not physical wear and tear, but mental. In recent weeks, United players have had mental breakdowns at inopportune times and it seems that their individual mistakes almost always have a major negative impact on the team. Each mistake D.C. has made has been harshly punished and although United can only blame themselves for their own decision-making, part of the consequences have been well beyond their control.
In three straight losses, United has had a player sent off the field, and each time the player for D.C. made some careless act that resulted in the red card. Bryan Namoff earned his second yellow card in the final moments of the 3-2 defeat at RFK to the Galaxy. In the following match in New England, Dema Kovalenko earned a straight red card in stoppage time for a reckless tackle. And, this past weekend in Colorado, after winning a free kick for being kicked near midfield, Jaime Moreno let his frustration get the better of him by retaliating with a slight click of the heels to trip his opponent and receive his second red card of the season.
There are no excuses for these mental breakdowns from United, and the players know that. Namoff's second yellow was for dissent. He could have held his tongue, but instead let his frustration get the better of him and hurt his team by being suspended for the match versus New England, another loss. Kovalenko's red card may have been a little harsh, but at the same time it was a situation in which he admittedly showed poor judgment in leaving his feet for the two-footed challenge. Playing with only ten men, his teammates were unable to hold onto the tie in the final seconds. As for Moreno, it was not very nice to retaliate, but it was also pretty uncharacteristic. The referee was unforgiving, and without their most creative attacking player, United never really threatened an equalizer once they were down a man.
In the past two matches, two United players have also earned suspensions for yellow card point accumulation. Josh Gros and Ben Olsen should have been on their best behavior knowing that the suspensions were pending, but they each earned yellow cards in back-to-back matches and the suspensions have continued to mount up for D.C. The poor decision-making by all of these players shows a lack of composure, something that is very unusual for United.
Players, coaches, fans, and officials are bound to disagree. Nobody involved in sports expects to see eye-to-eye with a ref at all times, but the one thing that players and coaches want and need from a referee is consistency. If a referee has a history of giving harsh red cards, then even if there is some dispute when a player gets a sent off, at least there could be the understanding that the ref has acted the same way throughout the years. With this in mind, Jaime Moreno's red card versus Colorado is even more unbelievable.
Baldomero Toledo is the referee who gave Moreno the straight red this weekend. Toledo is also the man who officiated United's 4-3 victory over Chicago on June 15th at R.F.K. Stadium. Why is this important? Let's look back at that match. In that match, D.C. United was trailing 2-0 just before halftime. D.C. was awarded a penalty kick that Moreno converted. The goal cut the lead in half, and Moreno tried to quickly take the ball to midfield to restart play as quickly as possible. As Moreno ran to collect the ball, Chicago's goalkeeper Zach Thornton ran to try and keep the ball from him. Moreno got to the ball first, and Thornton recklessly slid in from behind and violently took out both of Moreno's legs. Thornton was only awarded a yellow card. On Saturday, the same referee gave Moreno a straight red for a similar play. Moreno's foul was far less violent than Thornton's, and if the referee shows leniency for a dangerous foul committed outside the run of play against Moreno, he should show the same leniency for a similar play committed by Moreno -- end of story.
D.C. United will surely refocus this week in preparation for a very difficult match in Dallas on Saturday. The match will be especially difficult as United will play the match without Moreno and Olsen. It will be very difficult for D.C. to get a positive result in their first trip to Pizza Hut Park, but under the circumstances the most important thing for United in this particular match may not be the result. D.C. United is only six matches away form the end of the regular season. This was the time a year ago when United finally worked out all of the kinks for their championship run. For D.C., it is mandatory for the team to begin to show maximum concentration from this point forward. United will look to go undefeated for the final six games leading up to the playoffs, but if D.C. happens to lose any matches during the final stretch, they need to make sure that they don't beat themselves anymore.
