Down 2-1 early in the second half, D.C. United got a tying goal from all-time MLS goal-scoring leader Jaime Moreno, and two from current MLS Golden Boot leader Luciano Emilio, and defeated the New England Revolution 4-2 in a battle for the top of the MLS standings on Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium.
Fred had given United a lead, but goals by Taylor Twellman and Jay Heaps on either side of halftime nosed the Revolution in front. But United's high-powered strike tandem turned the game around -- Moreno now with 110 goals for his league career, Emilio now with 18 on the season -- as they moved four points clear of the Revolution atop both the Eastern Conference and the overall standings in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
United were coming into the game just three days removed from a 2-2 draw at Chivas USA that ended a six-game winning streak, with a cross-country road trip in between. The Revolution hadn't played a league match in two weeks, but were winners of two in a row and five of their last seven.
United's ongoing center back shuffle continued as Bobby Boswell gave way to Devon McTavish in the heart of the D.C. defense, while Josh Gros was given a start at left midfield as coach Tom Soehn rested Ben Olsen at the outset.
Marc Burch created the game's first chance less than three minutes in, as he loped down the left flank and swerved a teasing cross into the Revolution goalmouth. Avery John tried to chest the ball back to Matt Reis but succeeded only in dropping it into the path of Gros right on the doorstep. Gros, making his first appearance in four games after picking up his latest concussion last month, seemed certain to score but John's desperate recovery denied a close-range finish.
United then came close as D.C. playmaker Christian Gomez threatened with a free kick, whipping a 25-yard drive towards the upper right-hand corner of Reis' net, drawing an acrobatic parry from the New England netminder.
The RFK faithful had reason to cheer when Bryan Namoff found Gomez alone at the far post for an athletic header that trickled past Reis just inside the woodwork, but the crowd's roar was muted by the sight of assistant referee Nate Clement's raised flag, negating the play. Replays showed that the decision was correct as United playmaker had strayed just inches behind the last defender.
Moreno had been anchoring United's possession game with panache, holding up play and spraying diagonal passes out to his teammates' runs, and the Bolivian was rewarded just past the half-hour mark as he assisted on a nimble finish by Fred to open the scoring for D.C.
Receiving a pass with his back to goal, Moreno swiveled to his left and lifted a diagonal ball to the feet of Fred as the Brazilian wide man beat the New England offsides trap, then calmly rifled home inside the upper corner.
The Revolution had their moments as well, and Khano Smith's cross found Twellman for a looping header that beat Troy Perkins but dinged off the left post, only to narrowly evade Pat Noonan's lunge as the United goalkeeper scrambled to recover
United had enjoyed a possession advantage for most of the first half and looked dangerous throughout -- but could claim only one goal for their troubles and were duly punished by Twellman in the dying moments. The shifty Revs striker has often delivered strong performances at RFK and his prolific ways continued as he stabbed a dagger into all the home side's hard work mere seconds before the intermission.
Twellman latched onto Smith's probing cross and made space for himself with a chest trap that took him away from Greg Vanney, leaving the seasoned defender grasping at air as he blasted a left-footer into the roof of the net to draw his team level at 1-1.
The Revolution almost stunned their hosts with a quick counter just two minutes after the restart, as Smith's scuffed shot set off a scramble in the United box that ended with a open look for Noonan, but he directed his effort over the top to let D.C. off the hook.
But the men in white grabbed the lead some seven minutes later on a controversial play that began with Ralston's corner kick delivery towards Joseph. The big Grenadian's header squirted underneath Perkins and bounced towards the goal line as the United netminder fell backwards with Heaps pressuring.
Fred shuffled down the line to throw himself in the ball's path as the bodies piled up and the ball hung in midair right above the line before crossing, but referee Abbey Okulaja looked over at his assistant Clement racing up the far sideline, and quickly indicated a goal. Heaps wheeled away to celebrate his first goal in more than two years.
But the Black-and-Red responded quickly, with an equalizer from Moreno that was almost as unsightly as he added to his MLS-leading career goal total.
United had staged a moving video tribute to their captain before the match in celebration of his 109 career tallies, and when second-half sub Ben Olsen's initial shot was blocked and the rebound fell for Moreno, he made it No. 110 in the 59th minute. Quickly recovering when his own first effort was thwarted, Moreno calmly settled the ball and chipped over the prone Reis from point-blank range.
Soehn had thrown Olsen on for a tiring Fred to spark his team, and the canny veteran combined with Moreno again to turn the match with another strange goal in the 68th minute. Olsen muscled past Smith and scampered down the right channel to angle an endline cross into the path of Gomez's late run, and the Argentinean hit his low shot into a forest of legs in front of the net.
The drive took two deflections that left Reis helpless -- the final one a sly flick by Emilio -- and drifted into the net for a 3-2 D.C. advantage. The United faithful burst into life while on the New England bench, head coach Steve Nicol exploded in rage, vocally expressing his anger -- but not, it turned out, at the suspicion of offside on Emilio, but for what he believed was a foul by Olsen on Smith at the play's outset.
Okulaja and his crew were in no mood to listen to the Scotsman's protestations and soon ordered him to vacate the technical area, leaving assistant Paul Mariner to direct the Revolution fightback.
In the 75th minute, the Revs seemed certain to score their third after substitute Wells Thompson raced down the left and got past Namoff to loop a cross towards the penalty shot. Twellman knocked down the service with nary a defender in sight, but deferred to Ralston as the ball bounced into the winger's path -- only for Ralston to scuff his shot wide of the goal from close range.
One of Soehn's second-half substitutions had already made a huge impact on the match, and the D.C. boss looked like a genius when another of his moves effectively sealed the result.
Brian Carroll had just come on to replace Simms at holding midfielder when he produced an unexpected bit of attacking ambition, taking possession at midfield and surging past Heaps. Carroll held off the Revs right back as he dribbled to the endline and chipped a cross into the path of Emilio, who showed exquisite timing to ghost in between Parkhurst and John and meet the delivery with a thumping header past Reis for the final advantage.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
