D.C. United knew the Chicago Fire were traveling to the nation's capital long on injuries and short on confidence, and the Black-and-Red showed little mercy toward their Eastern Conference rivals with an economical 3-1 victory before a dynamic crowd at RFK Stadium.
From the outset, the Fire's defense-first approach signaled their limited ambitions, but a sixth-minute goal from Rod Dyachenko spoiled those hopes and the result was effectively sealed just six minutes after halftime, when Luciano Emilio notched his second tally of the evening to run the score to 3-0.
"They were bunkering in," said D.C. boss Tom Soehn of his former team. "They played with one forward and had everybody else behind the ball. To get teams out of that you have to score and our guys went after them pretty good, pressured them and created some good quality chances early in the game."
While Dyachenko's first professional goal was gift-wrapped by goalkeeper Matt Pickens' fumble, United took full advantage of the lucky break, controlling possession and probing the Fire's back line as Christian Gomez crisply marshaled United's attack before exiting the match with a minor foot injury in the 66th minute.
"We were fortunate enough to get that early goal, which helped for the remainder of the game," said D.C.'s playmaker. "The margin could have been wider than 3-1, but I think as a whole the team played very well."
The Argentinean found Emilio with a well-weighted chip over the Fire backline for D.C.'s second score, and it was a Gomez shot that nicked off Pickens' hands and fell to the Brazilian striker for his point-blank finish in the 51st minute. After a barren stretch in May, Emilio's scoring form has risen with the summer temperatures: he's hit three goals in his last two matches.
"Obviously I'm very happy," said the former Honduran league star. "We forwards make our living scoring goals, and I've had a couple opportunities lately and I've been able to put them in the back of the net."
Fire fans are still awaiting the midseason arrival of high-profile designated player signing Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and will only feel more impatient after watching Emilio's goalscoring celebration -- a sendup of the Mexican legend's "matador" pose.
"I always look at the videos of the bullfighters, and I've always wanted to do something similar like Blanco's celebration," he said afterwards. "So I figured the next time I scored I was going to do a celebration like that."
Although D.C.'s bid for their second shutout of the season was thwarted by a well-hit strike by rookie Jerson Monteiro, the United back line limited their guests to just two shots on goal. Devon McTavish performed ably in place of suspended United center back Bobby Boswell, working well with Facundo Erpen to snuff out Chicago's rare forays forward, while goalkeeper Troy Perkins took a more active role to compensate for the vocal Boswell's absence.
"I've been playing some reserve games [at center back], so it wasn't like I was blind back there," said McTavish. "I was pretty familiar with it and the whole back line helped me out. Everyone was talking, Troy especially."
The victory vaults United past Chicago in the standings and extends their unbeaten streak to seven games as they enter a stretch of four matches in 22 days that features three far-flung road trips. The Black-and-Red's early-season struggles now seem far behind them as their attack shows more and more fluidity with each game.
"I think you can see the chemistry starting to click," said defender Bryan Namoff. "You see players with a lot more confidence in each other and I think we're learning each other's runs a bit more. You're seeing a lot more combination play and that's what we've been looking for."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
