Luciano Emilio scored a counterattack goal in stoppage time to give a nine-man D.C. United a surprise 2-1 victory against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park Saturday.
Just minutes after Bryan Namoff was shown a second yellow card, leaving United at a man disadvantage (each team had a player sent off earlier in the half), Emilio struck for the game-winner two minutes into stoppage time.
With the Fire playing far forward looking for the winner on their own, Emilio dribbled down the left side against two Fire defenders, cut inside and hit a right-footed shot inside the near post, beating Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.
Entering the game with an 0-5-1 road record against a Fire team that was 6-2-1 and had given up just six goals all season, United were expected to have trouble getting a point in the game.
Fire coach Denis Hamlett returned midfielder John Thorrington to his lineup after missing two games due to back spasms. That move gave Hamlett what is currently thought to be his strongest lineup, with Chad Barrett up top and Chris Rolfe and Justin Mapp in wide attacking roles.
For United, Gonzalo Peralta returned to the starting lineup after missing United's last game to attend to his pregnant wife. He did return to the lineup for Wednesday's postponed game against Houston at RFK Stadium, after his wife gave birth early in the week.
A tornado warning an hour before the kickoff threatened the start of the game, but the match still started on time.
The game's first scoring threat came in the fourth minute when Fire defender Bakary Soumare stole the ball in the back then dribbled the ball up to about 20 yards out before releasing the ball to Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Blanco's shot was saved by United goalkeeper Zach Wells.
The first controversial moment came in the ninth minute when United defender Gonzalo Martinez received a yellow card for a trip of Blanco in the midfield. Referee Baldomero Toledo's ruling drew some complaints from the United side since Fire midfielder John Thorrington twice fouled United players Fred and Jaime Moreno without receiving a card.
A poor back pass by Thorrington in the 11th minute ended up on the foot of United midfielder Marcelo Gallardo, who charged in at Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch. Thorrington backed up to break up the run and the ensuing corner kick was ineffective.
The Fire took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Chad Barrett in the 27th minute on a play that was pure Blanco. As Wells lined up the ball for a kick, Blanco trotted at him slowly to rush the kick. At the other end, the Fire took possession, and Thorrington sent a long pass up the field. D.C.'s Santino Quaranta sent a back pass but Blanco snuck up from behind the defenders and took possession.
Although he was behind the defenders at the time, he was not offside because the ball came from Quaranta. Blanco waited for Barrett to make his break for the through pass down the middle, and after racing past center back Devon McTavish, Barrett got off a shot inside the area that beat Wells. United players begged for the offside call but Toledo did not comply.
In the 34th minute, Gallardo split the Fire defense with a through ball to Fred sprinting down the left side. With Brandon Prideaux in pursuit, Fred took a dead-on shot at Busch from about eight yards out. Busch deflected the ball, and Fire defenders helped block two more shots by United to keep their 1-0 lead.
Fred had an almost identical opportunity in the 38th minute, and brought it even closer to Busch, within the six-yard box, but Busch again punched out the shot.
At halftime, Fire coach Denis Hamlett sent on forward Calen Carr for midfielder Justin Mapp.
In the 53rd minute, Fire defender Brandon Prideaux and D.C.'s Gallardo got into an argument in the Fire penalty area while play was going on toward the other end of the field. Prideaux and Gallardo knocked heads, but Toledo did not see the contact. At the next stoppage of play, Fire goalkeeper Busch told Toledo what happened, Toledo checked with fourth official Jasen Anno, and then ejected both players from the game.
With Prideaux out, Hamlett substituted defender Dasan Robinson for Thorrington in the 60th minute.
United tied the game in the 63rd minute on a goal by Jaime Moreno, set up by the footwork of Emilio. Emilio dribbled down the right side toward two Fire defenders inside the box, then cut back and sent a shot at Busch, who pushed the ball away with his right hand. Moreno came sliding in ahead of a Fire defender to knock the ball past Busch for the goal.
United nearly then took the lead in the 83rd minute. A 30-yard free kick by substitute Marc Burch hit a Fire defender in the wall and nearly sent Busch the wrong way, but the 'keeper was able to get the slightest touch on the ball to send it onto the crossbar and then over the goal.
The Fire then had a good opportunity of their own when Carr put a snap header directly on goal that Wells saved in the 86th minute.
Namoff had been booked for the first time for a foul on Blanco in the 85th minute, and then in the 89th minute, another foul on Blanco brought another yellow card and expulsion from the game. But instead of the Fire taking advantage, it was United who struck for their first road victory of the season.
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
