They might not look like dominant victories, but D.C. United just keeps rolling along. Winning for the fifth game in a row -- the fourth time by a 1-0 score -- and extending their unbeaten streak to 12 games, the best team in MLS record-wise defeated the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
Alecko Eskandarian scored the game's only goal from a free kick in the 42nd minute. Then, United were forced to survive the final 25 minutes a man down after Eskandarian was sent off for violent conduct.
United nearly struck early in the match's 12th minute when a streaking Ben Olsen caught the rebound of an Eskandarian offering and sent a shot in the direction of a vacant Crew goal. At the last moment, the Crew's Ezra Hendrickson cut into the goalmouth and prevented Olsen's shot from crossing the line.
D.C. again threatened in the match's 35th minute. United defender Facundo Erpen progressed to within 25 yards of 'keeper Noah Palmer and delivered a screaming shot goalward -- only to have it come back off the crossbar.
Despite a series of Crew attempts that often misfired, it was United who took the lead just before the halftime break. Crew midfielder Jose Retiz recklessly tackled Olsen some 28 yards from the Crew, and Eskandarian blasted a left-footed shot through the Columbus four-man wall to beat a surprised Palmer.
Looking for the equalizer, the Crew nearly struck early in the second half on a free kick from about the exact position as Eskandarian's first-half effort. Eddie Gaven took the restart in the 48th minute and sent a precisely placed ball beyond an outstretched Troy Perkins only for it to land harmlessly five feet right of the United goal.
In the 65th minute a skirmish between Marcos Gonzalez and Eskandarian resulted in a red card for the match's lone goalscorer. Eskandarian foolishly reacted to a collision between the two, and with the help of an exaggerated fall to ground from Gonzalez, caught the unamused eye of referee Mauricio Navarro who sent off the United forward.
In the 75th minute, the Crew narrowly missed the equalizer on a pair of beautifully placed corner kicks from the foot of Retiz. Both offerings found the foreheads of Crew defenders Chad Marshall and Gonzalez, but were quickly gathered in by Perkins.
There was one final threat to the United goal. A cross from the right found Sebastian Rozental at the far post, and he headed back across goal, but the charging Joseph Ngwenya just couldn't direct it on frame.
After four minutes of injury time, United held on to their one-goal advantage, and still have yet to lose for more than two months.
Ryan D. Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
