WASHINGTON – After scoring four goals in their previous six MLS matches, D.C. United assembled the kind of performance in Sunday’s 3-2 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Union that should provide their attack some confidence.
Well, sort of.
While Fabian Espindola’s 79th-minute winner gave United three goals for just the second time this season, the outburst at RFK Stadium came in a match in which the Eastern Conference leaders were afforded time and space after falling in an early hole.
Philadelphia led 2-0 after four minutes following goals from C.J. Sapong and Sebastien Le Toux, giving United no choice but to attack often and with numbers.
“It’s easy to play 2-0 down, right? Nothing to lose.” said United coach Ben Olsen. “It takes men to play from the start of the game, and we didn’t have that from the go.”
To United’s credit, Alvaro Saborio answered with a goal on his D.C. debut to start the rally right before halftime, and Nick DeLeon brought them level with his first goal of the season in the 66th minute. And even if it came as a result of Philadelphia’s posture following early goals, United responded with one of their most crisp offensive performances of the season.
With Saborio playing the target forward role and Espindola allowed to wander into wide positions, D.C. completed 85 percent of their passes and held nearly three-fifths of the possession in their first home match in more than a month.
The outburst came from an offense that entered the weekend averaging 1.09 goals per match (24 goals, 22 matches), the worst ratio among any team holding one of the 12 MLS Cup Playoff places.
“It was, I guess, as good as the situation can be, being two goals down,” said United midfielder Davy Arnaud. “Maybe it was a little bit of a blessing in disguise. It forced us to go out and find goals we needed to win a game.”
Saborio’s 37th-minute volley came at a crucial juncture after Espindola and DeLeon both missed chances from the run of play. Espindola also shanked a 33rd-minute penalty.
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“The goal in the first half was very important for us,” said the Costa Rican veteran Saborio, who has four total goals on the season after arriving in a trade from Real Salt Lake. “It gave us the confidence to play a little bit higher in the second half, to make the second and the third happen.”
Saborio’s opener and Espindola’s winner both came from crosses by right back Chris Korb, who was a big part of the back four’s forced offensive efforts.
“To be fair to us, we didn’t lose our heads,” said goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. “Nobody blamed anybody, nobody pointed any fingers. … It was just cool, calm, collected – figure it out.”
