D.C. defeated the Revolution to solidify third place in the Eastern Conference. Photo/Kari Heistad
D.C. United extended their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference table on Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium, knocking off the second place New England Revolution 2-1 before 17,213 fans.
The game, which featured the two best teams in the conference, was truly one of two very different halves. The Revolution took the initiative first, taking a 1-0 lead furnished by Charlie Davies into halftime, while D.C. took over in the second half via a brace by Chris Rolfe.
The Revolution snapped a six-game winless run last weekend when they beat Chicago 2-0—a run in which they lost focus and blew leads match after match—but seemed to regress against D.C.
On a hot, sticky day in the Nation’s Capital that seemed to slow both teams down to the point where for a while it seemed they’d settle for a draw, D.C. stormed back, snapping a two-game losing streak by winning their first game since June 3 and going seven points ahead of the Revolution, who are in second place with a game in hand.
The Revolution, though, put away the first chance of the game on Sunday with Davies’ team-leading seventh goal of the season. The play started in the tenth minute with a through ball out of central midfield by Scott Caldwell, Juan Agudelo touching it to Bunbury, who then found Lee Nguyen open on the right flank. Nguyen dribbled into the box and then squared the ball to Davies, who poked the feed in off the left post, past goalkeeper Bill Hamid, after sneaking in behind D.C.’s back line.
The Revolution immediately went about trying to double their lead. Nguyen nearly set up a second goal in the 22nd minute when he found Chris Tierney open on the left side of the box. But Hamid read the play, stuffing Tierney from point-blank range.
Nguyen shot through three defenders in the 33rd minute and had his bid knocked away by Hamid at the near post, while Agudelo flashed a header wide off a London Woodberry delivery in the 44th.
The Revolution threatened early in the second half, again through Nguyen, whose shot from outside the box flew just over bar in the 49th minute.
D.C. took over after that. They asserted themselves slowly, beginning with taking over the possession battle. Next they won the flanks and started sending repeated chances into the box.
The first was a bid by Rolfe, whose point blank effort of a Fabian Espindola cross got snuffed out by Shuttleworth and eventually cleared by Tierney.
The Espindola-Rolfe combination paid off in the 70th minute, the former crossing into the box for the latter, who was unmarked in the heart of the area. Rolfe stepped in front of Agudelo on the play, who was helping out defensively, and volleyed the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1.
Referee Ismail Elfath called a penalty kick in the 80th minute for D.C. after Steve Neumann collided with Miguel Aguilar in the penalty area. Rolfe converted the ensuing spot kick, shooting right as Shuttleworth went the opposite way.
As a result of the second half crumble, the Revolution have an up-hill climb in the race for the Supporters Shield. They haven’t won back to back games since May 2 and have Orlando City SC suddenly breathing down their necks in the standings.
D.C., meanwhile, look even more comfortable in first place. That probably won’t change, either, as their next opponent is Chicago, who have lost three consecutive games.
If you want to reach Julian email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
New England Revolution
D.C. United
