Rebounding from a two-game losing streak -- including a 4-0 loss to Real Salt Lake two weeks ago -- D.C. United on Saturday reversed the result in emphatic fashion, getting two goals from Jaime Moreno and two world-class finishes in rolling to a 4-1 victory against Real at RFK Stadium.
Moreno added to his all-time MLS-leading goal-scoring total with penalty kicks on either side of halftime, and Santino Quaranta and Marcelo Gallardo punctuated the performance with tremendous goals. Carey Talley bundled home the lone Real goal late in the second half.
United boss Tom Soehn tweaked his lineup once again for the match, reverting to a three-man back line with left back Marc Burch benched in favor of an extra central midfielder in the form of Englishman Dan Stratford, making his first-ever MLS start.
The match had hardly begun before a meaty collision stopped play less than four minutes in when United alumnus Talley clattered into Fred well after the Brazilian released the ball near the center line.
The leg-to-leg contact sent both men to the turf in obvious pain but Talley did not escape censure for his challenge, with referee Baldomero Toledo showing him the yellow card as he limped towards the RSL bench for further treatment. Fred took out his frustrations on Dema Kovalenko's calf a few moments later, earning the match's second caution for his hack.
Moreno forced the first save of the night for another former D.C. star, Nick Rimando, with a deflected shot from 20 yards out in the 13th minute, but there was little danger as the home side struggled to sustain possession in the attacking end.
The RFK faithful were out in force and finally got something to shout about in the 17th minute when Gallardo's surging run sent the Real defense backpedaling, though his slotted pass to Luciano Emilio went for naught as the striker's heavy touch allowed defender Ian Joy to recover before the Brazilian could unleash a shot.
Mired in an early-season slump, United were seeking more attacking dynamism from their designated player and the smooth Argentinean seemed up for the task as seconds later he lashed a sharp right-footer on goal, but Rimando was well-positioned to make the save.
The early knock on Fred's thigh proved too much for the left midfielder to overcome, with a right quad contusion necessitating an early substitution for D.C. in the 22nd minute as Burch replaced the former Australian league MVP.
But the Black-and-Red were clearly in the ascendancy now as they took a stranglehold on possession and pushed RSL back into their own end, and while menacing shots on goal were still scarce the home side jumped into the lead thanks to a penalty call just shy of the half-hour mark.
Burch earned the call after beating Dema Kovalenko to a loose ball just inside the Real box along the left endline, and when Kovalenko slid in to block the subsequent cross he did so with a raised arm -- inadvertent contact, but too obvious to escape Toledo's scrutiny and the veteran referee quickly pointed to the spot.
As usual, Moreno stepped up to take the kick, and United's captain calmly dispatched the penalty with an impudent chip right down the center of goal as Rimando sprawled to his right.
The visitors almost leveled matters against the run of play when a left-wing cross trickled past Stratford and sat up well for Javier Morales at the far post, but the Argentinean's side volley was well-blocked by a sharp reflex save from Zach Wells.
Surprisingly, Soehn elected to use his second substitution four minutes before the half, yanking off Stratford and inserting Rod Dyachenko in his place. Stratford immediately took a seat next to his head coach to get a brief talking-to before walking down to join his teammates on the bench.
Having seen Kyle Beckerman score three goals in RSL's last two meetings with United, D.C. had every reason to track the Maryland native closely around the box. But two minutes into the second half the dreadlocked midfielder used quick feet to carve out just enough space to whistle a shot inches over the top of Wells' crossbar.
Yet it was the home side who got on the board next, thanks to another penalty call from Toledo. Receiving a pass with his back to goal, Emilio turned sharply on Chris Wingert at the top of the Real box and while the 2008 MLS Golden Boot winner stayed on his feet as the right back tugged on his jersey, the contact from late-arriving Talley's slide tackle was too much to ignore and Emilio went to ground just inside the line.
If Kovalenko could consider himself unlucky to have conceded the first half penalty on his former home field, Talley was even more star-crossed on this occasion as he got up to discover that Toledo had whistled him for a foul in the box. This time Moreno chose power over trickery, drilling his shot into the upper left-hand corner to double United's advantage in the 51st minute for his third goal on the season and 115th of his league career.
RSL's frustrations were clearly mounting and they felt aggrieved to have been denied a penalty kick of their own in the 58th minute when Morales got the better of Gonzalo Peralta inside the restraining arc, drawing a foul from his countryman right on the edge of the box.
Toledo only awarded a free kick, but Morales nearly made it a moot point with a wickedly-bent drive that left Wells flat-footed, only to clang off the left post -- and the rebound bounced back at Kenny Deuchar just a bit too quickly for the Scotsman to direct his awkward first-timer on target.
Quaranta had put in a hard night's work along the United right flank, running at defenders and sending in crosses, and he capped his efforts with a tidy finish to push the lead to 3-0 in the 67th minute. When Moreno received possession just outside the RSL box, the Baltimore native and former first-round SuperDraft pick timed his run to perfection, slipping into the box to meet Moreno's delicate angled lob with a side-footed tap into the far side netting for his second goal of the campaign.
The Black-and-Red were looking imperious now and Gallardo tried to add to the rout with a knuckling, dipping drive four minutes later that drew a sharp diving save from Rimando.
Substitute Andy Williams came close to salvaging some pride for his side with a deflected shot that had Wells beat, only to loop just wide of the net -- but Real made good use of the ensuing corner kick, as second-half sub Tony Beltran flicked on Morales' near-post delivery to give Talley an easy finish from close range.
But United didn't rest on their laurels, and soon restored their three-goal lead with a breathtaking, highlight-reel finish from Gallardo mere minutes later.
The home side strung together a quick passing sequence near midfield and broke forward with Moreno setting Burch loose down the left, and spotting his playmaker floating to the back post, the lefty lofted in a cross that the Argentinean international plucked out of midair with a thunderous volley that whistled past Rimando's head and rippled the upper corner of the twine.
There was still enough time for Gallardo to get into a minor scrap with the irritated Kovalenko after the two clashed in midfield, earning matching yellow cards from Toledo. But the final minutes played out quietly as United salted away their second league victory of the year and took a small measure of payback for their humiliation in Utah two weeks ago.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
