Saturday night's 4-1 victory against Real Salt Lake represents a valuable three points in the standings for D.C. United. But the result could prove to be most valuable as a timely boost for the team's fragile confidence -- and a return to the winning ways that have been so elusive of late.
The final scoreline flattered United and obscured a slow, tentative start that nearly ceded the early advantage to Real, as head coach Tom Soehn was quick to note afterwards. He'll be glad to use the performance as a first step on D.C.'s road back to full form, however.
"I think it's important to get the result, but we still have to be hard on ourselves and know that, on the day, I don't think the soccer was good enough, especially in the first half," said Soehn. "I thought the effort was there, but we still have some things to work on. But winning is a habit and if you get a result, it's important right now for us."
The home side benefited greatly from two penalty kick calls by referee Baldomero Toledo, both of which were ably dispatched by captain Jaime Moreno -- who admitted that his training-ground history with RSL goalkeeper and ex-United teammate Nick Rimando prompted him to put extra thought into his bold 31st-minute chip. But given their recent struggles he and his teammates surely felt deserving of a bit of good fortune.
"We knew that we had to win no matter what, and we worked so hard all week to try to eliminate all the mistakes that we've been having and today shows that we're going in the right direction," said the seasoned Bolivian. "We still have to work on some things but a win is a win."
Right from the start, Soehn gave notice that he and his squad had put their nine-day break following last Thursday's loss to Columbus to good use, revealing a 3-5-2 formation that had been a mainstay under former boss Peter Nowak but was ditched after last season's slow start.
The configuration gave United an extra man in the center of the park, but the resulting advantage in possession did not translate into attacking menace until Soehn replaced Dan Stratford with Rod Dyachenko in search of more two-way play shortly before halftime. Working in concert with Marcelo Gallardo and Clyde Simms, the Russian-born midfielder covered plenty of ground to protect the back line and feed the D.C. attack.
"He's more of an attacking player," said Simms. "Maybe Dan and I were holding a little too much. But we started out flat as a team -- I feel like we had a lot of unforced turnovers. So Rod came on and he did well."
For his part, Gallardo produced a more assertive display in his playmaking role, ranging forward more aggressively than in past matches and uncorking a game-high four shots -- the last of which was a stunning angled volley into the upper corner to cap the evening's scoring in fine style.
"We talked all week about getting him involved in the attack a little bit more, and pushing himself a little higher," said Soehn. "To his credit, he listened and I thought he got involved a lot more ... and he scored a great goal."
United will look to continue their resurgence under more demanding circumstances next Sunday: the annual road trip to Colorado which has historically been a horror show for the capital club.
"We definitely needed this win, especially by a big margin like this," said Dyachenko. "We've been talking about it all week and it just feels so good to come out and finalize what we had to do. It's a great lift, psychologically, for the team and hopefully this carries us on."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
