A third string goalkeeper. A USL player signed to an MLS contract yesterday. A player who made it to the league via indoor soccer. When the lineups were announced, you would be excused for being extremely wary about how this game would play out. What United fans saw was 11 players who gave Hernan Losada his desired 90 minutes of frenetic pressing, overloads, and offensive chances and a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire.
First Half
The game started at a high tempo, with Julian Gressel almost scoring a free kick in the first minute of the game and the patented Losada hell-for-leather offensive press. After a series of hard fouls committed by DC United, one of which resulted in a yellow card for Brendan Hines-Ike in the 3rd minute, United broke through with an early goal. Andy Najar looked lively, playing in a much more comfortable left wingback position rather than the center back spot he filled in for in Columbus. Najar was pressing forward until Moses Nyeman corralled a ball in the Chicago box, playing in Adrien Perez to the endline. Perez was able to keep the ball in play and cross the ball to a leaping Edison Flores, who made no mistake and scored his first career goal for DC United in the 7th minute.
United continued to press their advantage, with their aggressive pressure resulting in a number of opportunities and half chances to DC, including in the 15th minute, a 3 on 2 attack where Moses Nyeman passed on the preferred option of a shot and the chance came to nothing. A common thread in the DC United youngsters so far in the past 2 seasons is raw talent to make offensive chances come from nothing but indecisiveness and slower decision making the final third being the last skill to come in for players like Nyeman and Paredes.
United continued to get the better of Chicago. In the 20th minute, a United corner kick bounced around in the 18, culminating in a blast off the cross bar by Julian Gressel. Another breakaway almost resulted in a goal by a lively Adrian Perez, but it was saved off the line and was ruled offside. There were a number of loose balls in the United defense, leading to a number of half chances for a dull Chicago attack, but United continued to fly around the ball and quickly transition into the attack when they were able to wrestle possession back.
In the 31st minute, Brian Gutierrez had Chicago’s best opportunity, testing Jon Kempin from close range. Kempin was up to the challenge, parrying the ball to the side with Fred Brilliant clearing the ball from danger. The Fire continued to threaten as Gutierrez hit the far post in the 35th minute and United failed to possess the ball for long stretches or disrupt Chicago’s rhythm in attack. But in the attack, United continued to be dangerous. In the 40th minute, Nyeman cut off a lazy pass by a Chicago defender, initiating a sequence that almost resulted in a Drew Skundrich scissor kick debut goal.
In the dying moments of the first half, Edison Flores did a Cryuff turn, resulting in a movement that nearly led to a goal by Adrian Perez. While United only held a goal advantage at the interval, fans were abuzz with the swashbuckling attack that United hadn’t shown for more that a few minutes in the early days of the 2021 season.
Second Half
The second half began similarly to the first half, with neither side able to establish firm control of possession. In the 57th minute, Edison Flores almost doubled his goal tally with a near post header kept out of the net by Bobby Shuttleworth. United continued to dominate the chances while still not , suffocating the Chicago midfield and limiting offensive chances to an excellent opportunity saved by Kempin in the 71st minute.
Long term injured Paul Arriola and Felipe came on in the 74th minute and immediately brought their high tempo and aggression all over the field. Arriola was clearly still feeling out his teammates after an extended absence, but the team has always been much better with him on the field.
Chicago enjoyed stretches of possession without any end product, frequently serving in crosses that were cleared away or blocked in a last ditch effort by committed United defenders. The traffic switched to one way from the 88thminute on but United weathered the storm and was able to hold on to the slim 1-0 lead for their second win of the season.
The way United played tonight was very representative of the aggressive and open style we were promise when Hernan Losada was hired. There were a plethora of chances created as a result of a maniacal press in midfield and in attack, which also created some odd man break opportunities for the Fire. All as advertised.
Adrian Perez played 84 minutes of the best forward play United has seen since Wayne Rooney left. This may be damning him with faint praise, but Perez covered ground and combined with Edison Flores better than any United player has done in 2 years. If he has any legs left after this performance, he has earned another start against Orlando on Sunday.
United moved into 5th place in the Eastern Conference and await Orlando City this Sunday at Audi Field.