D.C. United's defense showed further signs of its promising development in a confident 2-0 win against Houston Dynamo on Saturday night, as Josh Gros and Christian Gomez nabbed opportunistic goals off free kicks to continue the team's undefeated start to 2006.
Dynamo brought plenty of attacking firepower to RFK Stadium, but failed to convert the few clear chances they were given as United's four-man back line clamped down for its second consecutive shutout. Even more gratifying for D.C. head coach Peter Nowak was his team's improved consistency over the full 90 minutes, something which had been lacking in their first two contests.
"We played two complete halves," said Nowak. "We had a few chances to score more goals, but this is what we expect ... and defensively we were very good."
Nowak also saluted the contribution of United's 15,015 dedicated fans, whose vocal support gave the match a European flavor.
"The crowd was amazing," said the third-year boss. "The whole stadium was just unbelievable. It gave us a lift in the second half, so great thanks for the guys in the stands. It was a great atmosphere, and I think everyone's going to watch the game, around the league and even in Europe, and (they're) going to say that this stadium really got behind the players."
The versatile Gros has played in a different position every game this season, this time appearing as left back in a 4-4-2 alignment, but nonetheless getting forward at every opportunity. His goal was a classic case of persistence being rewarded, as he fended off defender Kelly Gray near the left endline and centered for Jaime Moreno, only for referee Abbey Okulaja to interrupt the promising play by whistling for a foul on Gray.
But Gros darted into the box to finish from close range after Gomez's well-struck free kick to Moreno created a goalmouth scramble.
"I like to run and see some open field, and I saw quite a bit of that today, so it was good," said the Rutgers graduate. "I think we had a great scoring opportunity when the ref didn't let the play go on, and it was a little bit of payback -- it worked out our way in the end."
A key aspect of United's shutout was the physical play of center back Bobby Boswell, who helped neutralize Dynamo dangerman Brian Ching.
"He's a big guy, he's great in the air and he makes great runs," said Boswell of the Hawaiian-born striker. "He likes to post up and bounce you. But we have some strong guys in the back, and we did pretty well as far as getting on his back, getting around him, trying to limit their crossing and their set pieces, even though they had a ton.
"He and I were really going at it, especially on corners and set pieces off the ball, trying to fight for position. But that's part of the game and it's what I had to do to shut him down."
Houston was further frustrated by the home defense's maintenance of a high line that limited space and led to seven offside calls. Yet even after their strongest display so far, United's back line is far from satisfied.
"In the first half we were playing a bit of a trap, kind of living on the edge. It worked, but it was kind of dangerous," said Boswell. "Tonight 2-0 is a good result for us, but at the same time there were opportunities that they had that we need to make sure we don't give other (teams)."
Veteran midfielder Ben Olsen, who turned in a workmanlike display in the center of the park, also praised his side's savvy.
"It wasn't the greatest game, but I thought it was a very professional win," said Olsen. "It seemed like our energy was down and their energy was down, maybe because of the (warm) weather. But we did a good job. ... They didn't have much. That's a good team, as good a team as MLS puts out there, and we handled them pretty easily."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
