DC United continued their strong play away from RFK this weekend with a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, thanks to the strong performance from Dwayne De Rosario and his two goals. As many people are pointing out, De Rosario seems to have a knack for burning his previous teams, especially the team who brought him to the MLS (San Jose).
The first half went almost uneventful. Chris Pontius had a great chance in the first half with a great left footed shot that just went by Earthquakes keeper Jon Busch’s far post. Neither team was able to completely finish their chances and went into halftime 0-0. I couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied with DC’s performance despite no goals being scored. They played alright and had good moments of possession that I enjoy watching. The second half saw De Rosario do his thing, scoring two class goals thanks to great set-ups each time by Pontius and Andy Najar. DC’s defense was also able to limit San Jose to a few chances on the other end, but each one was able to be saved by Bill Hamid, who recorded his 6th shut out of the 2011 campaign.
Speaking of Andy Najar, it was unfortunate to see him get a red card near the end of the match. The moment he slid in from behind and tackled Joey Gjertsen, I was fearing the red card. I wasn’t completely surprised to see it unveiled. It may have actually been a good thing since Gjertsen had gotten behind the defense and could possibly have created a serious goal scoring chance. Thanks to Najar, he didn’t get a chance to. Maybe Najar’s red card helped preserve the shut-out. Of course, we’ll never know, but it’s always something to think about. With the red card, DC will be without Najar for their next match vs. Toronto FC next week.
For United fans, getting another three points away is a fantastic feeling. DC has seen their place in the Eastern Conference slip to 6th in addition to being passed up by Sporting KC, who started off their 2011 campaign in miserable fashion. The away performances have been enough to keep them in the running for one of the coveted three automatic playoff spots. Hopefully this Saturday, DC will be able to get three points at home vs. Toronto FC and get some momentum to make a good run into the second half of the season.
(image courtesy of Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
