DC United opened against Portland Timbers with a almost identical lineup to that of their last game vs Chivas USA however took a more defensive posture with Lewis Neal and Perry Kitchen alongside one another playing a more defensive role, in place of Maicon Santos who began the game on the bench. For the second straight week, Ben Olsen chose to leave Branko Boskovic out of the starting eleven, and all of the DC United faithful wondered if he could provide another moment of brilliance, and receive his second career DC United goal. It should come to no shock that top scorer for the Timbers Kris Boyd was left out of the squad because of his hip injury.
The game proved to be a defensive battle, while the game also turned from defense to attack in a matter of moments. In order for DC to be successful in the game against Portland, early decision making is key to gain the three points on the road. Jeld-Wen Field displayed that throw in’s can be used as set pieces because of how narrow the field is. Ben Olsen’s squad seemed much looser with holding possession, but also having lapses showing that with every freedom there is a responsibility. At times, DC were careless of the ball, and it almost cost them to lose all three points. Jeld-Wen field was packed and the players thrived in an atmosphere of such intensity.
Portland’s stadium is a high intensity with defending being a key component to success being and DC United’s defense was up to the task. A few errors and needless give away’s by the defensive line resulted in a few tense moments for DC goalkeeper, Bill Hamid, however he was up to the task. Pontius and Pajoy worked well together in the first half with Pontius sitting behind Pajoy. However, Pajoy was not given much room to work not only because of the field constraints, but also because of the excellent strength shown from Portland defender, Sal Zizzo, bodying Pajoy off the ball as well as not giving him any space to work his magic. DC’s first threat of the game came in the 7th minute when Brandon McDonald played a lofted ball to Lionard Pajoy inside of the box, but the danger was averted and knocked out for a corner by the Timber defender, Kimura. DC started off the match pleasing Ben Olsen with their attacking style and enjoying the majority of possession with Pontius distributing much better and imposing himself in the game. Just as all seemed to be well for United, Portland’s Darlington Nagbe’s 15th minute shot wide left off of McDonald’s give away outside of the eighteen yard box posing the first threat. In the 18th minute United had another defensive lapse of concentration with a quick throw in slipping Bright Dike behind the DC defense but his shot was also well wide.
Not only were Portland’s attackers on point in the first half but their defense was as well. Zizzo was a nuisance along the right side of the field as Korb just simply could not contain him. Zizzo found himself in such advanced territory because DC were caught trying to play too many killer balls on a field that was much too small. The threats continue in the 28th minute as Bill Hamid did exceptionally well on a shot through traffic from Songo’o. However, not even thirty seconds later, the 28th minute also had the always dangerous Zizzo split both DeLeon and Korb and played a driven cross along the box where Hamid was once again threatened. The United defense was disciplined coming from the leadership of McDonald and Jakovic who both orchestrated the tight line of defense. Brandon McDonald recovered well for DC and very committed to his tackles against Dike and prevented many shots from distance by Darlington Nagbe. As a side note, Saturday’s game marked McDonald’s 30th start of the season for DC. The end of the half saw once again DC United dropped too far back and giving the ball away too cheaply. Yet, with McDonald blocking shots and resolute defending coined with Jakovic’s last minute defending on the slick surface there were not too many threats on Bill Hamid. Other than McDonald and Jakovic, Najar was highly uninvolved with not making his usual streaking runs along the wings. Furthermore, the final chance of the half came in the 45th minute as Bill Hamid had to make a diving save to his right which then squired out of his hands. The laser of a shot in the 45th minute created a stir in the Portland crowd as it fell behind Hamid in which he quickly got up and comfortably gathered the rebound. Sadly to say, DC United entered halftime without a single shot on goal.
Impatience was a common theme of the second half for DC United. Nick DeLeon was guilty of taking shots from distance in the 55th minute and was unable to put his shots on frame. Again in the 57th minute, DeLeon finally got United’s first shot on goal which was saved by the diving Joe Bendik resulting in a corner kick. Overall, DC’s service was lacking from Lewis Neal from the corner and on set pieces and it looked as if DC really missed Branko Boskovic at times. A moment of prosperity in the 59th minute came to DC United as Kitchen’s cross was granted a penalty kick. The sideline referee claimed Kitchen’s cross struck the out reached hand of the Portland defender; however, from replays it looks as though it went underneath his arm. Regardless, in the 60th minute DC United’s Chris Pontius stepped up and converted for his 12th goal of the year: DC 1-0. Coming into Saturday’s game, DC had yet to convert a PK, but with Pontius taking responsibility given to him wearing the captains armband, that statistic was wiped clean.
After the penalty call, the game took a more edgy and chippy style as in the 70th minute as Hamid was about the punt the ball, forward Songo’o stepped and took the ball away from Hamid-thus having the official hand him a yellow immediately. Scary moments occurred as Hamid collected a cross a few minutes later and violently slammed his head onto the turf resulting in treatment and he was able to continue. Unfortunately for DC, holding the lead was not possible as Bright Dike leveled the Timbers 1-1 in the 79th minute from an acute angled shot into the upper 90 of the DC net. Salihi and Boskovic were then subbed in the 82nd and 84th minutes respectively but were unable to make any type of impact on the game. The final whistle then blew, resulting in a pivotal 1-1 draw and a point on the road for DC.
The Eastern Conference is still very congested with DC currently in 4th place with 51 points sporting a 15-10-6 record. My DC United Man of the Match is Chris Pontius not because of him making the penalty kick, it is because he proved he can lead the team in De Rosario’s absence. Pontius stepped right to the spot, as well as distributing the ball out wide and involved himself on defense and the attack. United’s next game is away vs Toronto FC on October 6th, at 1pm. Another road game where DC need to gain points (preferably a win) to keep in contention for the MLS Playoffs.
(image courtesy of dcunited.com)
