D.C. United's workmanlike 2-1 win against Chivas USA on Sunday likely won't offer many contributions to the team's highlight reel, but the Black-and-Red were more than happy to put function before form in garnering their first league victory of 2007.
"Yeah, we'll probably not dissect that and pat ourselves on the back this week, as far as the game and the beauty of it and the way we played," said midfielder Ben Olsen. "But three points, a win - it's been a while. This was an ugly one - there's still stuff to be worked on. Today we didn't play good, but we gutted one out."
United had not scored a goal in open play in some 307 minutes when Christian Gomez volleyed home in the 48th minute, and the Argentinean's cool finish gave his team their first lead of the MLS season.
"It was an important goal for us, because it was the first goal of the night and it gave us a little bit of tranquility for the rest of the match," said Gomez. "We had many more chances against New England [on Thursday], but we weren't able to finish them. Today we didn't have as many chances but the ones we had, we were able to put in the back of the net."
United subsequently displayed more of the fluid passing and pacey approach play their fans have been waiting to see, and were rewarded when second-half substitute Kasali Yinka Casal was brought down by Lawson Vaughn after touching a Josh Gros pass past the Chivas defender just inside the penalty area.
"That play we actually did in training, so it's really good to know that it worked in a match," said Casal. "Luckily enough, my speed brought me into the box - I actually thought I was outside the box."
It looked like smooth sailing for D.C. when Jaime Moreno cheekily chipped the penalty kick past Brad Guzan to double their advantage, but the home side faded down the stretch and had to endure a tense finish after Maykel Galindo beat Troy Perkins from close range in the 73rd minute.
Perkins was left marooned by poor marking on several occasions but repeatedly bailed out his defenders with clutch saves, most notably on headers by Claudio Suarez and Francisco Mendoza.
"Yeah, I think we got sucked out a little bit in our midfield and we lost our shape for about five, 10 minutes," said the D.C. netminder of his team's late swoon. "But any time a team pushes everyone forward and starts knocking long balls, it's going to be tough, because they're going to run at you and run at you. But we got away with it."
Head coach Tom Soehn continued his recent lineup shuffling on Sunday, giving Guy Roland-Kpene his first-ever start and giving 45 minutes apiece to young wingers Casal and Justin Moose. But his defense showed the effects of playing its third match in eight days and the first-year boss knows there's plenty to work on as United take a two-week break before traveling to Toronto on May 19.
"Our back four, although they were a little tired today, I think they're going to continue to make progress," said Soehn. "We're taking baby steps. Was it perfect? No, but we're going to build on it."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
