Desperate for a victory after opening the season with three consecutive losses, D.C. United saw the New England Revolution go a man down for the final half-hour but weren't able to grab their first victory of the season, the teams playing to a 1-1 draw Thursday night at RFK Stadium.
Andy Dorman gave the visitors the lead barely seconds into the second half, but Jaime Moreno converted from the penalty spot a scant five minutes later to pull United level. They were then handed a real lifeline when Shalrie Joseph was sent off with a straight red card in the 59th minute, but the Revolution held out to secure a share of the points and deny the home side once again.
Earlier in the week, D.C. coach Tom Soehn had vowed to show no deference to age or reputation in his team selection, and his point was made when the lineup sheet revealed that Jaime Moreno had been relegated to the substitutes' bench in favor of new signing Nicholas Addlery up top, while Clyde Simms was favored over Brian Carroll at holding midfielder.
The new-look United quickly showed signs that they recognized the urgency of the occasion, dominating possession and stringing together better passing moves than in previous matches - though the visiting Revolution by and large looked content to keep their shape and let the action play out in front of them.
Though nominally still using a 3-5-2 formation, United had Josh Gros dropping deep enough to effectively be a left wingback, reminiscent of last year's hybrid 4-3-3 shape, while Fred often left his right wing spot to roam elsewhere in search of the ball.
The tactic also gave Bryan Namoff more license to roam forward and the veteran defender showed attacking intent when he cut inside and took a left-footed shot that was blocked by a teammate, though the sequence was soon negated by an offside flag.
United seemed to be trying to draw the deep-lying New England defense out with shots from range, as first Olsen tried his luck in the 12th minute, bringing a routine save, then Fred took an opportunity to test Reis in the 22nd minute, drawing a sharp but straightforward diving stop from the goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, the Brazilian took over Gomez's normal role as a corner kick taker and the switch nearly paid dividends when his delivery flew through the box and fell to Gomez on the far side, giving him time to loft a curling shot that Reis had to parry over the crossbar.
Then shortly afterwards, Gomez was hacked down just outside the Revs box to give United a promising free kick opportunity, but the Argentinean smacked his shot into the wall.
Fred began a lightning-quick move with a nimble "sombrero" of Andy Dorman in the 39th minute, lifting the ball over the Welshman's head and turning to find Gomez, then racing into the box to receive the return pass - but Michael Parkhurst made an unorthodox, yet timely, intervention to dispossess the former Australian league MVP before he could unleash a shot.
At the other end, the Revolution's attacking forays were rare but menacing, as Khano Smith uncorked two left-footed blasts, the second off a free kick, both of which curled marginally high and wide of Troy Perkins' net.
United's first 45 minutes had offered encouraging signs of a revival, and Moreno's second-half introduction in place of Addlery drew an appreciative cheer from the RFK faithful - but the visitors grabbed a 1-0 lead while they were still taking their seats for the second stanza.
Barely 30 seconds after the whistle, Shalrie Joseph curled a well-weighted ball over the top for Twellman, who caught Facundo Erpen out of position at the edge of the D.C. penalty area. The diminutive hit man lashed a first-time shot that Perkins parried right into Dorman's path, and the Boston University graduate slotted a simple finish into an empty net to stun the home crowd.
But the Black-and-Red didn't take long to respond, drawing level just five minutes later thanks to a penalty call from referee Terry Vaughn. Moreno was chasing down a long ball into the Revs box that looked to be a lost cause, until he was bowled over by an untidy body check from James Riley.
Vaughn immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the spot, and Moreno stepped up to knock his 106th career goal past Reis to restore parity at 1-1. Now just two goals behind Jason Kreis -- who retired earlier in the day to become head coach of Real Salt Lake -- on the league's all-time scoring list, it was remarkably just the second goal Moreno has scored after coming off the substitutes' bench.
The equalizer energized the home fans and got United's tails up, as even Moreno and Emilio backtracked deep into defense to chase the ball and harry the Revolution on their rare ventures into the attacking half.
The momentum which had first gone New England's way was quickly swinging in the other direction, and then Vaughn made another momentous call to complete the switch and hand D.C. a tremendous break.
Joseph seemed to be showing commitment, not malice, when he slid in to challenge Olsen as he received a pass some 30 yards out from the United goal. But the big Grenadian missed the ball entirely as Olsen flicked it in the other direction and Vaughn decided that the tackle was excessively reckless, brandishing a straight red card to send Joseph to an early shower and give D.C. a man advantage.
The sending-off drove the Revolution even further into their shell, as coach Steve Nicol telegraphed his desire to escape Washington with a point by leaving Twellman virtually alone up top despite the introduction of Adam Cristman, and the midfield focused on snuffing out United's combination play in the final third of the field.
So far Fred had done everything for his new team short of scoring, and he should have opened his United account in the 63rd minute when Gomez and Emilio combined nicely down the right channel, allowing Emilio to send a low cross to his countryman at the penalty spot, but Jay Heaps flew in with a well-timed deflection that denied a sure goal.
Olsen was now unloading long shots at will as the Revs defense constantly dropped back to keep the United strike force from getting behind them. He came close with a left-footer that whistled just high, then won a corner when another effort was deflected wide.
Fred picked up a knock and was unable to continue, giving Guy Roland-Kpene the chance to make his United debut as the young Cote d'Ivoire native slotted in up top as Moreno dropped into a withdrawn midfield role.
But for all the home side's domination, they seemed hesitant at the moments when the killer touch was needed. Reis grabbed several saves, but all were of the pedestrian variety until deep into injury time, when he preserved the draw with an otherworldly denial of Emilio.
Perkins had ranged out of his box to take possession and impatiently waved his team forward before lumping a high, deep ball into the Revs box that set off an extended sequence of havoc. Reis' initial punch failed to clear and when the ball fell to Moreno on the right side, he lifted a delicate cross that Olsen met with a leaping header that caromed off the crossbar as RFK emitted a collective groan.
Then seconds later, Namoff clipped another cross into the danger area and Emilio outleaped two defenders to nod a spinning effort towards the far corner of the goal - but Reis shuttled to his right to make a stunning one-handed block at full stretch. Gomez was lurking nearby, but the Revs rearguard was quick to clear and in the end, United left the field disappointed despite picking up their first point of the season.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
