WASHINGTON ā Bad luck and big letdowns have become the norm for D.C. United this season and the stars seemed to be aligning against them again at several junctures in Saturday nightās 3-2 win over Chivas USA at RFK Stadium.
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Yet something was different this time. Whether it was the boost from Wednesdayās friendly win over AC Milan or simply the long-awaited payoff of all their hope and hard work, D.C. had what it took to dig out the result they so desperately needed.
āI think thereās confidence about the team after Wednesdayās win,ā said Chris Pontius, who logged 90 quality minutes in his first league start after an extended injury layoff. āEveryone looked at the guy next to each other and knew that they were going to get the job done.ā
D.C. have found a variety of ways to lose matches over the past two months but against Chivas, they simply would not be denied.
āFor me, the most exciting thing about tonightās game was seeing the guysā heads ā once they scored that second goal, I looked around at everybody and I felt that we were going to win this game,ā said Santino Quaranta, who started the move that led to Adam Cristmanās goal and later drew the game-winning penalty. āThatās really positive because in the past, it hasnāt been good when weāve given these late goals up.ā
The winner finally arrived via a penalty kick in second-half injury time, and fittingly captain Carey Talley took the spot kick. Chivas striker Justin Braun had beaten Talley in a one-on-one battle to score the Goatsā opener, and the veteran center back was happy to gain a measure of redemption in the dying minutes.
āThe first goal, I take full responsibility for, that guy is incredibly fast and I took the wrong angle. It happens,ā Talley said. āI was happy to go up and redeem myself and help lead this team. Iāll be honest, the guys that did all the work in front of me before that kick, they were incredible.ā
With Jaime Moreno on the bench, Talley was the nightās designated penalty-taker and he made no mistake with his finish, burying the winner against his former team.
āYou know, I was looking for him, [to see] if he was going to get subbed in,ā joked Talley in reference to Moreno. āIt was a night that a lot of players look forward to, being able to step up and score an opportunity in stoppage time to help your team, and it just happened to be me tonight.ā
So United have finally snapped their three-game losing skid, as well as a 352-minute scoreless streakāSaturdayās opener, a fine header from rookie Andy Najar, arrived six minutes before the squad matched the club recordāand the manner in which they did so offers real hope for an embattled side.
āWe found a way and thatās the important thing. Thereās a lot of good things to come out of tonight,ā said coach Curt Onalfo. āAt the end of the day itās three points that we desperately needed.ā