with their advantage, the Crew were sitting back a bit in the second stanza, allowing United to keep possession in less dangerous areas of the field but closing down space in the final third. Soehn clearly didn't like what he saw and yanked off both Moreno and left back Marc Burch, shifting his side into a 3-4-3 with substitutes Rod Dyacehnko and Franco Niell up front alongside Emilio.
Despite close attention from Carroll and the rest of the Columbus midfield, Gallardo tried to drag his side back into the match, floating deeper to collect the ball and taking on players with more aggression than he'd shown in previous matches. In the 67th minute his excellent in-swinging cross from the left seemed to have set up Fred for a short-range equalizer at the far post, but the Brazilian badly skewed his shot and Hesmer breathed a sigh of relief.
United huffed and puffed in search of the tying goal, but pass after pass went awry and the home side's frustration became apparent. Backing up on big center back Chad Marshall, Emilio was constantly offering himself as a target around the top of the box but he seemed unable to link up with his teammates' runs and was often dispossessed as the Columbus defense collapsed around him.
With time ebbing away, the Crew tried to kill time and relieve their defense by pushing forward and keeping possession in the D.C. end. But in the 89th minute Schelotto nearly conjured up the game-clinching goal all by himself, splitting Namoff and Peralta with some quick touches that forced Wells to come out and save at his feet, though the resulting corner kick helped his team burn off more of the clock.
Though the visitors - who had brought on Stefani Miglioranzi and Ezra Hendrickson to help secure the lead - were in full bunker mode, everyone in a black jersey seemed to be waiting for a teammate to create a chance or deliver a final pass. Peralta tried to take matters in his own hands, eyeing up a long-distance shot that fizzed just wide of Hesmer's right post.
That proved to be United's last meaningful chance of the night, and when Marrufo blew the final whistle the Crew bench rose up to congratulate their teammates on an impressive road result in one of Major League Soccer's most imposing venues.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
