D.C. United continued their sizzling summer with a comprehensive 3-0 win against their I-95 rival MetroStars on Wednesday night, jumping out to an early lead and securing the win thanks to a late boost from second-half sub Jamil Walker.
United head coach Peter Nowak praised his players for their solid performance, especially as it comes amidst a crowded match schedule during the peak of the summer heat.
"It's always difficult to play in these type of weather conditions, so many games," he said. "But I think we're playing some pretty smart soccer. We had our chances, we finished them, and we're still playing good soccer, which is the most important thing for me, seeing the whole picture."
United opened the scoring in the 11th minute, as center back Bobby Boswell headed home Christian Gomez's free kick at the near post to get his side off to a flying start. The goal was his second of the MLS season (also scoring one in a friendly against Chelsea), as the tall rookie has grown increasingly comfortable venturing into the opposing penalty area on Gomez's set pieces.
"Yeah, he's pretty good about telling me where he wants me to run, because he can put the ball where he wants it," said Boswell of his growing understanding with the Argentinean playmaker. "So, I'm starting to figure out where he's putting them. The key is actually just losing your man, whether it's a pick or a lot of movement off the ball. Once you're open and the ball is there, you've just got to finish it."
The United-Metros Atlantic Cup showdown is one of the more heated rivalries in Major League Soccer, and this match was no different, with referee Terry Vaughn handing out an incredible nine bookings, include dismissals of the captains of both teams.
Amado Guevara was banished to the locker room just before the break, as the Honduran received two first-half yellow cards for fouls on Dema Kovalenko and Ben Olsen. But D.C.'s Jaime Moreno followed him to the exit when he clattered into Eddie Gaven as the MetroStars wunderkind burst free towards goal in the 60th minute.
Having dominated the match to that point, the home side were only one goal up despite an abundance of chances and suddenly found themselves with only 10 men as well. MetroStars strikers Ante Razov and Youri Djorkaeff came close to punishing D.C. with good chances after Moreno's dismissal, but despite looking rattled for that short period, United rebounded and began probing for the goal that would seal the result.
It came from an unexpected source, as rarely-used substitute Jamil Walker came on for Gomez in the 76th minute and created the vital second goal with a remarkable play. The speedster embarked on a 60-yard run from near midfield that ended in the Metros goal box as he outran and outmuscled defender Jeff Parke to Santino Quaranta's pass, then slid a square pass for Dema Kovalenko to slam home.
Walker got another assist in the dying moments, when he combined with Clyde Simms to set up Josh Gros' fourth goal of the year. The impressive performance puts Walker in the driver's seat to take the suspended Moreno's starting spot when United faces Chivas USA on Saturday.
"I've been missing chances and getting into situations where I can score," said Walker. "So it's a relief to be able to come in and contribute on a larger scale. I know now that I've got to be ready for Saturday, and build on this."
"Jamil did a very good job," said Nowak. "He's working very hard to be one of the very good strikers, and the (team) rotation is pretty good right now. As I said to all of them, you never know when your time will come, and you have to be ready. We decided to go with Jamil and he did a great job today."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
