Featuring a team with three players making their first-ever starts in Major League Soccer, D.C. United saw a wonder strike from Freddy Adu give them a first-half lead before settling for a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake on Saturday evening at RFK Stadium.
A wicked free kick from Adu put United ahead just before halftime, but Chris Klein's goal in the 65th minute secured a share of the points for Real and ensured they would not lose to the MLS overall leader this season. RSL claimed a bitterly contested 2-1 win in July in Salt Lake City.
With everyday starters Bobby Boswell, Josh Gros and Christian Gomez suspended due to yellow card accumulation, D.C. coach Peter Nowak's first XI was expected to feature a new look, but the changes were nonetheless dramatic as Stephen deRoux, Matias Donnet and Rod Dyachenko earned their first-ever league starts for United.
Nick Rimando manned the nets for the first time in a league match this season, while the back line in front of him was totally reshuffled as Prideaux orchestrated affairs in the center with Bryan Namoff and Facundo Erpen to his left and right, respectively -- a reversal of their usual spots.
Right away, local product deRoux showed work rate and quick feet as he roamed the left wing, creating the game's best early chances with two aggressive runs at Real right back Kevin Novak, but both shots narrowly missed at the near post.
The restructured United squad lacked the fluidity their home fans have come to expect, with many passing moves breaking down due to an inadequate final ball. But their understanding improved with time and the fans expressed their approval when Donnet produced a stylish back heel that led to a wicked curling shot from Adu to the far post, though the attempt carried just wide.
United crafted a well-worked set piece off a 27th-minute corner kick, with Donnet and Moreno playing a one-two that allowed the newly-arrived Argentinian to whip an inswinging cross to the far post - but the unmarked Namoff arrived an instant too late and couldn't steer the ball inside the woodwork.
But mercurial Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams came even closer a minute later, taking down Jason Kreis' sweeping cross then flicking it over Donnet's head to set up a quick volley that skimmed just high of Rimando's crossbar.
The speed and footwork of deRoux and Adu broke down the right side of the Salt Lake defense yet again in the 34th minute, but Moreno looked uncharacteristically awkward as he lost control of Adu's cross deep in the Real box and allowed Eddie Pope to clear.
Without Gomez, their typical source of inspiration, D.C. needed a new face to step up - and in the first half's dying moments Adu staked his claim with two game-changing plays.
First Adu's quick touch earned his team a free kick in a menacing location just outside the RSL penalty area as the late-arriving Williams chopped him down. Then the Ghanaian-born teenager stepped up and bent a vicious shot over the wall and into the upper corner past a flat-footed Scott Garlick, giving United a 1-0 lead and eliciting a tremendous roar from the RFK crowd.
The drive caught former United netminder Garlick out of position as he seemed to expect a right-footed effort from Donnet on the play, but it mattered little as Adu's strike was hit with swerving power and immaculately placed.
Salt Lake striker Kreis is striving to protect his all-time MLS scoring record as Moreno, his nearest competitor, continues to rack up goals, but the former Dallas Burn legend nearly gave himself career tally No. 107 after latching onto a Mehdi Ballouchy through ball and driving a blast to the near post in the 55th minute. But Rimando parried the goalbound effort wide and then made an even bigger save on Ballouchy's well-hit shot following the ensuing corner kick.
Between the controversial conclusion to their previous match - a 2-1 Real victory in Utah featuring two last-minute RSL penalty kicks - and a contentious preseason incident involving Nowak and Atiba Harris, the two sides have a checkered history and Saturday's proceedings rapidly grew ill-tempered as the second half unfolded.
The volatile Cunningham clashed repeatedly with Namoff, eventually earning a yellow card for kicking the D.C. defender in the face while contesting for a corner, then Toledo had to pull out a succession of yellow cards as the two clubs continued to tussle and exchange heated words.
But Cunningham got the last laugh five minutes after the hour mark as he set up the equalizer RSL was craving. The former U.S. international bolted past Prideaux and drew Rimando off his line, then laid the ball back to Klein for a one-time shot just inside the far post that took immediate advantage of the D.C. 'keeper's poor positioning.
The winger's goal drew Real level and jarred United's budding confidence, though Erpen nearly struck back a few minutes later, stripping Williams in his own box and clipping a low drive off the base of Garlick's near post.
His coach recently declared that he's running on heart alone after his draining World Cup expedition, and Ben Olsen's gutty performance in the center of the park was proving that statement as the veteran dashed tirelessly from box-to-box before coming off in place of Matt Nickell in the 82nd minute, fully committed but clearly exhausted.
Three minutes prior, he had come close to finding a well-deserved goal after running onto a chipped Adu through ball into the box and spinning away from Nowak to slap a low angled shot through traffic. Garlick's view was obstructed but one of his defenders got a touch to deflect the effort and Douglas Sequeira poked the loose ball over the endline to safety.
Second-half sub Clyde Simms stepped up to Nickell's layoff in the 89th minute and tested Garlick with a rising blast from 20 yards out, but the veteran 'keeper was up to the task with a leaping fingertip save.
Nickell came close with a quick turn-and-shoot in the final minute, but his right-footed drive flew high of the target and Salt Lake was happy to escape the nation's capital with a precious point as they look to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
