Keys to the game: Union vs. DC United

The Union walked away with a 1-0 victory on Saturday night against DC United thanks to a 31st minute goal by Fafa Picault. Blake was stellar, keeping a clean sheet, saving a penalty and making some unbelievable stops to secure the win. Here are some of the key moments to Saturday’s game.

The goal:

The Union’s first shot found the back of the net, something that, as a team, they definitely needed. It was a well-developed play, but the true brilliance came from Picault, who had the audacity to smash the ball out of the air past Hamid. Most players in that situation might have taken a touch, trying to kill the ball then taking a quick shot; or even letting it bounce, hitting the shot on a half-volley, but not Picault. It was an incredibly difficult technique use, and he perfected it. By hitting it first time, he didn’t give Hamid a chance to get across his net, and get set for the shot. In the post game press conference he said, “I’ve been working on volleys a lot in practice, especially trying to work on my left foot. It was something I worked really hard on in training, and it translated well tonight.”

The keepers:

Blake once again was the savior for the Union. For Neagle’s penalty, Blake read that Neagle ran straight at the ball, and knew that the winger had to shoot to his right (Neagle’s left.) When a player is lined up directly behind the ball, it requires the shooter to either smash the ball straight, or shoot across his body, pulling the ball to the keepers right. The only way a shooter can line up like this and hit it to the keepers left is if he makes a major adjustment to open his hips and angle his body in that direction. Once a shooter does this is is possible for a keeper to react and make the save. By doing this the shooter also looses power, giving the keeper more time to get to the shot.

Blake did more than just a penalty stop, however. In the dying minutes his flying save to tip the ball over the bar what perhaps more impressive than the penalty save itself. His quick reactions, and long arms save the Union 2 points, in a play that not many keepers in this league make.

Meanwhile Hamid as come up big for DC as well, matching Blake save for save. In one such instance he flew high to deny a shot from CJ Sapong that looked destined for the top left corner. His reflexes and leap to get as high as he did are truly astounding. Blake was the star of the game, but that might have been the best save of the night in terms of pure difficulty.

The Card:

In what might go down as a famous decision, head referee Sorin Stoica brandished a red card for Luciano Acosta, and then, after due deliberation, rescinded the card, allowing Acosta off the hook without even so much as a booking. In an encounter that confused many, Acosta, and DC, were able to continue at full strength, giving life to the DC attack. After the game, it was released that Haris Medunjanin, the player who was adjudged to have been kicked, actually got up and told Stoica that he was not kicked, and that it should not be a red card for Acosta. In one of the classier moves this season, Medunjanin’s actions allowed the game to continue as it was meant to be played, and it resulted in a great finish.

Coach Ben Olsen had nothing but the utmost respect for Medunjanin after the game, saying “I got a lot of respect for that, think he’s a classy player, and a classy human being.” Jim Curtin later went on to say this about the situation,

“I have to give a lot of credit to Haris, we talk a lot about fair play in this league and all over the world, but he’s the one who had the intestinal fortitude and guts to speak up and say ‘there was no contact.’ He’s a man, he’s a person I respect a great deal, and its an incredible act. I think this is something you could show to not just young kids, but even adults who play professional soccer, because, again, what he did is very honorable, and it’s the correct thing to do. That said, I don’t know if I would have done it.”

Taylor Kemp:

Taylor Kemp has looked strong for DC, getting forward and finding openings created by the players ahead of him. Union defenders looked a bit puzzled on who was to mark the defender. Many times the right side of the Union’s defense was overloaded, with Acosta preferring to drift to that side. This game Kemp the ability to cut in on several occasions, or even overlap, overloading that side even more. The penalty call came in a time when Kemp was given space to cut in and hit a sort of shot/cross that was difficult for Onyewu to deal with. The result was a penalty, though DC failed to convert the opportunity.

The Little Things:

Onyewu made a veteran play that many won’t notice in the 89^th minute. Kofi Opare was bleeding, and had blood covering his shirt. Onyewu rushed to the ref after a foul, and informed him that Opare can’t continue with blood flowing. This ended up stopping about a minute of play, and forced DC to continue with 10 men until they could staunch the bleeding. Opare didn’t return for a few minutes, as he needed to be patched up and receive a new shirt. By the time he returned, DC was down to just 2 minutes of stoppage time left. His return did boost DC, and he was one of the attackers who overloaded the Union box in the situation where Blake made an incredible save off of Neagle’s header.

Substitutions:

DC coach Ben Olsen got the most out of his subs, and the attacking changes he made almost resulted in a goal. The late save by Blake was due to DC outnumbering the Union defenders in the box. Deshorn Brown, Lamar Neagle, Patrick Nyarko and Julian Buescher, three of which were substitutes, were in and around the box giving all sorts of problems for the Union defenders.

Meanwhile Curtin brought on Jay Simpson, Marcus Epps and Roland Alberg. These changes looked more to give rest to some tired legs, but they did do well to help the Union attack.

Jay Simpson’s hold up play is truly phenomenal. He can hold off 2 defenders, and touch the ball around them with ease. He also links up well with the midfielders, and is quick to hit a shot inside the box. With Sapong’s goal bounty lowering, it might be interesting to see Simpson get some time as a starter.

Roland Alberg didn’t get too involved in his 20 minutes of time, and much of his work was trying to drop in and take up some space. His only offensive involvement was to kill time in the corner, which he did well, using his strength to save the Union precious seconds off of the clock.