D.C. United successfully negotiated sloppy conditions and ornery opposition to get the result they needed in their tricky second-leg CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal with CD Olimpia at RFK Stadium on Thursday night, a 3-2 victory sparked by their blossoming South American strike trio.
It looked like a different story when the visitors took a 1-0 lead on the half-hour as a waterlogged field helped provoke some unsteady play along the D.C. back line. But the Black-and-Red held their nerve and repelled Olimpia's spirited challenge on the strength of a two-goal performance from new arrival Luciano Emilio.
"They came here behind the 8-ball a little bit, and they came out and fought and scrapped," said United head coach Tom Soehn of the Honduran side. "They were the beneficiaries of a lot of second balls, 50-50 balls. I thought we adjusted well at half and took over the play a little bit. But I give them a lot of credit - they fought and gave us everything they could."
D.C. entered the match with a 4-1 aggregate cushion and despite a few defensive hiccups, displayed more of the same promise as in last week's startling result in Central America. Along with his refined finishing, Emilio gave more evidence of why United's braintrust identified him as the missing link in their championship quest, as he combined well with captain Jaime Moreno and on-form playmaker Christian Gomez.
Afterwards, the Brazilian target man continued to be magnanimous towards his former team, but the kind words belied the ruthless effect of his man-of-the-match display.
"Obviously I won a lot of titles with Olimpia, so I really don't feel that killer instinct yet towards them," said Emilio. "They gave me a lot as a player. But overall I'm happy that we won - it was a tough match and I'm glad that we're in the next round."
As United took full control of the contest in the final 30 minutes, Olimpia's disappointment hardened into some bad-tempered tackling and angry lunges.
"They know the game's over, it's pretty frustrating for them and we were starting to play some good soccer towards the end, I thought," said Ben Olsen, who replaced Brian Carroll for the second half as Soehn looked to keep his central midfielders from picking up additional yellow cards in advance of the semifinal round. "It's pretty natural that they're going to take some whacks."
But referee Mauricio Navarro, who awarded each side a penalty kick during the match, took a measured approach to the situation.
"Yeah, you know I think he felt a little bad for them at that point and he was telling us to keep the ball moving, because he knew they were going to come after us," said Olsen.
With the 7-3 win on aggregate against Olimpia, United advances to take on CD Guadalajara (better known as Chivas) in the tournament's semifinals, with the first leg scheduled for March 15 at RFK. The Mexican giants present a substantially more imposing obstacle for the Black-and-Red, but United's veterans are more than ready for the challenge.
"Great," said Moreno when asked to give his reaction to the matchup. "That's what we want. We want to play with better teams so we get better, and I think everybody should be happy because it'll be an exciting game."
Olsen has previously experienced the imposing confines of the Estadio Jalisco on U.S. national team duty, and is relishing the prospect of a high-stakes visit with his club.
"I'm glad they went through and I'm glad we get a chance to play them," he said of Chivas. "I've been to Guadalajara, I've been to that stadium, played in that stadium many times and it's a nice place. It's going to be fun, and a great experience for a lot of the young guys to go down there and play. They're good - they know what they're doing, so we've got our work cut out for us."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
